The Great Walleye Run

I know I just wrote yesterday, but this is cool stuff.

This morning I went on a bike ride with my parents, which turned out to be quite embarrassing because within the first mile they were pretty much an additional mile in front of me. I thought kids were supposed to have infinite amounts of energy? My competitive nature refused to allow me to take this gracefully and when I caught up with them (they stopped to wait for me) I muttered that I was turning around. My dad said he'd see me when I got home and I mumbled that they'd probably make it home before me. My pride was hurting as I turned around and rode alongside the river, passing dozens of fisherman that come to the Maumee each spring for the walleye run. When the river is low, it's possible to cross from the mainland to one of the islands, and today the river was pretty low, so I was contemplating crossing over when I saw splashing in the shallows and, figuring it was a fish, got off my bike to investigate. Turned out to be over a dozen fish, each about a foot long and I stood there for awhile trying to figure out what they were doing. Groups of 2-4 walleye appeared to be wrestling in less than a foot of water, splashing a great deal of water around. It finally dawned on me these fish were swimming upstream to spawn, using each other to propel themselves against the current. They'd struggle, get swept a few feet downstream, rest for a couple minutes, then try again and again until they'd gained some footage. It was fascinating to watch. And when I was walking my bike along the path, up and over the wall built by the CCC and the WPA back during the Great Depression, I spotted a real ladybug, not one of those orangeish Japanese beetle impostors. I don't know how many real ladybugs I've seen in my life, but it's not many.