Go cranberry picking, of course! It was a dark and stormy day. I know that's a slight variation on the well-known phrase, but that's the kind of day it was. Al says there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. So, we tried to be as prepared as we could be as we headed out to canoe the Great Meadow and pick cranberries. I had my waders. Al had his waders and I had enough layers to hopefully keep me warm and dry.
It was not raining hard when we started down the Meadow, but the water was running really high. Dave had told me that he had let the water down on the dam on Nubanusit Lake, so I expected it to be high. Al thought that the beavers had been hard at work as well, but we didn't encounter any beaver dams high enough to slow us down. In fact, all the dams that we normally have to pull over were so easily crossed that we were at the prime cranberry spot in no time.
Thank goodness for our waders--the water was up to our knees.We picked for over an hour, two gallons between us. I finally found that my hands were not working anymore and I decided to call it quits. The wind and rain were picking up. It was time to move on.
We didn't see much wildlife on this day: a duck frantically flying into the wind, crows, and we could hear ravens calling from the trees. We also watched turkeys walking across the lawn of a house that borders the Meadows. We heard something behind us, but neither of us could identify the source of the sound.
It was an easy paddle to the portage, and I, for one, was grateful that we didn't have to work hard. It was enough, at this point, just to keep warm. I tried to add a layer at one point, but with my waders cinched tight over my raincoat, it was more effort than it was worth. No matter. We were soon at the portage and we carried our gear to Al's car as the water roared through the old mill site.
A wild day on the Great Meadow, but well worth it for the cranberries that we will enjoy in the coming months.
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