Without too much fear of error, I think I can say that the winter of 2018-2019 was for many, if not most of us, the harshest winter we’ve experienced in many years.
The youngest will say that they have never experienced such a cold and long one, while the older ones will refer to their youth to compare the winter we have just experienced to their childhood. In any case, this one is behind us and spring is trying to settle down despite a few recurrences of winter.
As the outfitters of Ste-Anne-de-la-Pérade water the ice when the river freezes in early winter, you can imagine that this layer, so thick that you can’t even think about going through it, hasn’t gone away. I explained to you last year what the expression meant: Planting May, you remember. Well this expression means that on May 1st the Ste-Anne River could still be frozen and that we could plant some kind of stick. Last year, we came very close to honoring the expression but luckily, the ice had left us before the end of April. I say fortunately because it is better for morale in the spring to see a river running its course than to see a river covered with ice.
With Easter just around the corner, will we see our beautiful Ste-Anne’s River lose its icy mantle, or will we be able to plant May?
The bets are open and personally, I confess that I have no interest in honoring the expression that consists in planting the “May”.
While there are only a few days left in April, I can still tell you that we are already busy preparing for the next season of fishing for small fish in the channels and that no matter when the ice decides to leave us, it is only to better come back next winter. Don’t get me wrong, I wish us all a spring, a summer and then a beautiful fall before the next fishing season arrives.
In the meantime, I’ll keep an eye on the ice and I’ll get back to you with the results of the bets.