Wading Journal - October 2022

Wading Journal Celebrating the Things That Connect Us

ISSUE 02

OCTOBER 2022

823 Massachusetts Street Lawrence, KS 66044

Spirit of Place: Great Blue Heron

By William Stafford Out of their loneliness for each other two reeds, or maybe two shadows, lurch forward and become suddenly a life lifted from dawn or the rain. It is the wilderness come back again, a lagoon with our city reflected in its eye.

We live by faith in such presences. It is a test for us, that thin but real, undulating figure that promises,

WORDS THAT JOIN US

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“If you keep faith I will exist at the edge, where your vision joins the sunlight and the rain: heads in the light, feet that go down in the mud where the truth is.” reprinted by permission of The Estate of William Stafford.

What a difference a year makes! Great Blue Heron Outdoors hatched barely over a year ago when we opened our Lawrence retail and coffee shop and we couldn’t be more pleased with how we’ve progressed! Like a good heron, we’ve spent the year growing and learning how to fly.

We couldn’t be more in awe of our customers and friends who have helped us over the past year. Lawrence truly is a wonderful place to make our nest! With the help of our community, we have experimented with new ideas for products and services, and we made some changes along the way as we try to improve. Sure there have been some challenges, but learning is exciting, especially with such a supportive community along for the ride. We have so many new ideas (and thought about improving on old ones) that we are ready to tackle in our second year. We have an amazing team of employees who share our vision and have been so

Bob Marsh - Great Blue Heron Outdoors

From our Founder

generous with their talents. If you haven’t met the team, we invite you to stop by the shop for a cup of coffee and a chat. At Great Blue Heron Outdoors, you’ll meet folks who have a passion for quiet waters and the outdoors– from our fishing experts to our paddling gurus; from our coffee artists to our photographers. One thing we all share is a connection to quiet places in and around the water.

Our love of our home state waterways drives our support of conservation activities. We have formed new friendships through our support of groups like the Kansas Alliance of Wetlands and Streams and Baker University Wetlands. We value their missions and want to do our part to support these initiatives.

Conservation efforts are vital to our love of our Kansas lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands and we are excited to keep making a difference with our like-minded partners.

In our first year we were busy hatching! Now that we’ve grown and learned a bit about retail, we want to tackle our vision of building our community through mentoring. We believe in education through relationships. We have heard from so many who want support in accessing water focused activities. We hope to offer classes and learning groups where our experienced community members can share their skills with others. Stay tuned for more information as we organize these activities in the year ahead and do feel free to share your thoughts and ideas!

We like our brand and are proud of it! We feel good about the warm reception we have received. We’ve enjoyed getting to know all of you and we look forward to new friends heading into our second year!

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Some of our customers are surprised to learn that in addition to being an outfitter for outdoor activities, we are also a state of the art coffee shop. Some of our customers like being in the setting of our store and our water theme even if they don’t (yet) feel the pull of the fly rod or the canoe. For all of our customers and our team, coffee is a way to connect. We love innovating new drink specials–hot and cold–to satisfy different tastes. We will keep dreaming up new beverage options to adapt to the changing seasons.

OUR FOUNDER - BOB MARSH

We’re proud that we are building a community that is connected by a love of water. As our team and the products in our store show, “love of water” can mean so many different things to different people. In our first year, we learned it is harder than we anticipated to clearly communicate our outdoor activity theme. We adopted a new tagline, “Your Quiet Water Outfitter” to help us communicate that. We have gear and products that we think will appeal to paddlers and fishers; campers and explorers; as well as photographers, birders, thinkers and dreamers. In our second year we are working hard to expand our inventory to give you a broader set of affordable outdoor products, including items that you won’t find at other outdoor retailers.

TABLE OF

Contents 1

Words that Inspire

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Words in awe of our Earth 2

Community Involvement

06

Flock Together

By Kristin Suter 3

Have a Little Fun! Relaxing entertainment

4

Catch of the Day

08 09

Simple recipes for your busy life!

Baked Salmon with Asparagus 5

Get Your Feet Wet

12

Fishing with the Seine

By Zeke Vilayoune Fly Fishing the Boundry Waters Canoe Area

By Brayden Shumaker Front Cover Photo: Kirk Wilburn Pages 7 & 16 photos: Kristin Suter EDITOR: KRISTIN SUTER

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Words that inspire...

"The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility.

To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope."

