Seasons are changing again

Well, it’s a bitter- sweet time for me when the seasons change. On my calendar, the transition is observed as being from hunting season to fishing season. I saw my first trillium of the year; they’ll soon be peeking out all over the hills. Trillium is the harbinger of spring that really speaks out to me… a pretty splash of green against the drab leaf- litter. Even this armadillo was out scrounging for some lunch. Maybe our recent warm days interfered with hibernation; I dunno. Monday morning temperature was 34 at my cabin door, and it rose to a very pleasant 65 by the afternoon. I finally got around to replacing my broken thermometer; it’s kinda fun to know the temperature, although that knowledge doesn’t amount to much in the grand scheme of things. I seem to have the woods back to myself, now, It looks like I’ll get in one more bow- hunt on Thursday; the last day of the season. Then I’ve got to get on with some cleanup and repairs and get some timber thinning done before the bugs and hot weather get here.

Energy independence: that smoke signifies home- grown heating.

January heatwave

This is hard to believe! A few days ago it was cold and drizzly here, it snowed at my cabin in the hills, and now I’m prowling around the swamp in short- sleeves. The turtles are lined up, sunning; they must think it’s springtime.

And it snowed!

It rained all night, never very hard, but the ground was mighty wet, with puddles standing. The creek was too high to cross for hunting and drizzle was still coming down, so I didn’t get out. I just lazed around the cabin, made another cup of coffee, and watched the birds hopping around, grateful for the seeds I had left them. I built up the fire and was enjoying being stuck in the cabin. And it started snowing! What a treat! But it was too warm for it to stick. First it was just spitting little flakes mixed with rain and sleet. Then it turned to big, fluffy flakes, and a constant fall of them. There was a little snow accumulated on the old picnic table… I remember some long- ago times, only a very few times, that we made snow ice- cream and threw some snowballs from that surface. I had great wishes for a tracking snow, but knew it couldn’t be. Even the slight dusting that accumulated around protected edges melted quickly. Nevertheless, it was pretty to watch the big flakes flutter down, and me all snug by the fire, peeking out the cabin window.

Sun- Day afternoon in the park

It warmed up to short- sleeves this afternoon and was really pretty in the swamp. A lot more green is beginning to show. I still think it's too early for that and frost is gonna get 'em.

False Spring?

Old Brer' Turtle had crawled out on the bank of a swamp island, thinking Spring had sprung.... Sounds like a good start for a fireside tale (click the pic to enlarge). It was a pleasant stroll through the swamp. The rain had cooled things from the sultry temperatures we saw yesterday. That mid- winter heatwave has fooled a few critters, and some plants are leafing out, too. They might get a bad surprise, however; my busted hip tells me that another cold wave will be here in two days. We'll see how much of a chill we get this time.

Late- season hunting

This is my old, trusty meat- rifle; I just came back from some serious hunting. This Winchester was manufactured about a year after I was. It’s not a family heirloom (yet), but I’m pretty sentimental about it. That .32 SPL cartridge is an interesting and unusual caliber. It was a derivative of the 30- 30 cartridge that allowed black powder loadings instead of the (new at that time) smokeless powder for which the 30- 30 was designed. The .32 SPL is obsolete nowadays, but the deer don’t know that. The rifle shows its age, but it still functions flawlessly, puts slugs where I want them, handles fast, carries easily, and fits me perfectly. I took my first deer with this old gun, and it's put plenty meat in the freezer since then. I found a few small rubs this week; the rut seems to be starting very late, or is not very intense this year. The scrape nearby was also small; the cleared spot on the ground and the licking- branch above are shown here. Gotta be one tough buck, who has a holly tree for his licking branch (click the pic to enlarge and you can recognize the prickly leaves). I didn’t see any deer on this hunt but others got deer, so I came home with a good supply of venison. I cut my hand and feared drawing the bow on this trip, so I hunted only with my rifle. Now, with meat in the freezer, I will revert to bowhunting, and maybe a day or two afield with a muzzle- loader.This is a great time to play in the woods. The leaves are down, so views are long. Scattered evergreen plants give a splash of freshness here and there. The skeeters and snakes are gone (but you must watch for ticks on those warm afternoons). Louisiana Januarys are apt to be cold sometimes; and some years can be wet. After a couple of cold nights last week, it turned off balmy again. A few birds are scratching about, but many more of our late- winter visitors should soon be fluttering around. And then the trillium will peek up through the leaf- litter… the cycle is coming around again.