Misty- moisty swamp

Yesterday was overcast and damp, but nice enough for a walk through the swamp. It was quiet and still, with only a few birds and squirrels moving. I took a picture and saw a fiery streak in my view- finder, so I turned off the flash and repeated the picture. Compare these shots: the later picture showed a quiet swamp scent, but the flash had set off that brown twig like a lightning bolt across the view. Interesting phenomenon.

This week in the woods

Well, I did get away for an over- night in the cabin; hunted an evening and next morning but the deer didn’t seem to be moving. There were a few small scrapes in the woods, but they were not freshly- worked. Surprisingly, I still have not found any rubbings. Squirrels and chipmunks are still busy and a few birds were hopping about.
I was hoping to glimpse some of the meteor shower … it’s Geminid time. Unfortunately, the clouds and fog obscured the sky views. I built a small fire to test the new stove setup and it worked fine… draw was good, not smoky. There’s a forecast for some cold weather, so maybe I can actually use the stove soon.

Awfully warm for December

Well, I finally got the sheepherders- stove hooked up in my cabin. My only experience with them has been in tents; they are fun to use and efficient (hope it doesn't put out too much heat). I never could figure a good fireplace design for such a small cabin, but have been wanting to listen to the wood crackle. So I got a stove, got the flu- pipe, and it’s been sitting for a while. I built a sheet- metal insert for the pipe exit, and finally got it all assembled. But it turned into summer again! And it’s too hot to try it out; too hot to hunt, too. I did manage to get some chores done and spent some time in the woods. There are a few birds around, and lots of squirrels, and a few armadillos have broken hibernation (I guess they hibernate). As I predicted, I have been seeing some bright leaf color. And here’s a picture of some holly; it’s an understory tree in my neck of the woods, much shaded, and seeing berries on one is a rarity.

Aflame in the swamp

A pleasant visit to the swamp; yesterday was another shirtsleeve day in December. Sunset cast light at a low angle. No breeze was stirring, so the quiet of the swamp was broken only by birds and squirrels scratching for their living. As the sun sank beyond the River, the last rays lit up the autumn colors in the treetops.

A warm December day

We certainly are not having a harsh winter, yet. Today’s high was 84 and breezy; nice for a visit to the swamp. The critters were not very active during my mid- day trek, but I was amply entertained just being outdoors. This warm weather seems to have convinced some plants to flower again; note the red blooms of the cardinal flower and the white- flower umbrels of the elderberry. The tree frog had occupied his winter home but was still porch- sitting, watching passers- by on the trail. There seems to be a heavy crop of seeds/ pods/ fruits/ whatever (?) from the tupelo. The forest floor has a carpet of leaves and more are continuously raining down. The muscadine leaf was a colorful stand- out against the drab background litter.

Just imagine: me, a birdwatcher!

Well, I had fun in the Bluebonnet Swamp this morning. They hold a semi- organized event on the first Saturday of the month, a birding walk led by a member of the staff. I had to be at work by 10 am and the birdwatching group started out at 7am. It was a win, win situation: travel- time and gas- costs were free; my park membership got me in for free. The group was small and knowledgeable (except me). There were lots of birds, and they were busy feeding, hopping around, singing. I’m familiar with most of our birds and can connect sounds to many, but I don’t know their names. Those folks did, and it was very enlightening. They also were interested in shrubs and trees, chatting about leaf shapes, berries, and such. I hope to play this game often, when my schedule allows. I dug out some binoculars and now I may need a field guide, maybe a cute pith- helmet. It was very nice visiting the park in the morning; it was cool and the light quality was nice. I’m usually there midday or afternoon and the critters are hiding. I took a picture of some mistletoe; I was amazed to see it in a low bush. That stuff is usually high in an oak tree and I have to do some first- class shooting with a .22 to cut a sprig for hanging at Christmas. We spotted a ‘coon peeking from a high tree- cavity. I made some squeaks, sucking the back of my hand, and that piqued his interest; gave us a better view.

Swamp sunset

The sun certainly goes down early nowadays. That makes my quick visits to the swamp/park particularly interesting. The low sun- angle makes for some nice views, with sunbeams on tree trunks and lighting up some leaf colors. Also, the critters are very active as night approaches. The daytime patrons are gone by this time, so my antisocial nature is appeased… I have it to myself.

