Spring is busting out, and I'm busted for not posting more frequently. Let's catch up on March 2014...my first full month of pre-retirement. Here I am after I drove in from my last day in Houston (Feb 27, 2014).
Early March provided some new blossoms to enjoy. We can't figure out what the first one is...the other two are bridal wreath and some kind of azalea.
We've been working like dogs trying to get on top of the North Pasture. I think I'm going to put the pond back there, but we'll leave enough ground between the house and the pond to have a decent space. The pond will come whenever we sell the lots down in Richwood...sooner rather than later, I hope.
It sure is nice to sit on the porch, sipping a Glenfidditch 15 single malt and watching Denise clear the pasture...she's done quite a good job, wouldn't you say?
I did manage to plant a couple of Owari satsuma trees. There's a clump of trash trees I'd like to take down to make the spot even sunnier, but I'll have to wait for a little help from the elven woodmaster before I try to take on that task. You can see the clump of purloined irises behind the second tree I planted.
I still have the blackberry raised bed to do, and I'm looking for a celeste fig tree or two, but we seem to be making some progress. Although the azaleas are a little late due to the cold winter, they seem to be on the verge of busting out. One or two are starting to fill out, but the rest is just a promise at this point.
I really need to sit on the porch with my telephoto lens...we have some nice looking birds coming to the feeder I'd love to share. The only critters from the porch I have are a couple that showed up on a humid night with thunderstorms this past week. For my sisters (remember Lake Catherine)...an evil Luna Moth, and some other big brown moth that took shelter from the storm on my porch.
We did break away to Baton Rouge since the last post. We observed Brian's defense of his Master's thesis - the public portion anyway. We then celebrated with a crawfish boil hosted by his good friend Mikeila. There were various Fells and Thibodeaux's in attendance. (Scott pulled some strings and located some excellent crawfish for this time of year).
The first batch was a frenzy of activity, bringing out Scotty's oedipal subconcious, while the real crawfish eaters waited on the second, spicier boil. Of course the buzzards were on the carcass at the end...finishing up the beer, the vegetables and the undersized remnants of the earlier feast.
We finally put the boat in the water yesterday. I really wanted to get through the break-in period on the motor. It was a nice Sunday afternoon on the water. We did fish a llittle bit, and after Denise had caught 5 reds (one 18" keeper) and 4 drum, I decided to stop trying for flounder with the spinner bait. People were at our favorite flounder hole both times we passed, so we went to a cut in the back of the canal on the way back. Shrimp on a jighead fished on the bottom. I snagged a 22" red, plus some throwback reds and puppy drum. Denise wrestled in a big drum (about 28" and 10 lbs or so) and a big croaker that we kept. I also had a very large fish break my line (a big red or another big drum most likely). We enjoyed it until the sun was setting and finally got to get the boat to planing speed on the way back - we're going to like this rig!
After a hard days' work in the yard today, I filleted the croaker and the drum and put them on the grill. It wasn't too shabby, although I had to only take the best part of the drum - it was just a little too big to be prime table fare. we're saving the redfish for another occasion.
Now we want to go back and nail those flounder.
We spent time since the last post getting ready for various things. We have a temporary parking spot for the 5th wheel, and bit the bullet on a boat...I mean, what's the point of moving back to SWLA if you don't have a boat? We are anxiously awaiting a few days of stable weather to try out some of our West Cove flounder holes.
We have had a lust for boiled crawfish, but the season has started slow with the cold, wet spring. We saw that the Coushatta Casino buffet had started up their all you could eat boiled crawfish on Wednesday and Friday. This week we decided to beat the Friday crowd and go early on Wednesday (about 5:00 pm). Well, I guess when it comes to crawfish this time of year, there's no such thing as no crowd. Due to the limited supply and the heavy demand, they were projected to be out of crawfish by 5:30, so we didn't bother with the buffet. We played the slots for a while and then ate at one of the other restaurants. We decided to hit one of our old favorites before we went home, and this was the result:
Needless to say, we went home way ahead for a change, and we made plans to spend our windfall like a couple of drunken sailors.
Unfortunately, when I was leaving for Lowe's with the utility trailer in tow the next day, I ran over the newly installed water meter box. About 10 minutes later, Denise called to tell me we had a small geyser in the driveway. Of course, it was our responsibility to fix (some shoddy installation, but still...) and we had to get a plumber ("after hours") out of Lake Charles to make the repair. He was good and efficient, but still a plumber on OT is not cheap...so some of the casino winnings went to this:
Oh, well...I did get some 4X6 treated timbers, some peat moss, a couple of Owari Satsuma trees, a good 24" extension ladder, plus a couple of minor odds and ends all courtesy of the triple-double diamond jackpot, so it didn't all go to plumber overtime. I spent most of the day working on the first of two planned raised beds. It is 4' X 12' and about 12" high, and we placed it on the south side of the house for maximum sunlight. (plans include eliminating that clump of trees/shrubs for light...this view is towards the SSE)
The tiller came in handy on the initial ground breaking, but really paid off when I went for extra dirt to fill the box. I took off the top of a hill that looked like it had a good layer of topsoil...it took 4 loads with the little trailer, but we got a good base down.
After cleaning it up and levelling it out, we finished with a couple of bags of enhanced (with miracle grow) peat moss, and mixed it in.
