Spring Thoughts - the Spawning

Yesterday, the application for volunteers for Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources sturgeon guard program arrived via e-mail.  It is an early sign of spring.

We sign up for three night guard dates in order of preference.  Ordinarily, we would pick the earliest date possible, starting on April 15.  However, the annual Midwest Crane Count is on Saturday, April 16th.  I plan on doing that, but it requires me to be on site at 5:00 a.m. to listen to the big birds' warning and mating calls and mark them down on a clipboard.  That means guarding our big ugly fish the night before is out.  I direct the Methodist church choir.  Palm Sunday is April 17, and I have to be wide awake for that.  No night guard for me the night of the 16th.

We are signing up for Sunday night, the 17th, followed by the 18th and 19th.  Last year, however, we were called in early, to guard on the 12th.  The sturgeon don't have calendars and start spawning when the water temperature is right.  Early spring, early spawn.

This is the set up:

We arrive at the sturgeon camp near Shiocton around 5:30 pm and sit down to a feast provided by the DNR.  Next we are given our official hats marked "Sturgeon Patrol".  Each year there's a new hat in a new color.  Gary has them hanging in a row above his computer.  I think there are about twelve now.  Finally, we are assigned our place at a rock pile along the Wolf River by the "sturgeon general".   We always beg for the most isolated spots and usually are granted our wish.   We pack a bag lunch from the buffet the DNR provides.  That means fresh fruit, sandwiches, candy bars, chips, and soft drinks or bottled water.

We arrive at our rock pile at 6:00 pm and tell the previous guards they can leave.

Then, as I often describe it, we do absolutely nothing for 12 hours and feel virtuous about it.  We sit on lawn chairs, watch the sun set on the river, chat and read.  Occasionally, we walk up and down the river bank with flashlights to watch our giants splash in a breeding frenzy.  If it is cold, as it often is, we wrap ourselves in sleeping bags as we sit.  Gary makes hot chocolate on the campstove.

The females are much bigger, sometimes six feet long.  They are known to live over a hundred years.   They lay their eggs on the rocks, with the males fighting to fertilize them.  Like males everywhere they tend to overdo mating.  Some have even been known to dash their heads in on the rocks.  I always tell Gary it reminds me of men in bars.

From time to time, one of us takes a nap in the bed in the back of Gary's van. The DNR wardens check in with us a couple of times a night.  

We watch the sunrise on the river.  At 6:00 am, our replacements show up.  We say "see you next year" to the big ladies and gentlemen in the river and we are off to the sturgeon camp for a big breakfast.

It is our first camping trip of the season.  We treasure it, knowing it is just the beginning of a wonderful summer.  Plus, we are saving our beloved giants for future generations.

Packing Light

I bought the dress in yesterday's photo at a New Zealand re-sale shop for the equivalent of $1.75 US currency. It's a great dress, doesn't show wrinkles, can be washed in a sink and dried in less than two hours.  I've carried it with me every summer for years. It wears like iron.

Planning a trip doesn't mean a lot of shopping beforehand.  

Since I'll be in 25 different libraries in June and July, I could wear the same dress in each place..though I'll likely have three performance dresses so each smells fresh and ready to go.  Two pairs of sensible low-heeled shoes are all I need, plus one pair of hiking boots.

Should I need more clothes, there are always re-sale shops.  I've found wonderful bargains at a Salvation Army store in Alaska's  Kenai Peninsula (everything in the store 25 cents), a Goodwill in Sioux City, Iowa (two storeys of stuff), a Salvation Army in Boulder, Colorado (yuppy castoffs), and a St. Vincent de Paul in Michigan's UP (new swimsuits $2 each).  I won't even get started on garage sales, though one I went to here in Seymour had all clothes marked at 10 cents each, including Disney, LL Bean, and Eddie Bauer shirts.

Every place I'll be visiting will have stores where I can get essentials such as soap and toothpaste.   So I pack light and have fun shopping as I go.  

New Photo

Gary is helping me crop the photos Tisha took to use with press releases for the summer tour.  I like this one because Evan is in it though I will likely use another one. I have dozens to choose from!

Next, I must write a sample press release and a copy of the itinerary and get the package out via e-mail by Monday morning.

After that, I have to write a song to go with the summer reading program 2011 theme:  "One World, Many Stories."

I'll be busy right up until the time I leave in mid-June.

Fanny Lake Trail

A near perfect day with temperatures in the 40's.  Gary and I spent the afternoon exploring the Jones Spring area in the Nicolet National Forest near Townsend. At one point, we hiked over to Fanny Lake.  There are new signs on all the trails, making the trip much easier.

Two years ago, most of the signs were down.  I was constantly lost.  I didn't mind it that much.  Being lost on a warm spring day is a fine thing.  Being lost in the winter would be unnerving.

Friendship Week results

Last night, grandson Evan Skyped me from Appleton with the results of Friendship Week in his kindergarten class.  I knew I had asked friends and readers from around the world to send cards, postcards or e-mails, but I don't know that I expected much of a response.

I still don't know everyone who sent Evan a missive, because he was waving the pieces of paper around so wildly, Skype often only showed a blur, but I know that he heard from friends from New Zealand, Australia and England.  Other cards came from Florida, Kentucky, California, and Illinois.

Each had something interesting to tell the class.  Will, out in Hollywood, is a film maker.  John and Carol, in Kentucky, live in a round house made out of a grain bin, near Lincoln's birthplace.  Sue in Australia sent photos of her children and grandchildren, all of whom had survived the Brisbane floods.   From New Zealand, Liz sent pictures of her darling papillon puppies. My oldest and dearest friend, Norma, sent a card from Illinois.  Does Evan realize we've been friends for over fifty years?

I learned that people I hadn't talked to in years are reading this blog.  It looks like some lunch meetings are in order to play catch up.

Over the weekend, I'll finally get a good look at all the letters and give a final rundown.

Recent Photo

This is just one of the almost one hundred photos that Tisha took of me the other day

Now I must get busy and edit them for PR photos to be sent to libraries along my summer route.  

Singing about Love

After church, the combined Cicero and Seymour United Methodist choirs had a soup lunch at church, followed by an hour long practice and then it was off to the Good Shepherd Home for a 45 minute concert.  We had discussed Christmas caroling at one time, but nursing homes are deluged with carolers of all ages in December then are forgotten in January and February.  Instead we did a "hymn" carol of old favorites that the residents could sing, too.  I played the piano and directed.  The piano bench was too low and I wished I had a pillow to prop my bottom up.  

Because the members of my choir are aging, I let them sit down a couple of times while I sang a couple of love songs while playing the autoharp.

The whole event went over well, so I think we will do the same thing next year.

The next big event to plan for will be our Easter service.