A drizzly afternoon in the swamp

Old Rocky Raccoon was out scrounging for some lunch. He was probably as glad as I was to see some moisture come in, and an overcast sky kept the light level low. The rain was just a sprinkle, but at least it settled the dust. Squirrels were hopping around beneath the bushes and some wood ducks got up from a swamp pond as I approached. The time change still has me confused; with the overcast, it was nearly dark today, when I got away from work.

Fall colors in the woods

It’s a pretty time in the woods… the leaves are beginning to show a bit of color, critters are busy gathering nuts and nest materials. Every puff of breeze brings another shower of leaves fluttering and spinning to the forest floor. The long dry spell we’ve been having seems to have enhanced to leaf color… seems I recall from my botanical studies, that dry weather can concentrate the colorful Xanthophylls in leaves. If we don’t have a cold, wet, blowing weather system howl through here, there might be a really spectacular show of autumn, come the first frosts.

Autumn leaves

Back to standard time; it’s a shock to my system when dark sneaks up on me during that first week after time- change. There’s a heavy carpet of leaves on the forest floor, the cool of the evening sifts down through the trees as the light dims. The squirrels seem particularly busy; I wonder if they are foretelling an extreme winter this year.

Quick trip to the country

Well, I had to work this weekend, but I managed to get away early enough for a Saturday- afternoon hunt. I shouldn’t waste gas on such short trips; it’s not cost- effective, but I had to monitor my guest situation… had some squirrel hunters and I wanted to participate, but I strung my bow, instead, and went to a far end of the place, an isolated little patch of woods at the northeast corner. There were old tracks in the creek; looked like deer had been feeding on acorns falling there. That’s been a good feed- tree in the past; I missed a doe there one time. She stopped in the creek for a drink and I tried for a neck shot. My arrow hit the water right below her throat… sure upset the old girl. I saw only squirrels and chipmunks on this trip. They were close around me, shaking limbs, scratching leaves, waving tails, and keeping an eye on the invader of their territory. My boy went along for the overnight, and we had a quiet time in the cabin. He’s maturing quite a bit, and is almost human when I get him away from his usual environment. No deer came by me Saturday evening; I sat until full dark. However, as last light was fading, I heard a buck grunt across the creek. He was up on the bluff and gave a series of short grunts like he was chasing a doe. He repeated that twice, but stayed back in the woods. Hiking back to camp, I saw 4 deer in the creek but I couldn’t tell anything about them… just 4 sets of eyes in the beam of my light. Broke camp early on Sunday because I had to get back to town and ready for work. It sure was a pretty weekend, weather was great. It is supposed to get even cooler this week, and I’ll be off for a stretch of days to play some more. The muzzle- loader season is opening next weekend and I had high hopes of bagging an archery deer before that... I'd better hunt hard.

Snake program, LHC

I made it to the monthly Louisiana Hiking Club’s 1st Thursday meeting last night. The wife and kid went with me, even; they, too, were interested in the presentation on identifying local snake species. The speaker was Jeff Boundy, a herpetologist from Wildlife & Fisheries. He brought lots of photo- slides and had an entertaining style of presentation, so his talk was both informative and fun. I also picked up a copy of his “Snakes of Louisiana” publication. To top it off, I won a door prize! It was a lexan spork (a cute little plastic spoon, fork, knife combination). There are plenty of club activities going on; we got reports on several recent trips that sounded marvelous, and coming soon, there are some hikes and trail- maintenance outings that I would really like to participate in.

One of the upcoming trips is to Kisatchie National Forest. They are planning a short loop- hike out from the Evangeline Camp, with the first night at that campground and one night out. Brought back some fond memories! One of the funniest things that ever happened to me was right there at that campground. I met some friends there to camp one Friday night and hike the Wild Azalea Trail over the weekend. As we sat in the car Friday night, drinking beer and waiting for the other carload of our group to arrive, there were scads of little boys wandering around, back- and- forth. The gang arrived and we set up tents, started a fire, and passed a pleasant evening with few disturbances from the kids around the campground. With morning, we were up… not too early… and gathering our gear for the trail. The kids (they had to be Boy Scouts) were up and making their preparations also. I heard one of them exclaim, “Look, that’s a girl!” They had spotted Sylvia. Their camp suddenly went silent, and then was a constant buzz until we saddled up our packs and hiked out. I giggled the rest of the trip about that and, a quarter of a century later; it still makes me grin… I sure miss Sylvia.