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GREAT BLUE HERON

~Wendell Berry

"But indeed, it is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit." ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Flock Together

By Kristin Suter

As a lover of birds and birding, I was delighted to experience the migration first hand here in the Mississippi Flyway. When I moved to Lawrence a few years ago, I had never seen so many birds traveling with such commitment and determination. The mesmerizing choreography of the Starlings’ murmurations, soaring like pepper sprinkled across the sky, or landing, perfectly spaced on power lines and treetops is a sight to behold.

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COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Earlier this year, I was fortunate to observe over 800,000 Snow Geese and thousands of other waterfowl at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in Forest City, MO. I also made a quick trip to Kearney, NE to see the Sandhill Cranes. While I have always admired birds in general, these experiences have progressed into a passion for learning about migration patterns and each individual species and their relationship to each other and to the environment. Here in Lawrence, this often brings me to the Baker University Wetlands, inhabited by many species of birds, particularly the redwinged blackbirds in the warmer months, and the starlings during the spring and fall migrations.

October 8, 2022 in Lawrence was a particularly crisp, clear morning, perfect for celebrating World Migratory Bird Day! Begun in 1993 as an educational campaign by the Smithsonian Institution, the day has evolved into a global effort that connects bird conservation groups all over the world. Locally, Great Blue Heron Outdoors connected with Baker University Wetlands, Operation Wildlife and Jayhawk Audubon Society to bring those conservation efforts home.

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COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Adults and children alike gathered for the Bird Migration game, rolling giant dice and following the tasks on a supersized game board set up on the lawn. Operation Wildlife brought some of their resident birds to the classroom in the Discovery Center and visitors were able to see these avian wonders up close! Louie, a 30+ year old turkey vulture and O.W.L. resident, showed off his stately wingspan in the sunlight.

Also visiting from their home at O.W.L. were a Merlin, Sally (seen below on the top right), Swainson’s Hawk called Rex, and a Broadwing Hawk named Bonner. Each of these birds has recovered from an injury that prevents them from living in the wild, so they travel with the O.W.L. volunteers to teach students around the region about birds and the work that Operation Wildlife does! A lone blue heron was wading in a small bit of water in one of the pools closest to the observation tower, and a Baker University Wetlands volunteer helped visitors observe it with binoculars and a spotting scope. Jayhawk Audubon Society had posters and stickers for guests and talked to passers-by about birding in Lawrence and beyond. Throughout the day, thousands of Franklin's Gulls came through in waves as if to provide a reminder of why we were all there.

Photos: Kristin Suter

Have a little FUN!

What's that migrating bird?

A: Magnolia Warbler B: Ruddy Duck C: Burrowing Owl - Scaled D: Markham's Storm Petrel E: Dark-billed Cuckoo F: Baltimore Oriole

G: Wilson's Warbler H: Black-crowned Nightheron I: Western Tanager J: Swainson's Thrush K: Lesser Yellowlegs HAVE A LITTLE FUN!

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Baked Salmon and Asparagus

INGREDIENTS 2 WILD-CAUGHT ALASKAN SOCKEYE SALMON STEAKS 2 TSP SPICE MIX (RECIPE ON THE NEXT PAGE) 1 MEDIUM LEMON - CUT TWO SLICES FROM THE CENTER, RESERVE THE REST WHITE WINE - ANY WHITE WINE IS FINE THIN SLICED RED ONION BUTTER

In this recipe, timing is everything!

Asparagus and potatoes can be prepped while the Salmon is marinating and the potatoes can get mashed while the Salmon and Asparagus are in the oven to get dinner on the table in about 30-45 minutes!

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BAKED SALMON AND ASPARAGUS

Directions 2

1

MARINATE SALMON In a dish just large enough to fit your Salmon, mix ¼ tsp each of parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, dill, granulated garlic, tarragon, and celery seed together, plus salt and pepper. Add juice of half of the lemon plus enough white wine to almost cover the Salmon. Marinate for up to an hour.

While Salmon is marinating, prep your potatoes for mashing.

PREP SIDE DISHES While the potatoes are boiling, prep the asparagus by tossing with olive oil, salt, pepper and arrange in a single layer on a small roasting tray. Check potatoes for doneness.

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3

READY, SET, BAKE! Place Salmon in a foil pouch with one thin slice of red onion, one slice of lemon from the marinade and a pat of butter on each salmon steak. Drizzle with a little of the marinade, and close up the foil pouch. Bake Salmon and asparagus at 375* for about 15-18 minutes. When potatoes are cooked, drain them, and prepare them to your liking.

