Friday, February 22, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Those rains interfere with work and play
The creeks were high and the hillsides were slick, but there have been some beautiful, warm afternoons lately. Lots of birds were busy through the weekend, and that was time for one of those “backyard bird counts”. Had I known more about identifying those critters, I might have submitted a count… it would be fun... maybe I’ll work on it. Many of the common birds are familiar, but I rarely ken them down to the species level; and differences can be subtle.
The weather was tricky, but it never got cold enough to crank up my wood stove. Saturday morning, the rain woke me, so I made coffee and crawled back in the sack to sip it and listen to the radio. There was some thunder, rain started pounding, and wind was whipping. It didn’t last long, and just turned to a drizzle. At about 6:50 am the radio announced a tornado warning… a funnel cloud had been sighted in Morganza at 6:39 am, headed west. That’s right at me. Oh, well, since I’m hearing the belated warning, I guess it didn’t get me. I got out after another cup of coffee and the weather prettied- up quickly. Everything was wet and muddy and the creek was up and roiling so I stayed close and did some chores.
Saturday afternoon, I visited Cousin to share a genealogy tidbit I had found. We took a drive up the old Board Hollow Road that skirts the back side of their place. It was so called, because there had been a sawmill back in there. I hadn’t been back there in years. It was a steep drive, but the parish keeps the gravel in good shape. “Sugarman” lived up on that tall hill. At spots we could see all the way to the Mississippi River, we were so high. Actually, I have since checked it on Google Earth, and they show an elevation of 235 feet. Well, it seemed high. Back in camp, I watched the sun set and the birds go to roost, a fit ending to a lovely day.
During the night, a heavy rain hammered the tin roof and woke me up at 2:30 am; I don’t think I ever did get back to sleep. The rain soon slacked and it still wasn’t cool enough for me to enjoy a fire in the stove... that was the second frontal passage in as many days. I eventually made coffee and got up, but daylight showed puddles scattered around and the creek was high again. Again the weather cleared to a very pretty morning; I got dressed and went to church with the cousins. It warmed up considerably by midday… must have been mid- 80s. Wet ground and high water limited the projects I could work on, so I sat on the stoop and cracked pecans… simple pleasures, they say. Maybe I'll do some work next trip.
The weather was tricky, but it never got cold enough to crank up my wood stove. Saturday morning, the rain woke me, so I made coffee and crawled back in the sack to sip it and listen to the radio. There was some thunder, rain started pounding, and wind was whipping. It didn’t last long, and just turned to a drizzle. At about 6:50 am the radio announced a tornado warning… a funnel cloud had been sighted in Morganza at 6:39 am, headed west. That’s right at me. Oh, well, since I’m hearing the belated warning, I guess it didn’t get me. I got out after another cup of coffee and the weather prettied- up quickly. Everything was wet and muddy and the creek was up and roiling so I stayed close and did some chores.
Saturday afternoon, I visited Cousin to share a genealogy tidbit I had found. We took a drive up the old Board Hollow Road that skirts the back side of their place. It was so called, because there had been a sawmill back in there. I hadn’t been back there in years. It was a steep drive, but the parish keeps the gravel in good shape. “Sugarman” lived up on that tall hill. At spots we could see all the way to the Mississippi River, we were so high. Actually, I have since checked it on Google Earth, and they show an elevation of 235 feet. Well, it seemed high. Back in camp, I watched the sun set and the birds go to roost, a fit ending to a lovely day.
During the night, a heavy rain hammered the tin roof and woke me up at 2:30 am; I don’t think I ever did get back to sleep. The rain soon slacked and it still wasn’t cool enough for me to enjoy a fire in the stove... that was the second frontal passage in as many days. I eventually made coffee and got up, but daylight showed puddles scattered around and the creek was high again. Again the weather cleared to a very pretty morning; I got dressed and went to church with the cousins. It warmed up considerably by midday… must have been mid- 80s. Wet ground and high water limited the projects I could work on, so I sat on the stoop and cracked pecans… simple pleasures, they say. Maybe I'll do some work next trip.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
The swamp is awakening... this early
There were lots of birds singing and fluttering around the swamp today; maybe they were preparing for that 6- more- weeks- of- winter. There had been some turtles out sunning recently, but today, I saw my first snakes of the year. I also spotted a lizard and a box- turtle.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Strange birds in the back yard
I went with the birding group this morning, at the Bluebonnet Swamp. When I got back, I discovered this strange pair. Since my end- of- season hunt got rained out, I've stayed in town for chores. Gotta work Sunday, but maybe can escape after that and Mardi Gras will give me an extra day off. The nutria (Pierre C. Shadeaux) saw his shadow today, so winter is not over yet. It was frosty this morning, but sunny, and it warmed up pleasantly. There were lots of birds about; I'm learning a little more about spotting and identifying birds.
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