It's ready to plant. We'll space out the 4 blueberry bushes in here, and since it will take a while for them to command the entire space, we'll probably put tomatoes, bell peppers and (?) in between. I'll try to duplicate this box just down the slope a step or two from this one, but we have 8 hybrid thornless blackberry plants that will most likely use up the whole box sooner rather than later. We'll plant this one first, and get those Owaris in the ground before I build the second box (the work was a little heavier than I anticipated, so I'm going to take at least one recovery day...maybe more).
Meanwhile, Denise has been taking advantage of our intermittent sunny days to take a break from window treatments and clean up around some of the old flower beds and azaleas. She's recovered a ton of old bricks, and relocated some of the random plants for a more consolidated presentation. It will look great, especially when the azaleas bloom later this month. Meanwhile, I snapped a couple of more springtime harbingers from around the yard.
There's a couple of dewberry patches, so we might get some of the earliest of the various blackberry family of berries around the end of April (I think the hybrids will be July/early August). I took these a week ago - there were tons of flower buds.
Denise had dug up a bunch of irises along the walking path along Falkey Gulley in Houston last summer before we moved. All we had time to do was dump them in a low spot and pitch a shovel of dirt on top. Well, some plants are very hardy. We can't wait to see if they bloom.
Finally, we are making the transition back to official Louisiana residents; we got our driver's licenses, and coughed up the taxes on the toyota and the utility trailer to get the plates on those. Here's the plate for Denise's car...I asked if she had sprung for one of those pricey personalized plates, but it appears it was just the luck of the draw (at least it will be easy to remember).
(BTW, I did get a punch when I suggested it might be a personalized plate!)
Not much new on the trailcam highlights...by regularly hanging off the scottyfeeder the coons are keeping the mechanism loose enough to occasionally spin out feed, so I had to put in another 50 lb sack. I will be glad when we get some trails cut with a UTV or some other such motorized conveyance.
Meanwhile, the critters think they're under a corn tree and are compelled to climb up to the source.
Finally, the turkey flock is breaking up. I did witness some strutting one afternoon, and the hens are definitely not hanging out with the jakes any more. I've heard some gobbling, but have not put my eyes on any longbeards. Here's some typical jakes...they're pretty regular visitors.
Turkey season opens later this month. I have some spots scoped out back in the pine woods where we might be able to set up a couple of Big Daddy's turkey decoys and see what happens.
Well, I'm on my final vacation (through April 30) and then I'll be joining the ranks of the unemployed, but a much happier unemployed than I was 32 years ago. It's been a while since I posted, so this may be a little longer than future posts, but here we go.
Brian is about ready to defend his Master's thesis and has a chance to go on an archaeological dig in Peru over the summer, and he was seeking ad-hoc (cash) employment to defray the cost of the plane ticket...his other expenses are covered. We employed him to do a little of the heavy work we had in mind on the fenceline.
Unlike Richwood, there were no HOA restrictions in place that prevented burning the excess, so he really went to town.
He's also got us started on a fresh pile of firewood. I think I'm going to invest in preserving my lumbar area and spring for a wood splitter. I have commited to provide firewood for future squirrel hunts, and it's never too early to start.
We even hooked up the Grey Ghost to see if the diesel could pull up a big cluster of yaupon stumps...no problem! Now I just have to roll that unwieldy mess over to the burn pile to await the next conflagration.
He did such a good job that we've asked him to come back for more. He would have come during Mardi Gras (and my first week as a free man), but the weather turned nasty and we deferred until later in the month after his thesis defense.
Here's a look at the semi-finished product during the recent ice storm. You may notice that the satellite dish, basketball goal and random iron pole are missing from the scenery. When Joe and the kids came this past weekend, we hooked up the GG and yanked those out of the ground, too. You might spot two of them in front of the woodpile.
Before the ice, Joe and Jack helped Denise out with some interior projects. They hung valance rods for the windows in our bedroom and the living area...
They mounted the curtain rod for the drapes in the dining room...(Denise will finish up with some tie-backs and we'll tackle something like blinds for behind the curtains later).
They mounted some little knick-knack shelves in the corner by the pantry door...
...and they mounted a handy row of owl hooks to hang jackets, raincoats or whatever just inside the pantry on the blank wall.
Meanwhile, Audrey took advantage of the working oven to try out different decorating media (it was over a triple cake mix recipe, and we coaxed her into taking it home...but I am sure it was delicious).
Prior to the cold weather, I took a stroll around in search of the early signs of spring...here's what I found:
By the birdfeeder, the redbud tree was showing some faint signs, and the rocks from Lake Superior in the birdbath were inviting our feathered friends in for a refreshing sip.
Trail cam highlights...I won't bore you with turkeys and coons, but rest assured I am enjoying the pictoral record of their daily antics. The scottycam showed the bobcat, an armadillo and those pesky aliens. I also have Big Daddy on his only walk back to the deer feeder...he'll come again after I get a UTV and can go on a trail through the woods (a 2014 project).
Not much new to show on the yardcam, but we do have a fox making regular appearances. I finally got a couple of pics that weren't too blurry, and I'm pretty sure this is a gray fox. Good for keeping mice and moles in check (I think a full grown turkey would kick his ass, but he might depredate some chicks if he gets the chance).
Speaking of posterior parts, I did catch a squirrel playing the old "moon-lighting" trick that made the round in certain beer-drinking adolescent circles. I hope he survived and will leave you to speculate on his ignition source. (I think it's those aliens and an extra-terrestrially warped sense of humor that's not that much different than some humans I have known).
