I d be reasonably comfortable wandering around the waterfront in a T-shirt this morning. Believing that most of the winter is now behind us, cabin fever has become a barely-remembered curiosity as we start building plans for Spring cleanup and getting all our docks and boats ready for the water. Buffleheads have been with us for nearly three weeks now in the open water in front of the marina, a sure sign that the worst is nearly over.
Deer are incredibly numerous and absolutely everywhere at all hours of the day and night.
I ve been fooled before, and I guess most of us have when we gamble a bit on the weather. Last year, our first boat headed down the ramp and out the Salmon to Lake Ontario on March 4. That s all part of the game, and what little inconvenience it caused made little difference, since everyone was simply so glad to be back on the water and beating up the Brown Trout along the icy shoreline that those few remaining cold waves just made for mildly interesting conversation. Since we ve had two already, that means the snow and ice has had little time to build up in between, and what high water we re seeing should be of relatively short duration. It also means that we ve had nearly three weeks of intensified incoming steelhead to brighten things up for those on the river.