Woods & Water by Dick Herfindahl

 

This past weekend I spent a few days at the cabin enjoying just about perfect weather. Each year when I am at the cabin in late summer and I see some of the trees starting to turn, I think to myself that it is just too early. I am always just a little delusional when it comes to accepting the end of summer even though the heat and humidity seems to affect me a little more each year.

While at the cabin I worked on a few things, but mainly I just sat back and enjoyed spending time observing all of the things that nature has to offer. One morning as I was sitting on the deck and watching a few leaves floating effortlessly to the ground, an eagle flew through the opening in the trees right towards me. As the eagle drew closer, it made an adjustment and soared up and to my right. This sight made me feel just that much closer to nature as the eagle soared close enough to me that I could almost count the white feathers on its head and neck. It is a sight like this that really gives me that feeling of being connected to wildlife.

Now that the month of August is in the books and September is under way, I am enjoying the mild days and cooler nights. I can finally sleep with the windows open, which is something that I really do love.

At the cabin whenever I sleep with the windows open, I can hear the sounds of the north woods calling. The loons seem to call each other even more so at night. Then there is the sound of the resident beaver as it slaps its tail on the water in an effort to scare away any intruders. I have often heard the sound of deer calling to each other when the rut is taking place.

A few years ago my son Brian and I had arrived at the cabin late at night and after we had unpacked and gotten everything put away, we stood outside for a few minutes just enjoying the full moon. In the distance we could hear wolves howling, which brought to reality my feeling of actually being part of the north woods wilderness. In the last couple of years, I have heard the sound of coyotes yipping just across the lake from our cabin.

I have yet to identify all of the sounds I have heard at night while lying in bed listening to everything that the forest offers up at night. What a great way to fall asleep. I believe the sound of nature is more comforting than any music I might tune into on the radio.

I do believe Fountain Lake is still one of the best fishing lakes in Southern Minnesota. What’s not to like? It has a healthy bass population, northern pike, walleye, crappie and sunfish, not to mention some big channel cats. It doesn’t matter what time of day you drive around that lake, you will always see someone wetting a line.

The lakes of northern Minnesota are clear and deep for the most part, but the basin lakes of the southern part of the state still boast of some pretty good fishing. I kept a camper at Best Point Resort in Waterville for about eight years and enjoyed fishing Lake Tetonka for a variety of fish. Fall on that lake was probably my favorite time of year to fish. On more than one occasion I would head out on that lake for some morning fishing using a beetle spin tipped with a fathead minnow. There was one spot where the weeds were visible. When I trolled the edge of those weed beds, I started picking up some northern and an occasional small walleye. Although the walleye didn’t meet my self-imposed slot limit for keepers a couple of those northern were just the perfect size for the skillet.

In some ways, I do miss those days of fishing close to home and the camaraderie of the fellow campers. The nights spent sitting around the campfire exchanging stories with friends was one thing that I always enjoyed. Although those were some fun times they cannot compare to the enjoyment of having my own little piece of “God’s Country” in northern Minnesota.

I still have some fond memories of those days at Best Point, but as with so many things in life change is inevitable but the good memories will always stay with me.

Those are some great memories and ones that I will always cherish.

Please remember to keep our troops in your prayers. We must not let ourselves forget those who are still putting themselves in harm’s way so that we can enjoy all of the wonderful freedoms that we have today.