Due to my recent broken arm and tendon surgery I was not ready to participate in the traditional fishing opener here in Minnesota.  I was close but not completely operational a few weeks ago.  But thanks to my physical therapy (and a late spring) it was time to test my hand and my fishing skills.  We headed north yesterday to a beautiful lake in Cass County, Big Rice Lake.  The weather was iffy – possible showers, possible storms, possible sun (in other words, nobody could really predict what it would be).  We loaded up the canoe with layers of jackets and rain coats, sunscreen, rods, reels, and good humor.  What we were greeted with could not have been expected — a wonderfully calm day with hardly a ripple across the surface of the lake.  We were enveloped by a beautiful sky which seemed even more immense as it was reflected in the still lake surface.  The clouds danced on the water as we drifted along.  A few hours later we’d  seen red-winged blackbirds protecting their nests, heard the call of loons from various corners of the lake, gotten a little bit sunburned, and caught our limit of northerns.  And after we’d packed up our gear and fish, loaded the canoe back onto the car, and left the boat landing the rain began to come down.