The hills are alive with the sound of … insects

I think this was an early bloom of a dogwood but couldn’t get close enough to be sure, and most of them were not flowering yet. It looked like a little white cloud floating over Panther Creek. Lots of things were blooming in the hills. The mayapple blossoms were getting large, blue phlox were still in their glory, red buckeye, wild salvia, various clovers, and countless other wildflowers were everywhere. I’m just back from a few days in the hills and springtime is coming on strong. As usual, I couldn’t find turkeys (it’s hunting season, now), although they walk, fly, roost, scratch, cluck, yelp, and make a general nuisance of themselves during my autumn deer hunts. I took my bow and scouted for sign, even tried calling a bit, but found no turkeys. I did find bugs, however. The mosquitoes were still numerous and hungry; even with bug dope they drove me to distraction with buzzing. I found several ticks crawling on me and felt one bite… brushed him off before he could latch on. And now, the aggravation of gnats has been added… those tiny little no- see- ums that have such a burning bite. Deer flies were out in swarms, and were chasing my truck on the road through a pasture. Fireflies were putting on quite a light- show, so that tempered my disdain of some of the nasty bugs.

Ahhh-chew!

Lots of stuff blooming in the swamp, now. The cycle turns some more and the sense of re- birth is all around. Birds are nesting, spiders spinning webs, springtime leaves are filling in the longer views. I also noted a downside… some little guy didn’t make it across the trail. I guess Mama Coyote has to feed her babies.

Soakin' up rays

Poor little snake was out sunning, the weather was much cooler than recent days (actually, he was a rather large water snake). There was some excitement in the swamp yesterday: a tree blew over and made a big mess of the trail; looks like they were prompt about getting it sawed up and moved out of the way.

Blue phlox are decorating the woods

These were really pretty, scattered all through the creek bottoms. The wildflowers were difficult to admire, though: mosquitoes kept me hopping and swatting; they were hungry and there were lots of them! They were out day and night, even in the wind, high ground and low, in the bushes or in the open. Bug spray stopped the biting but not the incessant buzzing. When dark came, there were plenty fireflies flickering in the treetops… I always enjoy watching the lightning bugs… simple pleasures for simple minds. I didn’t see any turkey sign or hear any gobbling; the season opens next week. As usual, I don’t find them in the spring but the turkeys walk all ‘round me in the fall, when no hunting is allowed.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I was in town and managed to take in the parade. Here's a picture of one of the drum & pipes groups. There were lots of floats and several marching bands, and I never saw so many beads! The weather was lovely, warm and sunny. Everyone seemed to be having a great time; maybe they still are... there is usually music and green- colored beer wherever the parade is disbanded.

Amazing... everything is leafing out so quickly

Spring afternoon

It was nice in the swamp this afternoon, but I had to check the time often... that change keeps me confused for several days. I saw wood ducks, squirrels, crows, turtles, but no snakes or mosquitoes. The picture is mostly a test- shot. I wanted to test a full- size pic with lower resolution, rather than compressing a higher- resolution one to save file space. It's a shot that interests me, though. Most of that lush growth is stinging nettles, but I see a trillium blossom peeking through the tangle. Nettles are said to be edible, but I haven't tried them; gotta use gloves to pick them.

Edit: Ja, that works OK; click the pic and it comes up large. It's lower resolution to load fast and save disk space. And it is still good enough for my show- and- tell purposes. I'll probably continue using that format.

Fishing report

My boy went with me and we rolled into the campground with some daylight still left. I was able to stretch my trotline before dark, but had to cut out snags and tangles that were in the line. I’d repair that when I got back to town, but not now. Some of my buddies camped there, too. They cooked up a big pot of Crawfish Etouffe on Saturday night. Oh- boy, was it good! I hadn’t had crawfish in a year or more. I checked the line twice Saturday night and picked it up Sunday morning. We only caught four catfish and didn’t have time for flyfishing, but that large helping of crawfish, alone, was worth the trip. It was cold and damp during the night, and hard to get moving Sunday morning. My boy had some condensation issues with his tent… need to ventilate better in cold weather. His gear was soggy, as was his mood. There was mist on the water and sunlight in the budding trees, but my camera was too cold to take pictures. I tried warming the camera in a pocket, but had to change batteries to make it function. Lots of birds Sunday morning! Egrets, herons, gros- bec were flying and squawking. Redbirds were fluttering around. Redwing blackbirds were in the bushes (tic… tic… crrrrick). Wood ducks were whistling and landing on the bayou. The crow was arguing (unh- uh).
Back in town, I had plenty of time to get to work; I visited Bluebonnet Swamp on my way. Spring has definitely sprung over there and is days ahead of the Atchafalaya area. I was amazed at how much the flush of leaves and buds and blooms had come out in the Bluebonnet Swamp… it had only been four days since my last visit. Even their mayapples were starting to bloom (I learned that those had, as I suspected, been transplanted to that location).

Made it to Butte La Rose. Set a line. Gotta get away early, though.

Edit: These cell- phone posts are handy for updating my location and activities. With fancier equipment, I could include more text and even pictures, I guess. That is beginning to sound like work: more effort and committment at the expense of my outdoor playtime.

Highlights of sunset

My tromp in the swamp was very pretty yesterday evening. Lots of plants were coming out of dormancy and the waters were still and very reflective. Recent rains and cloudy weather have made me appreciate blue skies. Low angle of the setting sun gave a dramatic lighting display in those budding treetops. When they start chasing me out of the park on Daylight Savings Time, those views will be unavailable. Jim's post over on Riverlogue has me fired up about fishing; and I need some fish in the freezer. This time of year is always super- busy, but maybe I'll soon work in a quick round of fishing.