Watching the salmon..er... trout leaping. I think.

  On Monday, I went to the 2nd annual meeting of the business and travel tourism group, Canal New York. They chose the Red Mill Inn in the village of Baldwinsville, NY -- a place I've seen on a sign many times along the NYS Thruway on the way to Syracuse, but never really knew. Baldwinsville, I mean. I didn't know the Red Mill Inn existed, and I was in for a nice suprise. It sits on the banks of the Seneca River, along a part of the Erie Canal system. The day was not one of our Upstate best -- cold and rainy. (Hey! We had a whole string of sunny warm weather. We needed that rain.) But the Inn was warm and full of nice people who are passionate and committed to bringing the economic and tourism focus to this beautiful, underappreciated, historic and vital system of waterways.

     After the meeting, we went upstairs to a nicely appointed hospitality room overlooking the river, a dam and a canal lock. A pretty intriguing view even on a gray day. There was wine (New York, I hope) and tasty munchies.

     But I got one special moment sitting in my car after the meeting, while I was checking voicemail. Out on the raging spring water, with the perfect rocky perch, a blue heron hunted his dinner. That wasn't hard -- fish were leaping everywhere. I saw one try to make the dam, going upriver. The heron held a small fish in its mouth, gauging the size as the fish slapped and struggled. Then, in about four long gulps, the fish disappeared down the heron's throat.

     On the way home, driving on the Thruway (we may have our problems in New York, but the roads are good), I thought about all the wildlife we have here. Have you seen the Montezuma Wildlife Preserve? You drive through it on the Thruway. Black bear are frequent guests in my part of western New York -- in the Bristol Hills around the Finger Lakes. Deer, hawks, eagles, racoons, weasels, river otter, (numerous deceased possum along the roads), red fox, coyote, fishers.... The fish I saw leaping -- I thought they were salmon. Wrong place, I think. We have them in Lake Ontario. Trout, probably.

     Whatever they were, they were wonderful to watch. Serenity now.

Comments

[Mick Mather]

LMAO at the Seinfeld "Serenity Now" reference. It wouldn't be impossible for the fish to be salmon. They do migrate into the rivers from lake Ontario and The Salmon River in Oswego County has a major, salmon fishing tourism industry centered in the Pulaski, New York area. The jumping fish you saw were probably trout though ... still a vision to see, yes?

[Marci Diehl]

Thanks Mike for that clarification! When I saw one make that dramatic leap up the waterfall, I pictured salmon. He didn't make it, though. It reminds me of one of my favorite PBS commericals (they're brilliant!) where the little golfish makes its break for freedom out of the bowl, and ends up swimming with the salmon. What really amazes and startles me is when the huge carp coming rocketing out of the surface at Canandaigua Lake. You wouldn't think things that fat and big would have the energy. Did you know that a group of British fishermen came over here to fish ofr "trophy" carp in the lakes? We think of them as trash fish. One man's throw back is another's treasure. My youngest son used to fish off the Canandaigua pier and catch 18 pounders!