30×30 Challenge Day 5: A Fish Story

I told Janet last week that we should buy some fiddleheads now that they’re in season. “Why buy them,” she said, ” when we can pick them at mom’s place.” So on Sunday, our nature outing took place on the Kennebecasis River shoreline in Anne’s backyard in Hampton. It’s a beautiful setting with 50-foot maple trees that tower over a narrow section of the river. In the spring when the water’s high, you can kayak through the trees along the shore that are partially submerged in water.

The kids and I had never picked fiddleheads before so we had to be coached on how to do it properly. They grow in bunches and you pick the smallest ones, leaving at least one from each bunch behind so they’ll grow in fuller the next year. We picked enough for a couple of meals later in the week.

I didn’t pick fiddleheads when I was a kid, and I didn’t fish either. But Janet did, and she thought it would be a fun activity for the kids. She borrowed some fishing poles from the neighbours and taught Jack (and me) how to catch perch off the dock in the backyard.

We dug up some worms and Janet pierced them onto hooks for us. I tried to help but I’m very squeamish about such things, so Janet had to do it on her own. As it turned out, we didn’t need the worms. We had a lime-green coloured lure and that was enough for the perch. They were grabbing on to the hook seconds after a line was tossed in the water.

Jack caught several fish and I did too. Each time we caught one, Janet would take it off the hook (that was too much for me too) and toss it back in the water. I asked her if we could take some of them home to eat, but she said they were too small. Guess I’ll have to find something else to eat with those fiddleheads.

Jack, Ella and Mark are taking part in the David Suzuki Foundation 30×30 Nature Challenge. On the weekends they take Janet along with them. If you have any suggestions for places they should visit, e-mail Mark: fmleger@gmail.com