Hungry Fish

Fall weather is creeping up on Presque Isle.  Nightly lows are in the mid- to low-50s, and likely to go lower in the next few days.  Daytime temperatures will be in the high-60s to mid-70s.  I love the fall.  For many years this was my favorite time to head north for a camping vacation.

Below are more photos of my firewood operation a couple days ago.  Splitting is slow work.  I have to sort out wood worth splitting (some is too rotted to bother with), and then brush off the dirt, if any.  After that I have to stack it.  All this involves much bending, stooping, and hauling.

Early yesterday morning thunderstorms moved through northeast Lower Michigan and continued booming until Noon.  Then it turned partly sunny.  I tried to capture some of the morning's misty moodiness, but my camera doesn't do that, at least not very well.  Maybe it's the photographer.

The firewood operation on Sept. 5, and
(below) the main pile on the same day.

I am walking the main woodpile back from the house.
What I don't split, I'll throw toward the back of the pile.

A rainy September 7 on Lake Esau.  My Canon didn't
capture the low light and mistiness of the day.

The wood area from the guest bedroom on September 7.
This room has dynamite views of the lake and woods.

I've gone swimming the past couple days.  I don't stay in very long.  In part that reflects water temperature.  Without hot sun through the day, Lake Esau has cooled down significantly.  And in the past few days I've become a favorite target for little fish — hundreds of little fish! — which delight in nibbling on my feet and legs.

These must be young bass.  Smallmouth bass are spring spawners, normally spawning mid-April to July when water temperature hits 55-65 degrees.  The male first prepares a shallow nest in the gravel.  Then the female produces 2,000 to 20,000 eggs which, after fertilization, hatch within 4-10 days.  The male guards the nest until, after about two weeks, these young bass are ready to swim away.  Those which survive will mature in 4-5 years, and may live up to 10 years.

At the moment they are mere fingerlings, perhaps half an inch long, and nearly transparent.  Like "birds of a feather," these bass hang out in a school which must include a thousand or more individuals.  When I walk into the lake they immediately surround me.  They must think I'm food — the bass equivalent of a bagel and cream cheese — because they start nibbling at any and all exposed skin.  This produces an itchy sensation which is most annoying.  I can scare them away, but they return immediately.  Fearless little things!  Those which survive to mature adulthood will make good eating. •••