Dear Editor,
Yesterday was so magnificent. Found myself again spiritually through the power of being in nature. Plenty of places along the way to stop and throw a line but fell to the wanderization of what lay ahead. Just curious if I could get to the bend that I could see ahead. I wondered about the cedar tree way out in the distance on the bend on the pathway. It had to be even better up ahead?
Not that I couldn’t find peace and harmony at each stop as I examined the area. However, when seeing an area that is new my imagination can’t help but to imagine different scenarios. Was there another bridge or opening that would allow for something special, a channel or bay. Never made it to the ceder I first saw in the far distance but I was just looking for the perfect spot. Decided to stop at the furthest island across from me on the walkway and found a piece of white old marble flat in the water. T
he water failed to reach the top ensuring I stayed dry from the lake but suffered what light mist that came from the sky. No one likes standing or sitting on either jagged marble nor granite or at 25° to 45° angles all day.
As I sat there I was grateful for the work our fish & wildlife board has done. Without them guiding the way for our hatcheries and fisheries I wouldn’t be able to enjoy this wonderful moment and chance to harvest a lake trout. The lake trout in Lake Champlain is just one of the many success stories the department has had over the decades. I hoped a lake trout would leave the feeding grounds for something new they saw much as what motivated me to be where I was.
Left side of the walkway was murky, nasty and dirty. Debris and logs floated everywhere…. I bounce the line to shore slowly.
The right side one could see everything. Water was clear but empty of life swimming beneath. While I threw a worm on the right side in hope of something, the only thing found was green algae that overwhelmed the line sinker and worm.
Nothing seemed to like what I offered.
As I was walking back, Sparrows flew around with dry dead grass in their mouths making nests in old abandoned trees. They were signing warnings of a large man with a pole outside their home. The flying around in front of me stopped life at that moment and I fell into a trance watching them sing and dance in the air, much of what you would expect from a ballerina if they could fly in the air as gracefully.
I sat by a boulder as I fished and am still confused as to who was more scared as a black and white duck swam around the backside of the boulder. It saw me and flew as quickly as it could. I could feel the air and bits of water from the frightened duck as it splashed in order to achieve liftoff into the air against the water’s grounding abilities.
However, even in that moment I quickly returned to a calming state of my being in nature. It was soaking through my skin refreshing and awakening me for the days to come. Perfect harmony between tired and at peace. Quiet tranquility. Anything could happen and I was sure my sense of peace would overcome any negativity that may crawl in. This is why I love the outdoors.
Only thing that would have been better was catching something to feed my family and share the sweat equity of the day with. Harvesting the bounty of the state I live in is rewarding. By any means allotted to me through the Vermont Constitution. Offering my prize to my kindred spirits within my house creates a sense of tradition that hopefully will be passed on not only to my kids but theirs as well.
Question is will their experience be similar to mine? I’m concerned that if S.258 is passed in the house it will alter the course of the fish & wildlife board and it will not be for the betterment of society. Please call your Vermont House Representative and say no to S.258. Our Fish & Wildlife Board is operating correctly and is a large cause of many success stories from the lake trout in Champlain to our loons all the way to our wonderful deer herd. There is nothing broken so let’s leave our fish and wildlife board the way it is.
Jeremy Ayotte,
Fletcher