TIME FOR PLATING Open the foil packet carefully - steam can be dangerous! Gently lift the Salmon with a spatula to plate. Arrange asparagus and potatoes, and serve with a pat of butter and a lemon wedge!

Helpful Hint Using a mortar and pestle will break up the rosemary and separate the sage. Coarse salt helps to grind the more delicate herbs. Also, if you don’t care for one of these herbs, simply replace it with something you prefer!

BY BERNADETTE SCIANDRA

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BAKED SALMON AND ASPARAGUS

Enjoy!

Photos: Bernadette Sciandra

easy upgrades for mashed potatoes ~replace milk with chicken stock ~add cream cheese for a bit of richness ~sprinkle with fresh chives ~leave the skin on for a rustic texture

Fishing with the Seine

By Zeke Vilayoune My name is Zeke. I am 7 years old and I like fishing. The first time I went into Great Blue Heron, I was amazed by all the sights. I liked all the bait that was made out of cool hair. As soon as I met Bob he changed my life of fishing. Bob said I was his target fishing customer.

At the shop, they have a net called a seine. Bob offered to loan it to me. I said, “I do not even know what a seine is,” until I looked at it. When I saw it I still couldn’t quite understand what it was for until Bob explained how it worked. I thought it was for catching fish in the sea instead of catching fish in a pond or river.

My mom, my brother and I went on a sunny day in the fall to our acreage called Hawk’s Landing. It has a farm pond that I think is 20 feet wide and 70 feet long. The pond has a lot of reeds.

Lots of them. But there is an area that was recently dug out so we used the seine in that area because we could get to the water easier. Usually I go out there with boots and if I step in the water my boots sink down and fill up with mucky water and my socks get soaked so I have to take them off and go home.

Photo: Briana Vilayoune

I like fishing a lot and fishing is my favorite thing to do all summer long. Sometimes my grandpa takes me and he is a really experienced fisherman. I felt really excited to take the seine because I was hopeful that I might catch something. We tried one area and didn’t catch anything. My mom said it took some practice to get the feel of it. And then we got to the perfect area. My mom seined for me because it was too heavy for me. She said it was awkward doing it from a muddy shoreline but thought it would be easier spanning a creek. We moved the net in and out of the water for 5 minutes and then… we caught something! It was a cute fish about 3 inches long and 1 1/2 inches tall.

When I told my grandpa later, he guessed that it was a bluegill. I was surprised because I thought bluegills are way bigger. Then we realized maybe it was a baby. I thought it was a sunfish or a crappie. It was really shiny silver, like a new quarter! We released the small silver fish back into

BY ZEKE VILAYOUNE

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the water. We caught it again. And then we caught it again! I think we didn’t throw it far enough back. It was really cute.

I felt grossed out over our second catch of the day. It looked like a wet, slimy caterpillar. It had black and white stripes. One end was pointy. The other one was more rounded. It was moving, wiggling a lot like a worm. My mom wondered if a caterpillar could survive like that in the water.

We released it at the edge of the water. Back at home we looked it up. It was… a HORSEFLY LARVA! Mom let it go because she did not know what it was but once we learned it would become a horsefly, she felt bad because we have a neighbor with a horse that could get bitten.

Bob and the nice people at Great Blue Heron are very generous to loan out the seine. It was a really fun experience for me to use the seine so I think other people should borrow it. Especially kids that like fishing.

Fly Fishing the Boundary Waters

By Brayden Shumaker Canoe Area I am by no means a fly-fishing elitist that scoffs at “bait-dunkers.” Maybe it’s my Kansan heritage and strict belief in catching enough fish for the upcoming fish fry, or the fond memories of bass fishing at Lone Star Lake or catfishing on the Kaw, but not an ounce of me thinks of myself as “better” than spin fishermen. Yet, on a recent canoe trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area I made the conscious decision to only bring a rod that lengths out at no less than 10 feet, despite the inherent practicality and efficiency of the spinning reel. Admittedly, I probably would have even been more successful with a spinning rod considering the conditions and the species of fish we were after, but somehow catching fish wasn’t the immediate goal of this fishing trip. The patience required to effectively catch fish in this region with a fly rod conveyed the purpose of this trip much more than the spinning rod, and I found a fish dinner of walleye and smallmouth to be much more fulfilling having caught them with the more artful approach of fly-fishing.

