Spring is teasing us again, as usual

As spring continues on in its usual attempt to keep us guessing, the birds are continuing to entertain me. I am not very impressed with the starlings and blackbirds that now appear at my feeders, but I guess that they have to eat too. Early Sunday morning I had a visit from a red breasted woodpecker that graced my suet feeder. Those are big birds with beautiful red feathers adorning their head. Now, as in other birds I have yet to determine who was allowed to name these birds. Red Breasted woodpeckers have no red on their breast, just as purple finches are not purple but red. Either the person bestowing the names on these birds was color blind or was a jokester. No matter what the name, I enjoy watching the birds at my feeder, either at home or at my cabin. I have to say the cabin has a larger variety and does not have any blackbirds or starlings. There may be a pair of red winged blackbirds that visit from the lake, but they do not annoy me in the least. When I was a kid growing up north of town and hanging out at the slough on Bridge Avenue, I longed for the sound of the redwing blackbird’s arrival, because I knew that it meant spring was officially here.

Until next time: It looks like the lakes are open for business, unless there is some ice hiding in a bay somewhere. I believe that the winter has allowed the area lakes to escape freeze-out again this year. I see that they are still getting snow up and around where my cabin is, so I would guess that it will be awhile before I venture north. The first visit of the season to the cabin is always the busiest. Raking leaves, picking up fallen branches and, hopefully, there will be no fallen trees to deal with. The ground is sandy, rocky with clay underneath, so the tree roots do not go that deep. This means that a heavy snow with strong winds can cause a tree or two to topple over.

I can’t believe how quickly our last snowfall disappeared. This time of year, we usually have to keep an eye on the weather because you never can tell when old “Mother Nature” could spring a surprise snowstorm on us. I still have to get my outboard motor in the shop before we get too far into spring.

I can’t wait to wet a line and get on the water. I may have to do a little shore fishing, which is something that I also enjoy. Buy some bait, find a quiet place, and watch a bobber do its thing for a couple of hours, I don’t think it gets any better than that. I’ve often said that there is nothing more relaxing than watching a bobber moving ever so slightly in a breeze.

Fishing piers and shore fishing sites

The DNR cooperates with local government units to install and maintain accessible fishing piers and shore fishing sites across the state. Parking is generally located within 300 feet, with a hard surface path from the parking area to the pier. Public water access and fishing pier maps are available for most counties, or by request from the DNR Information Center.

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