One of the things I love about Minnesota is all the water. There are gorgeous lakes everywhere~ we boast of 10,000 lakes, but there are actually many more. We also have gorgeous rivers. I love the St. Croix River~ it’s right on the edge of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It’s one of my favorite places to go.
I’ve been able to go TWICE in this past week and a half. Lucky Duck!
Yesterday we spent 13 hours on the river. That had to be a record for me and my kiddos. We went with our Pastor Mick, who we have dubbed “The Fish Whisperer.” He truly is.
It was the perfect day to be on the river. We got some sun, went swimming and FISHED.
It’s hard work being a Cowboy Fisherman.
It takes deep concentration.
It’s also hard being a Rockstar Fisherman, but someone’s gotta do it…
We were all excited about this Northern Pike, but threw him back in…and he didn’t just take off, as we expected him to…
So Mick worked on him for a while…
I might have said a prayer or two…which flashed me back to being a little girl with my grandfather, Paka. We caught a fish and I was all excited and then in despair. We brought the fish home~ I remember seeing it swimming in the bathtub. And I cried and carried on so much about that poor fish that we had to take him back.
With enough coaxing, Mr. Northern Pike finally took off~ it took about 5 minutes!~ and seemed good as new.
We had a run-in with some ducks…little pretty beggars is what they are…
Greyley tried to shoo them away a bit~ the little man and I don’t like them QUITE so close…
They were having none of it. Turns out, they have a keen taste for Ruffles. Boy, they knew the sound of that bag opening and came swarming in…
Once they realized I wasn’t giving them any (more), they settled in and I rather liked them. Look at that gorgeous purpley-blue feather they all have…just one little section on each wing. So pretty.
I’ve always wanted to do that with my head.
Love this picture…
We had such a great time. The best part was around 10:30 PM~ Indigo was asleep on my lap (he fought the good fight until 10!), Nate was naming the constellations, and Mick & Greyley were still fishing. Mick told Greyley to sing and sing LOUD and she did. My girl is a Stevie Wonder aficionado and she started singing, “Higher Ground” out there under that deep blue sky with all the stars shining and I got goosebumps...it was such a moment.
Ahh, thanks for reliving a little of our day with me…I’ll save last week’s water skiing pictures for another day… 🙂