Riverine Chronicles

I could see it feeding below the edge of the lilly pads, and had to approach slowly. The toes of my bare foot rested just inches above the water as I stood on the corner and paddled towards the slimy edge where the biggest turtle id ever seen in my pond lay. The afternoon sun was bright and it made his dark mossy back show up against the lime green carpet of weeds that covered the bottom. It was my own pond. I was the turtle king. This turtle was elusive and I had only ever seen him twice before. He was nearly 2 feet across the back of his brown and green moss covered shell. His head was bigger than my fist and the claws on his feet seemed like knives to my eight year old eyes. As I approached the snapper from behind I sensed my advantage, and paddled harder, but soon realized the increasing tsunami created by the blunt hull of the paddle boat was heading straight towards him. I saw his reaction as the wave rolled over the turtle and through the scum. I slammed the long handle of t

I was always curious about the creeks.  Usually on the way to some stretch of the main branch we would cross any number of creeks.  Some fairly large ones and lots of tiny ones. Eventually I’d seek them out. It was usually by myself on the way home from somewhere, when I could steal away for a few hours.  One of the most memorable creeks I found drained into the Jordan.  It was a bright morning in late July and the sun was hot. I had three hours until I was planning on meeting my family on the beach in Charlevoix.  We drove separately in order to spot our car at the end of our canoe trip the next day. I had the canoe strapped on top but I wouldn’t need it here.   The air was moist and I started sweating instantly upon opening my car door.  The mosquitoes swarmed in. I removed my sunglasses, closed my eyes, and applied the magic. I put the little bottle in my shirt pocket for later.  I grabbed the 2 piece spinning rod from the backseat and strung it up. I tied on a bla