Posts Tagged ‘fishing’
stopping to fish
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cows along the road outside Arcais (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Maps)
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The first part of my trip continued through the old town of Arçais. If ever there was a town I wanted to linger in…
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old stone walls along street in Arcais (image from Street View)
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Arçais is an old town, but it also had a recreational area where you could rent a boat, have a cool drink and stay a few days…
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recreation area in Arcais (image from Street View)
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Beyond Arçais was a riverside road, with small groups of five or six closely-spaced older houses at intervals…
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groups of connected houses along the river (image from street View)
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Of course, I stopped to talk to a fisherman I saw along the way…
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fisherman along the river (image from Street View)
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Fisherman: ‘Bonjour! Est-ce que vous voulez rester ici et pêchez avec moi? J’ai une autre canne à pêche!’ (Hi. Would you like to stay and fish with me? I have another fishing rod.)
Jane: ‘Mais, est-ce que vous avez un autre moulinet?’ (But, do you have another fishing reel?)
Fisherman: ‘Bien sûr!’ (Of course!)
Jane: ‘Mais, est-ce que vous avez une autre ligne de pêche?’ (But, do you have another fishing line?)
Fisherman: ‘Certainnement!’ (Of course!)
Jane: ‘ Est-ce que vous avez des autres hameçons?’ (Do you have other fish hooks?)
Fisherman: ‘Oui, j’ai trois autres hameçons.’ (Yes, I have three other fish hooks.)
Jane: ‘Mais, est-ce qu’il y ont des poissons?’ (But, are there any fish?)
Fisherman: ‘Non, il n’ont pas des poissons aujourd’hui. Mais, vous savez, les poissons ne sont pas l’objectif de pêcher!!!!’ (No, there aren’t any fish today. But, you know, fish are not the main purpose of fishing!!!)
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Best View: a quaint lane in Arçais and a house with purple and blue shutters…
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
a sudden change of seasons
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a pleasant bike trip along the river (image by Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map by Google Earth)
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On March 18, I spent my time biking along the river (the Sèvre Niortaise). I loved the reflections on the water and the boats docked along the shore …
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boats along the river (image by Street View)
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Along the road, I was delighted to see a house draped in blooming Wisteria…
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in the distance, a house with blooming Wisteria (image by Street View)
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But by the time I got there, the seasons had changed, the blooms were gone and I was so disappointed not to see the flowers. I should have peddled faster!!! (Street View had photographed the blooming in April, 2010 and then recommenced in winter, January 2011) …
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Wisteria, no longer in bloom (image by Street View)
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winter vines (image by Street View)
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I also saw a fisherman along the river. He was fishing in January!
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fisherman and his truck (image by Street View)
We had a short conversation:
Fisherman: Bonjour Madame! (Hello madame!)
Jane: Bonjour. Est-ce que vous avez attraper des poissons? (Hi. Have you caught any fish?)
Fisherman: Bien sûr! Il y a un grand poisson dans mon camion … voyez-vous que les ressorts à boudin de mon camion sont en bas? (Of course! There’s a huge fish in my truck. Can’t you see how low the truck springs are?!)
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Best View: an abandoned house along the river…
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
eight days – glass floats
In days before plastic and styrofoam, fishermen used glass and wood to make floats to keep their nets buoyant.
These floats are colorful symbols of the people who make their livelihood from the sea. In fishing communities in the Maritimes, we often see fences and walls festooned with painted wooden floats and buoys.
Glass floats are rarer because they are so breakable. At home, my Dad’s collection of sea shells was always accompanied by a couple of glass floats he found at auctions. On my piano, I have a small collection of glass floats in my favorite color, green.
The tradition lives into the next generation… when I visited my family in Ontario for eight days, earlier this month, I was delighted to see a basket of variously-colored glass floats on the hearth of the wood stove.
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glass floats
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the fog’s still glow
penetrates glass
and air incorporated
an age ago
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weightless, flamboyant
on salt water
swell
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glass inflation
tethered by hemp
on an ocean
whipped to froth
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© Jane Tims 2012
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