BEAR COUNTRY
MAKE NOISE WHILE HIKING
Those words brought back a flood of memories. I was back on Flag Island in a second visiting my cousins. My aunt and uncle had a house there and we went to see them every summer.
I remember the older girls mowing a vast lawn while we younger ones splashed in the lake all day. We only got out of the water for meals and some hikes through the woods and across rocks to other parts of the island.
I don't remember why we were hiking but I do remember we were given pots and pans and told to make a lot of noise. The adults in our lives promised this noise would scare the bears away.
It must have worked because we didn't see any bears.
Oh, and by the way, this noise makes a good alarm clock if you are ever in the position where you need to wake someone. Ask my boys about that.
Ah! summer time . . .
Boat rides
trees
new mown grass
hot sunshine
warm sand
little girls
splashing in the beautiful waters of Lake of the Woods
Once I read a quote about staying on an island as a child in the summer and splashing in the water. When summer rolls around you will always try to find an island and water for swimming.
(a very lame attempt to remember a quote . . . can't find the book or remember who said it)
Then there was that family trip to another island somewhere on Lake of the Woods. We loaded our pontoon boat with supplies: a tent and blankets and pillows. We fished for our supper on the way. Have you ever fried fresh fish in sizzling butter in a cast iron skillet over an open fire? Sprinkle salt and pepper on the pieces, butter a slice of home made bread and take big bites of each. mmmmm!
My sisters and I splashed around in the water and sometimes banged our shins on huge rocks that were hidden under the water. There was an occasional blood sucker sticking to one of us when we climbed out. That called for a lot of screaming and leaping about until Mom sprinkled salt on the nasty thing and it fell off.
In the morning some of us got up early and went fishing for our breakfast.
A cool, crisp morning
watching the sun rise
reeling in slippery walleye or northern
sea gulls wheeling overhead
tossing left over minnows in the air for those shrieking beggars
laughter
blue sky
blue water
orange life jackets
running along the beach
looking for driftwood
Minnesota
The land of 10,000 lakes
2 comments:
Oh, I remember summer vacation on Flag Island, too! And when living in NW Ontario I had the privilege of eating walleye fried fresh over an open fire many times. How I wish I could taste that again!
There is something about the out doors that makes food taste scrumptious!
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