Something fishy going on

Apologies, readers, for the long silence. I've been away from the computer since J and I fled the cities ten days ago to buccaneer about northern Minnesota and ignore any obligations that might rudely intrude upon our summer.

On July 23, we found ourselves a rustic campground in Lake County. I won't name this lovely site. That might encourage other people to use it--a thought that fills me with deep revulsion. But PK, you know the spot. We camped about 50 yards away with the ladies last year; it's a walk in.

From prior expience, I knew the local waters to be reasonably fishy. While cleaning the dishes in the shallows, I saw why: the lake teems with big shiner minnows. For walleyes and northerns, that must be like a free, 24 hour buffet. One morning, I left two breakfast plates with scrambled egg residue to soak in the water. An hour later, you couldn't see a speck of egg. The mob of hungry shiners had picked it clean.

When I stood still, the shiners swarmed about my feet. It tickled.