I walked down to the dock the other day to empty the rain water that had collected in our paddle boat.

I wasn’t alone.

The hen mallard and her ducklings were there. The school of young-of-the-year smallmouth bass were there. The whirligig beetles were there and the list could go on and on.

Just another day on the dock and how fortunate I am. 

You see , a dock isn’t just a platform of wood and metal to tie your boat to. It’s more, so much more. It’s a bridge of sorts or a link between the terrestrial world and the aquatic.  Because of this connection, it becomes a perfect place to observe and learn about nature.  

Many of my  memories have come from time spent on the dock. It was there that I learned how to swim. Cast with a fly rod. Clean a fish. Operate a boat and motor. Pull a leech off my toe. Trap a mink. Fall in love. Wrap my shivering daughter in a warm towel. Tie her ice skates. It was there that I observed ice forming. Dragonflies hatching. Bass spawning. Turtles laying eggs. Big ugly spiders. A bald eagle kill and eat a loon. Waterlilies bloom. A phoebe catching mayflies. Beavers constructing a lodge.

I’m sure I could wear out this keyboard with stories of my time spent on the dock. When you are in the Ely area you are never far from a dock. So what are you waiting for?

Make the connection.