Today our youngest son graduates from high school. This week has been filled with attending graduation events. Baccalaureate was on Sunday and our Project Graduation event will be all night following graduation. We have family visiting for the big event and it is certainly a busy time.
In addition Argy and I have been married for twenty nine years as of last Tuesday. Time sure flies when you are having fun! If you had told me on our wedding day all of the adventures we would have together, I would not have believed it. Two great kids, a beautiful place to live and a couple of amazing careers. What more could anyone ask?
Finially last Friday I completed the Mid coast Leadership Academy at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center where my team's final was an overview of the energy options that we have moving forward. Of course when it was assigned last fall there did not seem to be the urgency that there is now.
No Stripers Yet!
I've made several scouting trips on the Saint George this week and can report an amazing number of eagles, cormorants by the thousands and a few ospreys. The ravens are still in the rookery at the head of the tide and calling to each other steadily. But not one striper to the boat, I did have a half hearted bite one morning but no luck on setting the hook. Water temperatures are warm enough (62 up river and 54 in the lower river) and should improve over these next few days with a mid day low tide and sunny skies to warm the flats. I am sure that the stripers will arrive in the next week, and the summer season will be in full swing.
The run of alewives this spring is nothing short of impressive there are large schools staging right below the head of the tide in the river and good numbers of them in Seven Tree and Round ponds. Argy and I travelled to Damariscotta Mills one evening to see the fish in the fish ladder and without a doubt it was the largest bunch of fish we have seen there in over twenty years of visits.
On the freshwater the smallmouh bass have begun to spawn with the eager males defending their nests. This is sight fishing at it's finest for these aggressive fish. There is nothing as much fun as paddling the grand lake canoe along the shore of a pond with a client casting to them. This Saturday is the Union Hooked on Fishing event at Ayer Park. The weather looks like it might cooperate, hopefully the fish will too.
I like the Lund Alaskan more every day although I am still settling all of my equipment into the various storage lockers. The trolling motor definitely is a huge improvement over the ones I have used in the past with plenty of power to really move the boat. I am surprised by how long it runs on a single charge of the batteries. The other surprise is how little gas the larger outboard seems to be using. When I ordered a 75hp outboard I expected to nearly double my fuel consumption but at this point it looks like the opposite is true. I am using about half as much as the 40hp did. The real test will be when I am running every day several times a day, but so far I am very pleased with the performance.
Interesting bird sightings
Last weekend while helping Argy plant a few flowers in the rain I happened to look up and see what I thought was an American Redstart; after looking carefully through the raindrops. I was sure that it was a male redstart. Not really an usual sighting at all since they are not rare but it had been a while since I had seen one only five feet away. I did not see the female but she must be on a nest not too far away.
Yesterday we were on our walk and heard a pleasant clear bird song high in the oak tree at the end of the road. After looking carefully we could clearly see a red breasted grosbeak on one of the uppermost limbs. We could hear three or four of his compatriots singing all around. Again not an unusual sighting but it has been a while since I had seen one and this was a perfectly lit clear view leaving no doubt about what it was.
Finally this week I took my parents for a boat ride in the new Lund Alaskan on the Saint George. Since we were on the river I tried for a striper or two in the usual places. When we rounded a bend in the river we were greeted with a mass of ravens and turkey vultures spiraling up into the sky, maybe fifty birds in all. Again nothing unusual about the species or even the location but to see them all spiraling together in an updraft was pretty unusual.
We also saw a few ospreys even saw one catch two alewives on one dive right in front of us. The osprey dropped one of the alewives and it was still flopping around on the bank when we made our way back downriver.
Chat with me via AIM
I added a block to the web page that provides and indicator for when I am online and available to chat via AIM. Argy and I have been using video chat this winter when she has been travelling and it is amazing. So browse on over to Maine Outdoors to see if I am online. I would be delighted to chat with any of you that have AIM installed on your computer. What a great way to get the latest information. Of course if you are going to video chat I will need a mintue to comb my hair!
Booking now for the coming season!
Reservations continue to come in for this summer and a few popular weeks are very full already. If you are planning to be in the area please give me a call or reply to this e-mail so we can plan a date to spend some time outdoors together.
