First campout this spring

I guess it could have been the last camping of February or the end of the small- game hunting seasons, but my glass is usually half- full... so there. It was a great outing, with a full moon, cool weather, lots of bird activity, and NO bugs. This was a site I've been wanting to camp for a long time; but it's somewhat remote and I just never seemed to get around to it. It's a little finger- ridge that juts out in a bend of Panther Creek, and has bluffs on three sides. My reasoning was that it would not likely be on a deer trail, so I could sleep peacefully without those critters waking me with rude snorting, every time they wandered by. It worked out, mostly... only had one deer come along and snort. It was not effective for the hoot- owls, however.

Good time, good company. Good grub, too. But I can now, from experience, recommend light- weight cookware for backpacking, over Dutchovens.

"Well, I thought Spring was here"

The egret stands out among his bleak surroundings. Remember, the alligator saw his shadow... it aint' over, yet. There's a stark kind of beauty in the winter woods, that I like. It makes the critters and the bits of color easier to spot, and adds sort of a "framing" effect. And the mosquitoes are not chewing on you! Buds and bugs will be popping out soon, though.

Whooo's in the swamp?

Spring is near; I enjoyed a warm afternoon hike through the swamp. Barbara, the barred owl, was on her favorite perch. Her boyfriend was downhill in the wetland, checking on prospective nest sites.

Almost Spring

It was a pretty afternoon in the swamp; a warm, quiet spell ahead of the approaching winter storm. The swamp still looked a shade of grey, but there were buds forming and critters were getting busy. Lots of little birds hopped and flittered and scratched here and there. One of the resident hoot- owls was on her favorite perch. I jumped two pair of wood ducks, and they went whistling through the bare trees. One pair stopped to pose, the colorful male on a lower limb and his more- camouflaged mate above.