Late Winter, time to go with the flow...

We did get out yesterday and found open, running water, right where we had left it, in one of the small tributaries of the St. Croix River. Although the St. Croix itself is ice and snow covered, it was a joy to see the sparkle and hear the burble of the feeder stream. We're not sure if the creek we visited actually hosts a sucker run or not. We'll check back in a couple of months or so and see if we can learn anything. According to the St. Croix 360 blog/web site, the St. Croix is home to 14 species of suckers, buffalo or redhorse (and many other fish species also).

looking upstream

Photo by J. Harrington

After satisfying our need to see and hear moving water, we headed for Coffee Talk in Taylors Falls, where we treated the Better Half to a cappuccino, enjoyed sitting in the sunshine of the bay windows, and then were off to Wild River State Park where we bought this year's Minnesota State Parks vehicle sticker for the Jeep. Other than the open water and the sunshine, we didn't come across any noticeable signs of impending Spring, although we did notice a couple of wild turkeys trudging through a snow-covered field and, several miles further on, a rooster pheasant pecking gravel at roadside. With more snow in the local forecast tomorrow and this coming weekend, it's shaping up as a tough Spring for local wildlife. There's growing numbers of deer trails/tracks in the snow behind the house. It looks like they're visiting the brush pile seeking possible browse. Life can be tough when you're in the midst of a February that may set a local record for all-time snowiest.

looking downstream

Photo by J. Harrington

The River

By Jim Harrison

Yes, we'll gather by the river,

the beautiful, the beautiful river.

They say it runs by the throne of God.

This is where God invented fish.

Wherever, but then God's throne is as wide

as the universe. If you're attentive you'll

see the throne's borders in the stars. We're on this side

and when you get to the other side we don't know

what will happen if anything. If nothing happens

we won't know it, I said once. Is that cynical?

No, nothing is nothing, not upsetting just

nothing. Then again maybe we'll be cast

at the speed of light through the universe

to God's throne. His hair is bounteous.

All the 5,000 birds on earth were created there.

The firstborn cranes, herons, hawks, at the back

so as not to frighten the little ones.

Even now they remember this divine habitat.

Shall we gather at the river, this beautiful river?

We'll sing with the warblers perched on his eyelashes.

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