A couple of years ago I rented a nice little cabin by a lake for what I hoped would be a week of fishing and relaxation.
I envisioned spending my days casting to bright shiny, silvery and, above all else, hungry rainbow trout all in the three- to four-pound range. Days beforehand I was packed and ready to go. All my gear had been checked and rechecked, my lines cleaned, tippets replaced, menus made and groceries purchased. The ride up to the lake was full of both excitement and anticipation. As I drove along, the bright blue summer sky, so full of promise, began to fill with clouds – dark grey foreboding clouds. Drops of rain began to splatter on the windshield, and yet my spirits were not dampened – not in the least. After all, I was on holidays.
By the time I arrived at the cabin, the sky was totally socked in and a cold wind was churning up the surface of the lake. A miserable start, I thought to myself, to what I was still sure would be a glorious week. I remember making supper that first evening and, afterwards, sitting down to read a copy of Sky and Telescope magazine. As the fire crackled in the fireplace, I was undaunted. I eventually retired for the evening knowing the sun would be shining in the morning. I awoke to the sound of pouring rain. It rained the whole week.
Was I disappointed? Maybe a little. Did I make good use of my time, trapped in the cabin? I know I ate well. I also learned a fair amount about lunar eclipses.
I relate this story about renting the cabin and it raining for the entire week because of last week’s column, in which I wrote about anticipating the blood moon and lunar eclipse which happened in the early hours of Tuesday, April 15. Not that I or anyone else living in the Shuswap area got to see it as the night sky was clouded over.
I anticipated the eclipse much the same as I had anticipated spending my week up at the cabin. Some things work out the way you plan and some things don’t. Life’s like that, and while I may have been slightly disappointed back then, I was still able to enjoy myself eating, reading and sleeping.
I knew there would be other fishing trips ahead, and piscatorial battles to be fought and won. I also know that there will be other eclipses. As a matter of fact, there will be another lunar eclipse, complete with blood moon, this coming October 8.
If I have learned anything, it is that life is full of opportunities – opportunities realized, opportunities lost and opportunities yet to come. The trick is to recognize opportunities when they present themselves, and then take advantage of each and every opportunity for all they are worth.
I remember the first steelhead I ever caught. It did not happen on my first steelhead fishing trip, nor the second. But it did happen, and it made me want to cast, again and again, to those all elusive, powerful, momentary silver streaks as they move through the runs and riffles of some of the most famous steelhead rivers on the planet.
If I never catch another steelhead in my life I am satisfied with the fish I have caught.
However, just as I am inextricably programmed to want just one more cast in hopes of just one more fish, I also cannot help but want to witness next October’s lunar eclipse. The opportunity will be there. All I have to do is wait for it to happen, and have faith that the nighttime sky will be clear enough to see the moon turn its blood red, as it passes through the shadow of the Earth.
