The Olde Duck Hunter

by

Carroll V Strout

May 4, 2019

Current Events:

Spring is moving right along despite all the rain and cold weather. If we got several days of sunshine and seventy degree temperature my grass would jump to the heavens.

I am still waiting for my first dandelions and fresh brook smelts.

Our lilac bushes are developing little leaves along with the maple trees. Of all our shrubs the one I enjoy the most is our magnolia bush. It produces a beautiful flower with exceptional aroma.

Over the weekend my son Zachary and my grandson Konner spent their first night this spring at their camp at Schoodic Lake. Zac said he saw one boat out on the lake fishing early in the morning.

My next door neighbor Dick Paul is getting his tractor rotor-tiller ready for use.

On Friday when Buzzer Grant was at my house to give me a much needed haircut, he told me the coyote hunters had a successful winter hunting the deer killers.

Bits & Pieces:

One summer when in Grammar School, I remember the sardine carrier unloading it’s fish. The herring came the length of the wharf in a sluice, and then it went up the hill on a conveyor. It was at this point that many town’s people would pick out fish they wouldn’t be packing such as mackerel, harbor pollock, & flounder. One day there was a great abundance of a small flat sided fish called dollar fish. They were delicious to pan fry. Unfortunately, that was the only time I even saw them.

Again, when in Grammar School the flounder were so plentiful many lobster fishermen would spear them on the flats on a flood tide to use as lobster bait. Gone are those days due to the over fishing of draggers.

Again when I was in Grammar School for a winter’s job there was a lot of four foot pulp wood cutting behind Milbridge. One man by the name of Clair Roberts yarded much of the wood with his team of horses and sled. Clair smoked a pipe and you could always tell when he had been because there were empty yellow tobacco pouches everywhere.

Well folks that was the way it was another time another story. Just remember one thing no matter what life bestows upon us the smoke will go up the chimney just the same.