More deer hunting and a bit of fishing

I still haven’t caught up with that big buck I saw a few weeks ago, so I was back there Sunday evening. Sitting on a hill side, waiting for him again, the weather was certainly pleasant: cool, blue skies, a slight breeze. The squirrels were bounding through the treetops and the birds and chipmunks were scratching in the leaf- litter. The deer are becoming harder to find; hunting pressure, ATV riding, and several baited spots in the woods are keeping the deer hidden during daylight hours. That’s something new; in the past, the deer didn’t seem to become nocturnal until gun season started.
Just as last light was fading, two deer crossed to my side of Panther Creek, but at an angle away from my position. One must have seen me raise up and it snorted… end of hunt; I picked up my gear and headed out for supper.

I had to be back in town for my flu shot Monday morning, so I arranged for fishing in the afternoon. I took Buddy who’s been anxious to get outdoors. He has developed COPD and has some difficulty with getting around. He’s huffing and puffing and short of breath. They have started him on oxygen, as needed, and for sleeping. So we packed up the canoe, tackle, and oxygen tank, and went to the Blackwater Conservation Area. There is a nice lake there, that I have talked about in previous posts. We fought the wind for a while and had several strikes from brim, but caught nothing. Near sunset, the wind lay. We saw some fish activity in the shallows and I started casting a bass popper. I caught one small bass, our only fish that afternoon. A pretty, red sun was setting across the lake as we packed up and headed home. Buddy was about played out, but we had a nice outing, and I was glad we could share it.

I liked the BREC planning workshop

I was pleased to participate in BREC’s Capitol Area Pathways Project open house, yesterday. I saw an estimate that about 120 members of the public had attended the meeting. The BREC staff seemed genuinely concerned with my interests and suggestions, but the format of marking up proposed ideas on their giant satellite maps of the parish was a bit intimidating. However, some hands- on help and encouragement got me started; by the time I left, I had pasted yellow label- dots all over the parish.

There was plenty advocacy for trails and greenways, so I stayed with my interest in paddling access to our local rivers; they termed these corridors “blueways”.

I wrote up and submitted some notes of my ideas, including the following excerpts:
When I was younger, I could launch my canoe in the Amite or Comite River near a bridge and take out at the next bridge. I would spend the day fishing, watching wildlife, playing in the water; I even camped on sandbars sometimes. Now, all of the river crossings are posted with "no parking" signs. Access denied! The development of park facilities and parking spots along our local rivers would certainly be in keeping with BREC’s mission, and would provide access to wonderful recreation in those areas. There already exist a number of parks along or near those rivers, but actual access to the rivers is not convenient for launching a canoe or kayak from the ones I have visited. Additionally, there are a number of road- crossing sites where access would be relatively simple and inexpensive to develop.
It was great to get some personal feedback on my ideas, and I learned of some smaller waterways that have potential for development. I even had a chance to ask about the lakes improvements at City Park and LSU. I’ve been dabbling around those lakes for more than a half- century. The improvement plan looks like a long- term project that will be too late for me, but I will still have the lakes to test new fly patterns and show youngsters how to fish. Those lakes have demonstrated their capacity to grow some really big fish, and won’t it be marvelous to eventually develop a beautiful lake system, with a world- class fishery, right here in the heart of Baton Rouge.

Finally cooling off in the swamp

My boy had an appointment nearby, so we made a quick visit yesterday to the Bluebonnet Swamp before I had to get to work. The cool weather was very pleasant, and a welcome change from the sweltering summer afternoons. We saw a cottonmouth beside the trail; looked like he was trying in vain to find some sunshine. Poor snake seemed sluggish; just lay there.

