Late April-early May - For the past few years, I've done the auction at the Miramichi Salmon Association's (MSA) annual Ice Breaker fundraising dinner. This year (2018) it was held on April 28th at the Woodmen's Museum in Boiestown. I usually go up a few days early, and stay a few more after the dinner. Always feels good to shake off the winter's cabin fever along the river...and enjoy a cocktail with (since Bridget and I have closed on our new property on the Miramichi) the couples that will be our nearest neighbors, Earl and Mary to the east and Vin and Hazel to the west. Missing in the photo is Danny, whose camp we are enjoying in the photo:
I do enjoy Spring fishing for kelts on the river, but this year it was unfishable during my entire stay, usually looking like this (from behind a screen):
A quick look at the river flooding by camp that evening:
In fact, there was wide-spread flooding throughout the region at that time. Fredriction, NB was especially hard-hit when the St. John River (a HUGE river at that point) went over its banks. Some of our new property is part of the Miramichi's flood plain; you cannot build on the flood plain, for these obvious reasons:
Black ducks and a large shorebird enjoyed the temporary flood:
MSA honors an individual at every Ice Breaker for their commitment to the goals of the organization. This year's honoree was my good friend Renate Bullock; my pal Vin Swazey made the remarks on behalf of MSA:
A day or so later, Vin and I made a run down to the Blackville area to visit our friend Howie at his camp. Friends and family in attendance:
And Howie spinning bugs for the coming season:
It was a fine week or so of fun, games and work along the Miramichi; the weather, not so much. A quick recap of the changing face of the river at that time of year (kind of refreshing, since I'm writing this on a 95 degree Vermont July first!): (click on the pics for the bigger photo!)
And the frosty 5a.m. of the day I had to head home:
Stay tuned for further shenanigans!
Cheers,
Gary
Gary - great photos. I do love it up there at that time of the year. If I catch a few kelts it really is just a plus. It is fun to see the area come back to life after the brutal winter. Brad
ReplyDeleteAnd on this 95 degree Vermont day, it's really fun to look back on the Spring. Glad you enjoyed the photos, Brad, and I'll have to see what's up with the robot checker on blogspot. Thanks for the heads up about how hard it is to add a comment!
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