The minnow man went out yesterday afternoon for his first run of the year. He had to get his homework done in the office before he could go play in the woods.
You never know what will be encountered on this first run so there was quite a lot of stuff to take along: all the traps, a canoe, a chain saw, bait, hip boots, etc. The traps only get carried in once and will stay there until next fall. The bait is the heels of bread from the lodge. A chain saw is in case there are trees down on the back, back roads he goes on. The canoe is for one special place that he canoes in to set his traps. I've never been asked to go there. Also you can't have Tucker (a frisky dog) and Zach (a frisky boy) in the canoe at the same time.
Finally, the water is still high so he needed hip boots.
It drizzled and rained all morning so he was making plans to cover himself in rain gear. Then after lunch the moisture stopped coming down. By the time he left about 3:00, things were starting to dry out. After being tied to his computer all morning and half the afternoon, even wet woods and pouring rain would not have kept him in.
In a couple of days he will go back to gather in his harvest of minnows. Perhaps the beaver will have chewed down another tree or the moose will be along the shore of a back pond. Loons might even be calling. The minnow lakes probably aren't visited by 5 people besides him each summer. They are tucked away off unmarked paths and not large enough to attract visitors but they are a beautiful part of this country. Visiting them offers a welcome break from the daily routine.
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