The weather made me bug- out

Rains are on the way, so I left the woods. I've seen lots of critters, but no deer. I suspect there has been too much activity in the woods, making the deer skittish. Also, the heavily baited stand areas nearby are allowing deer to feed heavily at night and then not need to forage around during the daylight hours.

A gaggle of ibis?

I saw a flock/ herd/uhh… group of white ibis juveniles on yesterday’s swamp- walk. The light was low and they were very busy… thus, the poor picture. I was wishing for a “real camera”. I posted an ibis’ picture back in the early spring; I wonder if that was their Momma? Lots of other critters were about, too. Wood ducks were whistling, kingfishers were twittering, and squirrels were scratching in the leaves. I saw a huge green caterpillar and supposed it to be a Luna moth larva. The mosquitofish were busily working the water surface. They must have been happy to get some rain.

Well, they fooled me this time

I went back Sunday evening, for another try at that big bruiser. This time, I set up nearer to Panther Creek. Maybe I could see him against the lighter background of that sandy creekbed. I hunkered down near a big tree and immediately wished I had brought my tree- seat. Oh well, I guess ya gotta suffer to see deer. I spotted another knoll with a good 360- degree view, but resisted the urge to go check it out… didn’t want to be spreading around my noise, movement, and scent… put that on my list for another day. I watched and waited, and the squirrels, birds, and butterflies were very entertaining. About fifteen minutes after sunset, the light was fading. A deer snorted and I saw two white flags bounding through the brush. The air currents had changed direction and given me away. This time the deer had skirted through the thicket on the far side of Panther Creek. They snorted and stamped the ground for a while, but didn’t come back out. Darkness fell and I eased out of there, disappointed that I had let them detect my presence.

Whoo-ee, there goes my blood pressure

I had to work on Saturday, but I got away early enough for an evening hunt. I didn’t take care of chores, nor business, nor nothing’; I changed into hunting clothes, grabbed my gear, and headed to the woods. I went to a knoll a short walk from camp. Surrounded on three sides by a bend of Panther Creek, there are sharp slopes down to the creek- bed and several game trails cut through the area. There are usually plenty of browse plants in the understory there, and that big white oak should soon be dropping its huge acorns. About sunset, a small doe crossed Panther Creek and I got a good broadside view of her as she angled up the creek bank. I raised up for a look, and she vanished behind a group of small trees. Just disappeared! I guess she bedded down; maybe she saw my movement. I hope I didn’t strain the lenses of my glasses, trying to look for her. Daylight was flickering and the squirrels were bounding through the trees, on their way home for the evening. A huge owl stopped in a nearby tree, looking around for a supper opportunity, but he was too late; the squirrels had already passed by. As light faded, a big- bodied deer with a dark coat stepped out into the creek and turned upstream. He was cautious, pausing for a long look, taking a few steps, taking a drink, pausing, walking, pausing. To my right, another deer was breaking through the brush and coming toward the creek. This one was obviously a big doe; I got a better look as she followed the first one upstream. I heard the first deer climb the creek bank and start toward me. The doe followed up the bank and she was coming my way, too. They crossed the creek bottom toward me, but the light was gone. It was past legal shooting time, and I could barely see their movement. I sat quiet and still to avoid spooking them… maybe tomorrow I’ll get another chance. The big deer was crunching through the leaf litter, headed up my knoll, probably 20 yards away. As he passed, I could see the dim glow of his antlers. I couldn’t make out points or shape, just a glow floating through the woods above the sound of footfalls, but it was obviously a large, heavy rack. The big doe followed up the same trail and in the dim light, I could see the vague form of her lighter color. After those two had passed, I heard the small doe come through, also. Wow! I’d certainly like a daylight glimpse of that buck. I know he’s a big’un.

Days are getting shorter in the swamp

This pretty little cardinal flower was growing in one of the gravel footpaths and attending to its reproductive responsibilities before the frosts arrive. The swamp animals were preparing for fall, too. The sun has been setting earlier, so wildlife was more active prior to the park’s 5 pm closing time. Squirrels were scratching in the leaves and rabbits were grazing around. A big owl was looking at me from his perch in a pine tree; and maybe he was also watching for a squirrel- supper. The snakes haven’t been out sunning, lately, but turtles were lined up on logs.