trout season Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

Tohickon Creek in April

I just realized something: I don’t have any photos taken of my beloved Tohickon Creek in April. At least I don’t have a single photo from April 2020 – and none so far this year, either. (I’ll have to make a point of remedying this situation!) I discovered this when I went looking for a recent photo to use of the creek and the latest one I could find was taken last week, on March 30^th. Feeling resourceful, I thought, “OK, I’ll search my archive and try to find one from last April.” Nope.

The reason, I suspect, is because April is Trout Season in Pennsylvania, and the Tohickon, being stocked with trout, is a tremendous magnet for those who commune with nature in that manner. W’re thus routinely inundated with fisherpeople throughout the month of April.

Sounds of Nature

The reason I went searching for a photo of the Tohickon to begin with was because I wanted to write a little about an interesting article I read about how the sounds of nature soothe our anxious minds and make our lives better.

As you can read for yourself, the sounds of running water and birds are the soothers-in-chief. Not the slightest surprise to me. There are times when I visit my Tohickon, park in the little pull-off close to the bank of the creek, open my car window, and just close my eyes. Listening to her voice is a balm to my soul that’s almost indescribable.

And of course, I only wax rhapsodically about the birds around our house in practically every other post I write. Speaking of which, they’ve been pretty quiet lately – hungry brooding hawks, I suspect, having a somewhat chilling effect on the allure of our feeders. But even when they’re playing it safe and sticking close to their nests, their joyful songs inevitably resume after a short period of silence.

There is one creature, though, who’s lately been basking in the glory of the sounds of nature, the warmth of the sun, the inherent freedom of being outside without a harness, and the comfort of being surrounded by his humans.

Yes, sometimes Spartacus seems to have ‘the’ life.

Spartacus Enjoying the Sounds of Nature – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-233)

Trout – en.wikipedia.org

What Was Going On?

If you live anywhere near me, I’ll bet you’re probably already asleep as I write this. (Ergo, it’s almost certainly Sunday morning when you’re reading this post.) If that’s the case: Good morning!

I know it’s trite to talk about the weather, but wow. The weather today was such a profoundly welcome taste of spring it made my heart sing. It was the perfect combination of sunshine, cool breezes, and occasional clouds to welcome in the first day of my personal new year.

Needless to say, we took a walk early in the day, expecting to take another one more toward twilight. That second walk didn’t materialize, but if we’re lucky, we’ll make up for it tomorrow. Nevertheless, it is destined to be at least slightly less exquisitely delightful as tonight’s would have been, since it’ll probably be 20 degrees cooler tomorrow than it was today.

Why All the Cars?

When we took our walk late this morning, we were astonished at how creative people were being vis-à-vis parking at High Rocks. No kidding. I have to wonder how people justify parking their cars in some places.

And there were dozens of cars parked along the berm of the couple of roads leading to the park. I’ve never seen so many cars parked in such obscure areas before.

It turns out that today was the first day of trout season in 18 southeastern Pennsylvania counties, Bucks included.

It never would have occurred to me that trout were the allure to all of this park traffic, since we were walking, as I said, close to High Rocks – which is a park known for its gorgeous cliffs overlooking the Tohickon Creek. I am aware that the Tohickon is stocked with trout, but I would not have guessed fisherpeople would park quite so far away from the creek.

Communion With Nature

There’s something peaceful and mesmerizing about fly fishing, which is the primary type of fishing that’s done in the Tohickon. It feels like more of a communion with nature than an attempt to dominate it.

Another thing I will definitely double check on tomorrow, but overall, fisherpeople tend to at least appear to be more respectful, as a group, of the concept of leaving a place as clean or cleaner than when you got there. This is tremendously important to us, since we live here and we are the ones who often end up cleaning up after bikers and hikers, who often just chuck their power bar wrappers or energy drink cartons alongside the trails and roadsides.

Given that so many people were communing, so to speak, with trout today, I thought I’d see if I could find any information from my “usual sources” about what they might be bringing into the lives of those who are so ardently seeking them out.

Adaptability – A Much Needed Skill for These Times

As it happens, in at least the several books in my library by Ted Andrews, I could not find anything specific about Trout. However, I did find this statement by Andrews in Animal-Wise to be intriguing, especially considering what seemed to be the far greater number of fishers this year than others:

“The common ancestors of all vertebrates, fish are some of the most fascinating creatures in the world. They have developed the ability to adapt to all aquatic environments, and thus they are teachers to us of the skills we need to adapt more effectively to our own environments, no matter where the waters of life take us. Fish help us discern how deep the waters are around us and how clear. They reveal the strength of the currents present within our life and life situations and how to swim with them or against if necessary.”

This seems so remarkably appropriate to our circumstances right now. It is obvious why the Tohickon calls to people to pull on their waders and enter her flow. There is no huge mystery why we would be called to seek the wisdom of the waters, as well as those who navigate her for their life.

I did not check my other reference materials tonight, but I will see if I can find any information specific to Trout for us to ponder. But clearly, just the idea of fish in general and their remarkable adaptability is delightful enough.

(T-972)