Outdoor Life
My middle brother, the one who lives near Charleston, SC and hosted that most excellent oyster roast last weekend, is an avid fisherman and outdoorsperson. He acquired this gene from our Dad and great-grandparents. Any piece of the hunting/fishing gene that I received was displaced by dark early-morning shivering in duck blinds as a 5 or 6-year-old, and watching a bobber drift listlessly in the polluted currents of the Maumee River. I think it’s the sitting part I couldn’t abide - I love the outdoors.
His house sits on a nice piece of property that includes a woods and a pond that he installed 5 or 6 years ago. He meticulously researched how to create an ecosystem that would nurture and sustain a fish population, and introduced bluegill and then bass, and it’s a rousing success. He is now able to walk back to his pond, throw in a line and catch dinner whenever the urge comes over him.
Offsetting this hunter-gatherer image is the fact that both he and his wife genuinely love animals. They accreted an unlikely collection of dogs through a process of taking in strays, and a pair of pet ducks frolic in the pond, paddling serenely amongst some of our dad’s old duck decoys anchored there. In the fall, they put a motion-activated camera out by the pond, and I think they watch many more deer feeding on the grain they scatter out there than my brother does from his deerstand in the woods.
Which brings us to Shamu. Shamu is the name they’ve given to a bass in the pond that may approach 10 pounds. When we go out to scatter fish-food on the water, Shamu strikes the pellets with an impressive flash and splash. I tried to photograph him, but had to settle for one of his smaller mates, the shadow behind the Muscovy duck below:
The relationship becomes questionable, though as we walk around the lake and Shamu follows us. You get the feeling that, if it could, it would follow us back into the house, curl up in the bathtub and sleep contentedly. Befriending a bass in the south is akin to fraternizing with the enemy, and could lead to suspicions that something like this is going on:
My brother still takes fish out of the pond to toss fresh on his grill for dinner. However, he admits to having caught and released Shamu several times. I expect to continue to see Shamu in the years ahead, and enjoy his/her affable companionship on walks around the pond - at least until he gets big enough to contemplate a taste for duck. Choices will have to be made, then.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????