Growing up, when my brother and I spent the weekend at my grandparents’ house, at least one morning started at dawn. My grandpa would take us out to the garden compost pile, and we’d sift through the topsoil for nightcrawlers, which we deposited into an old coffee tin.
After we’d collected a respectable amount of worms, we would leave the tin on the front steps of the porch and head off to the local bakery for donuts. Thus, fortified by sugary treats—“chocolate jobbies,” as my grandpa termed them—we’d return for our can and fishing rods and set out to his favorite fishing spot, a little pond where the sunlight spilled thickly over the trees.
I wasn’t very good at fishing, but I had the nascent luck of someone who didn’t know enough to overthink things. My grandpa would hook my bait (I was squeamish.), I’d add my bobber and sinker, cast my line and when
I reeled in a palm-sized sunnie or crappie, he’d be the one to pin down the spiny fins and set it loose again.
When I read Mollee Francisco’s story about Throwback Baits, a lot of these memories came flooding back to me. Business owner Kyle Buchholz carved his initial retro swimbait in 2020 just for fun. What started as a block of wood and an Instagram account that detailed his process grew into a robust company now based out of Maple Grove.
Buchholz’s lures remind me of my grandpa’s tacklebox and our quiet mornings spent at the pond. In this homes and outdoor living issue, many of the people in our pages embody a passion for outdoor living that I hope permeates into your own spring and summer activities. I invite you to tour the home gardens of Heidi Heiland, owner of Heidi’s GrowHaus & Lifestyle Gardens, and discover outdoor dining inspiration from designer Mary Brueske, owner of Bisque Boutique.
What does outdoor living look like for you? Let me know how you’re embracing nature this May and June at madeline@localmedia.co.
All the best,
—Madeline Kopiecki
