The Sidney herald., 1956-04-05

VIII q AAAASAAt1 0EAN1AA ~Oo1(N
out my big rock anchor, and set
tied down to catch enough fish
for dinner. The selection of JUS
the proper worm for bait oc-
cupied a certain amount of time
during which my potential food
agreeably re-appeared after sour
rying in panic from the noise cd
my arrival.
Those particular worms must
have been tasty, for within a
couple of hours / had two or
three dozen shiny, Speckled little
| fellows, and / could hardly wait
to get back TO the house and show
off my catch, the largest of which
probably was eight inches long.
My father said all good fisher
men cleaned their own catch,
and I set 30 with a will. In the
back of my mind was a hazy
memory of watching a Canadian
guide clean and scale fish It
had looked so easy when he did
it that ! saw no reason / couldn't
duplicate his actions.
1t took me almost as long 10
clean those little mites as it had
to catch them. In due time / pre-
Sented my mother with a plate
of ragged, SCARED, moth-eaten
pieces of fish. Not very big to
start with, / had reduced them to
shvers that looked as though they
had suffered in a game with a
bunch of playful kittens. But they
were cooked and | ate them
proudly.
One of my greatest companions
during the summer was a young
doe that had been raised on a
from a fawn and who
thought humans made fine
friends. Each morning Nanny"
would come into the clearing,
up the four wooden steps
to the door, and demand break
fast. Dissatisfied with normal
deer fare, she preferred hot cakes,
especially when they Were covered
with maple syrup. l could hold
one in my mouth, then she would
place her front hooves on
ny shoulders, lift herself and re-
move the hotcake without spilling
drop of syrup.
/ was also fascinated with a
of porcupineS living under
porch. Every night we could
lear them gnawing on branches
md roots they had pulled in
them, and twice we care
essly left fishing rods within
heir reach, to find much of the
'arnish chewed off the next
morning. When they waddled off
nto the woods / used DO tag along
uriouSly behind. So sure were
hey of their own protection, they
eldom bothered even to glance
t me.
Eventually, our summer ended,
nd we must start for home. That
1orning, as though she sensed
UT departure, Nanny for the first
lme brought her family to call {
n us. When she came for a last
lece of sugar, she was followed ]
y twin fawns, still spotted and
reading warily on tiny pipestem ]
egs. A yearling buck also trail =
d her to the edge of the clear $
lg. but he refused to leave the {
rotecting trees as he watched us I
uriouSly. ]
Since that time l have seen
lany beautiful lakes and forests. I
ut always the memory of Pretty
AXE will shine bright and clear. {
Lere 1t was / learned to initiate ]
lie wild quavering call of the
so exactly / could entice !
lie birds within a few feet of a
lie shore. / grew to love the soil \
and peace of the woods,
armed to listen, as only a child d
IN, to the music of the wild +
.
In my childish heart and soul s
as nurtured a reverence and ap-
'eciation for the myriad values t
the wilderness that have been a
lrt of me ever since. No matter a
wv tense any situation may be- A
me, the remembrance of these e
can always reduce trifles '
their actual importance. Re-
ling how the moonlight stream g
across the water, hearing the Il
ons again, / know now that
csc things r truly vital por- g
of my life. G
l have never gone back though Il
have wanted to many times. / fl
1uld rather remember Pretty
in its perfection, as we all n
member and treasure those ear E
memories of places we have d
yed. S