Our goal for this trip was to spend a lot of time fishing, and very little time traveling. Days 1 and 2 were spent launching our canoes and paddling through Fall, Newton, and Pipestone Lakes before finally getting to our more permanent campsite on an unnamed backwater of the Basswood River, which isn’t so much a river, as it is an endless sequence of lakes and ponds flowing into one another, with waterfalls between each body of still water to add the illusion of current. Days 5 and 6 were spent taking the same route back to the boat launch on Fall Lake. The second half of day 2, and all of days 3 and 4, were spent fishing the deep and often swift waters of the nearby waterfalls, waking up at a normal hour, and discussing everything from the 2020 Euros to the urban planning of New Haven, Connecticut with reunited high school friends. We immersed ourselves in perfect wilderness on this river that straddled the US-Canadian border and caught and ate nearly every species of fish available. We fried fish in a cast iron skillet over an open fire. We explored ponds that likely haven’t seen any human contact since the previous summer. In all, we enjoyed ourselves greatly. When we were at our homebase near Basswood Falls, the ritualistic outing to fish was the most anticipated part of our day.

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FISHING IN KANSAS

The afternoon would always be the only time our campsite is deserted. The canoes would always be gone, as we all would paddle to our day’s fishing spot. On the third day, we went to an island that was wedged between two waterfalls and two lakes.

We parked our boats where the island came to a point between the two sections of current, meaning we all could find deep moving water, which seemed to be the key to catching a dinner of smallmouth and walleye.

I ended up circumnavigating the island in hopes that I could find some sort of exceptional fishing in still water.

After about a half mile of bushwhacking and shimmying around boulders and cliffs, I worked my way down to a large rock on the North side of the island from which I could cast. With a single fly, a pocket knife, a fly rod, and a net, I found exactly what I had been looking for. Deep water, big boulders, and an abundance of smallmouth made fishing in this lonesome spot perfect.

"From where I stood, it seemed that the only other souls to exist in the world either flew or swam, and I was trying to catch all the ones that swam."

The biggest smallmouth bass I caught that trip came at this spot, but I had to let him go, since I had no real way of bringing him back to the rest of the group. But that fish long will bring a smile to my face when I look back at him. To hook and fight him in that myriad of boulders and waves that has likely not seen a fisherman that season was an experience long searched for by fishermen and people alike. On that slab of gneiss, I only knew an existence of peace.

I’ve long held the conviction that traveling by canoe is the most sincere form of flattery to any particular lake or wilderness. There’s no debate that it’s slower and less disruptive than any motorized boat, which appealed to this group of people, because it requires an immense appreciation for the shoreline that will sit in your line of sight for the rest of the day. But there’s also the comparison between traveling by foot and by watercraft. We could very well have gone to Colorado or Wyoming for a backpacking trip in search of cutthroat. The drawback of such a mode of travel, like backpacking, is that you’ll find yourself looking down between each step.

While canoeing, very few moments of your trip have to be spent looking down at the water. The stroke of the paddle keeps one’s head up and looking for nesting bald eagles, or scanning the barred patterns of lichen on the adjacent granite cliffside. Sterning the canoe adds another element of artistry to one’s travel, and the ability to hold a straight line across a windy lake might not be as enlightening as catching fish, but it grants the paddler hours of serenity.

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FISHING IN KANSAS

Photos: Brayden Shumaker

On a much more controversial level, I believe my choice to grace this wilderness and these fish with only my 7-weight and hand-tied flies was as much a form of flattery to my fishing prowess as our choice to paddle was to Nature’s creation. The metronomic motion of the fly cast is the preacher’s sermon, and landing a fish on a fly tied by oneself is the cheery postlude. But the message lies not in the bright song of a fish’s splash mid-fight. To me, the cast, retrieve, and overall enjoyment of finding yourself on the water is quite inevitably always the best

part about fishing such a majestic and beautiful body of water. I sought for the patience, attentiveness, and overall challenge of fishing with only a fly rod, because it stirs the inner workings of the soul.

Wade On In!

At Great Blue Heron Outdoors, you will find kind, knowledgable staff whether you're looking for new fishing gear, a cup of the best coffee on Mass Street, or advice about your outdoor adventures!

We strive to help you create a memorable experience.

Photo: Kristin Suter

Great Blue Heron Outdoors 823 Massachussets Street Lawrence, KS 66044