Random 1 - the subject that kicked off the reason for the blog is no longer part of our portfolio of assets. After seven years we closed the door on the possible future option of building on our Bastrop Bayou lots in Texas. We sold them to assist someone else in realizing that dream. So long, you Bayou Beauty...
Random 2 - the relentless march of the calendar included a somewhat subdued Christmas this year. With Chris' family summer move to Montreal, this was the first year in a while we had no Santa activities. We did try a little decoration to capture the mood.
Mom and Dad were able to come, along with Joe and the Kids and Brian before his big move to Idaho.
We went easy on the food prep and went with a shrimp and lump crab meat gumbo...no one missed the turkey (or else they were too polite to say so...check out Brian's face at the meal table).
...and Roux was just chillin'.
Random 3 - catching and eating continues to punctuate the spare time of which we have in abundance. We've re-discovered the pleasure of frogging, and have found a few honey holes close to home.
It's not Louisiana without crawfish, shrimp and crabs...
Of course they can be fried, mixed and stuffed into bell peppers, or converted into a nap on a plate (also known as shrimp and potato stew).
We haven't forgotten about the fish, either. My old friend Mike Town came for a week on the way from Minnesota to Arizona. It was in early January and the drum and redfish were biting like crazy.
Joe and Vince came a week later for some of that action, too.
We've slacked off a bit, but Scott and I got into some nice schooling specks a little later in the year...also in the afternoon. I looked through my stuff, but could not find any fish pictures from that trip, only this shot from cruising West Cove on the hunt for feeding birds.
The other thing that was going on in the December-January time frame was the discovery of the evening woodcock flight. We'd head to the south pasture just before sunset and try to pick off a timberdoodle or two. Most of the time we would just get one, but Joe got a double one evening. It was a really tough hunt, let me tell you. Grab a cup of coffee grab the shotgun and walk out the back door to sit on the edge of the blackberry box. There was only a 15 minute window when they would fly over, and we missed more than we bagged, but I was able to save up a possession limit (9) to potroast for Superbowl Sunday. A nice tradition we hope to perpetuate as long as we live here.
Scott and I also got to squeeze in a duck hunt. We ended up with four nice gray ducks, and we should have had more. I'm a little rusty on my duck shooting. It was enough for a good taste, anyway.
Random 4 - passages continue. Audrey graduates from middle school and Jack goes to the senior prom before his high school graduation. Another Thibodeaux off to LSU...maybe he'll make more of his opportunity than I did (my biggest accomplishment was finding a wonderful wife which is worth more than a fabulous degree, anyway).
Random 5 - I haven't included many pictures from the game cam...it's been all coons, squirrels and the other regulars. This year we had quite a flurry of deer activity. They were coming every night for a while.
Random 6 - There was another interior project that did not make the last update on improvement projects. The large bare kitchen wall had been driving Denise crazy ever since we moved here. Joe came to the rescue once again. She wanted shelves, but she got a combination of shelving and rustic art. Joe took old scrap wood and pallet boards and came up with this.
Well, I guess that will do it for another blog post. I have a wad of pics from last summer's trip to the great white north, and I really need to get that up before we head up to see Brian in Idaho in a few months. I'm sure there will be some pictures associated with that trip that will be blog worthy. Come see us sometime.
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