it is in mid april
the weather is perfect to catch trout: cold, wet, with brief spots of sun:
thousands of trout in Minnesota met their end yesterday. ( i usually stay home that weekend to avoid crowds)

I went with Matt
to his orchard near Frederick, Wisconsin.
Here are some brief haiku:

rows of gnarled branches
overgrown with raspberries and grapes
ready for a haircut of clarity, the pruner’s hands.
*

wagon loads of spikey branches
how high can they stack?
slap against branches of trees as we drive by
*
We take a break to eat lunch
a local farmer drives by, turns around, comes to talk.
” that guy who owned the orchard before was a real shyster!”
*

Piles of new branches
stacked on old ones
raspberries growing through all of it.
*
Working and talking
laughing and telling stories of our lives
my body begins to get sore from within,
*
Time to drive back
I don’t want to leave the birdsong
a LinenKugel at Deer Park bar sounds good.
*
This day was not spent fishing
but still outside
I am thankful for Ibuprophene
•