Today marks as clearly as anything the arrival of spring on Prince Edward Island, it is the beginning of the spring lobster season. The photo you see comes from Dolly Silk at French River as the boats are leaving the harbor (taken from Island Morning website of CBC ). We have been watching our neighbors working hard getting their traps ready for the season. The traps are a combination of wood and net and are far heavier than they appear, and once they are water logged and full of lobster, it becomes apparent why most lobster fishers have broad chests and strong arms.
Today is trap setting day and it gets started just as the daylight starts to peak ov
er the water. The fishermen all head out at the same time and head to their preferred areas to set their traps. They are allowed to set 275 traps per license and tomorrow they will pull up their first lobster. The weather today could not be better, it is a bit cool, but the wind is mild and the sun is out. It is altogether a better day than yesterday, when the wind was whipping the waters around the island in what would have been a very rough day at sea.
The signs of spring have been arriving daily for the last two weeks. It began with the arrival of the small song birds at our feeder. They have been here for roughly 18 days and seemed occupied with the seed during the last storm we had two weeks ago. It was just after that storm when the second sign of spring arrived in the form of a pair of robins where were pulling worms from the frozen ground (much to my amazement). The snow from the last storm literally vanished with the arrival of warm rain followed by the glorious sun, and that is when things really seemed to get busy.
Today is trap setting day and it gets started just as the daylight starts to peak ov
er the water. The fishermen all head out at the same time and head to their preferred areas to set their traps. They are allowed to set 275 traps per license and tomorrow they will pull up their first lobster. The weather today could not be better, it is a bit cool, but the wind is mild and the sun is out. It is altogether a better day than yesterday, when the wind was whipping the waters around the island in what would have been a very rough day at sea.The signs of spring have been arriving daily for the last two weeks. It began with the arrival of the small song birds at our feeder. They have been here for roughly 18 days and seemed occupied with the seed during the last storm we had two weeks ago. It was just after that storm when the second sign of spring arrived in the form of a pair of robins where were pulling worms from the frozen ground (much to my amazement). The snow from the last storm literally vanished with the arrival of warm rain followed by the glorious sun, and that is when things really seemed to get busy.
The melting of the last snow saw the resurgence of the islanders in the outside world. It was as if they had all gone into hibernation and as the sun returned, they burst onto the scene with a sense of energy and frenzy. They are all over the place, all engaged in outdoor activities- raking yards, clearing flowerbeds, repairing lobster traps, fishing oysters, walking the roads, hanging out in yards. The arrival of spring marks an increase in activity that is fascinating. It is hard not to get involved in the same activity, and as such, I began to clear the flowerbeds (more on this in the future).
So, as the fishermen head out today, let me wish you all a very pleasant and happy spring from the Gentle Island of Prince Edward and I will try to post as many photos of spring as I can over the coming weeks.
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