I am drawn to rivers. The other day I was thinking about my teenage years when I used to head to the woods and build a fire along the River Raisin in the winter. That was about seven miles from where I live today. I’m still within walking distance to the river and it still calls to me.
One day last week I remembered how my friend Tom and I used to spend an entire day along the Au Sable River near Oscoda, MI fishing for Steelhead in the middle of winter. We packed in fuel and a pack stove to heat up water to pour over our boots to warm up our feet and to make hot coffee. It was miserably cold until we felt the tug of a Steelhead on the end of our line. An adrenaline rush is all you need to keep you warm in the winter. But if you’re not fishing for Steelies, hot coffee or tea will also do the job.
This past weekend I decided to gear up and head to the river to spend some time there. I took my journal to record my observations:
- Robins are sipping water along the icy bank.
- White-breasted Nuthatches are active here.
- The sound of the river flowing by sounds nice.
- Wood is snapping and breaking in the bitter cold.
- The snow is soft and light.
- Goldfinches are flying over but not stopping.
- A dog is barking in the distance.
- I hear bluebirds.
- It’s mostly cloudy but the sky is intensely blue within the breaks.
- It didn’t take long for the water to boil..maybe three minutes
- Hot tea in a metal cup makes its own holder when you set it in the snow.
- Downey Woodpeckers are always around.
- I can hear a jet flying by.
- It’s 20 degrees F.
The Heron 