Prodigal fisherman returns - Part 5

[theronmad]

Great pics anв мукг interesting form of digital essay. I read about this learning and reporting technique earlier on the blog and it's a really fun form of learning. I like. By the way, I wondered - what kind of camera do you have, and what settings did you make for such an image?

[headwaters]

Wow, Tim, what a fabulous travelogue (fishologue?)! Are you sure you aren't working for the UP fishing association or tourist industry?

And, thanks for taking us along with you!

[flyty2]

My grandmother lived in the UP. As a kid, I remember driving across the Mackinac Bridge. The bridge scared my grandmother when she drove across it, but my brothers and I thought it was neat to look down through the grating that was the road surface and see the water. Across the bridge, the road ended at my grandmother's house. Thick woods surrounded the house, and the lake was a short walk away. Sometimes neighbors would load us onto their boats and ferry us into town. Apparently, it was easier to get to town by boat than to drive. I remember the beautiful wood of those small boats. There was a tiny island off the shore, and we thought it was great fun to get a boat ride to the island. Sometimes my grandmother would take us to the Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, where she carefully explained how boats could travel between the Great Lakes by navigating into the Locks, then the water level was either raised or lowered. I couldn't understand it, but it all seemed so fascinating. My grandmother took us to a trout pond where kids can catch their first fish. I remember the proprietor threw a bunch of feed pellets into the water and the fish were tailing as they scrambled after the pellets. Then you dunked your bait in the water, and within a few seconds, you caught your first fish. I think my older brother held the rod while I watched. Apparently, fish catching wasn't for the very young.

One summer, my parents were traveling in Europe, and they couldn't take three kids with them, so two of us got to spend the summer with my grandmother in the UP. I lost out, and I had to travel with my parents in Europe. Boring church after boring church. The next time I see my brothers, I'll have to ask them what they remember about living in the UP for the summer. That was 50 years ago.

The house actually belonged to my grandmother's sister who was senile, and my grandmother and another sister took care of her until she died. Then the heirs sold the house, and my grandmother and her sister packed up their things, and I drove them across the country to one of those big retirement communities in Southern California, where they could be close to my Mom. I imagine they lived in sorrow, surrounded by a concrete jungle, for the rest of their remaining days. As a young man, I did not understand all that.

[fefferje]

Hey Tim. Just Gorgeous photos. Very Grateful to feast my eyes on beautiful water and woods. What a gorgeous shot of the stars, really magnificent. It looks like the top of a tree in the foreground of the sky-star shot. Below that one is that a sunset or the northern lights?? Thanks again, Jed