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Everyone worried about the storm's effect on our area can now relax. Made a run to the marsh and pulled the covers off the five blinds with them (sixth has a big hole, anyway), so rain ballast can help compensate for high water buoyancy and keep them from popping, then mowed my lawn three days early, so it won't be a jungle if I can't catch it again before this time next week. Having done so pretty much assures minimum rains.

Or not.

Forgot the big marsh report: saw a black-bellied whistling duck at Clyde's pond and heard a wood duck at Issac's. Quite a few gallinules at what I've heard will be Gabe's pond this year, but Ed's pond took the gallinule prize by a long shot. Was covered up with what I'd think indicators of plentiful SAV and/or invertebrate feed.

Not to be outdone, my blind and pond was also covered up:


Nothing feathered could be seen at the mudhole, but I did smell a snake at the blind, and eventually spotted a large brown water snake that's welcome to stay and eat what displaced mice might come that way.

Aside from the busted back blind, all the other blinds and ponds are looking sweet. Well, except for Issac's boat hide, which appears to need work:

Was going to ask when you planned to make your "pond" into a pond. Extra water will help or hurt effort if it comes from this storm hoopla?

Will just have to wait and see when I can get back out there after the rains. Landowner's son did absolutely none of the access road work he'd promised, so that will little doubt be an issue...again. As may just getting down the public road to it. Corp has apparently raised the Intracoastal level so much that the ditches now stay full, so...

Being too old and lazy to haul any more of the flotant away than I have to, water will help both with the "grinding," which is actually largely done through moving water erosion, and giving the resulting sludge something to sink in. Was a little surprised to see how much wet soil vegetation has sprung up on the floating black dirt in the relatively short while since I was last out there.

Reading you guys reminds me of that guy in Jonesboro who tried to tell me directions using only local landmarks like

"you go to where the chucky cheese used to be, turn left and go to where the root beer stand used to be, then turn right and go to where the pizza hut used to be and you can't miss it".

It might back up and come our way though.


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aunt betty wrote:Reading you guys reminds me of that guy in Jonesboro who tried to tell me directions using only local landmarks like

"you go to where the chucky cheese used to be, turn left and go to where the root beer stand used to be, then turn right and go to where the pizza hut used to be and you can't miss it".

We did, indeed, have a "tractor blind" and a "compressor blind" years after the tractor and compressor station were gone.

We have hunted a public flooded timber spot that's called the "long walk hole"


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It's ok. I've been leaving my own landmarks.
The bucket hole is where I found a bucket and stuck it on a tree branch so I could locate it later in the dark. There are two bucket holes in two different states. (go figure)
The tin can hole has a tin can still...I think.
The lost decoy hole has some holey decoys hung in a tree.
The hole hole? Well you'll know it when you find the hole.
It's right next to the firemen's hole. You will get wet.
The cypress hole....drool.

You can't miss it once you figure out what state and county.

Ericdc wrote:We have hunted a public flooded timber spot that's called the "long walk hole"


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The long walk hole is on the north end of Rainy Brake. Nobody goes there.
When you get to the end of the path yell "hey Rocky".

Just when we thought my video skills couldn't get any worse, I manged this yesterday:



And that was the best of three...

Tried taking my best camera this morning, but ran into a Harvey rain band. Didn't just shut down that operation, but reminded me of how miserable an awful lot of folks are right now. Feeling "survivor's guilt" - and hoping it remains just that.

"When you start to develop your powers of empathy and imagination, the whole world opens up to you." Susan Sarandon

"Empathy is connecting with the emotion someone is experiencing, not the event or the circumstance." Brene Brown

That same feeling you have for those in Harvey's path has been felt for you and yours quite a few times. Looking at the news, it would be difficult to NOT feel that way for all those folk.

Thanks for the video; it gives some of us hope and a brief taste of reality. Well done, Sir Rick. Glad you mended the boathouse when you did.

Bud, thanks for thinking of us, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable being on the same page with Susan Sarandon on anything.

Took another stab at videoing teal between the rain bands but ran into a cattle trailer convoy on the next piece that turned out to be a SIL and others helping his godfather move cattle from Creole to a mutual friend's pasture here. "Gol...shoulda seen the teal get up..."

How can we edit a post here after posting it?

Bud, if that's the worst thing you do this week, you've had a great one.

Just between us chickens, I think it's their pee-poop we're smelling. Think we sometimes scare them out of it.

Was surprised, myself, when a fellow I'd of thought knew better laughed at my mention of smelling where an alligator had laid up a couple years back. But I guess all noses aren't created equally. I handle them by the hundreds and hate the smell. Thinking of which, I once held up while looking for cows on a protection levee until an eight-footer eased off its bank and into the borrow canal, because I didn't know what my borrowed stock would do if he saw it - only to get left afoot when I tried to pass the spot and the horse went off on its scent. First time I ever gave a horse's nose much thought, but I had plenty of time to rectify that oversight on the hike out.

Took advantage of clearing skies to give the hounds some water work in what had been dry crawfish ponds and check on the boats in off-season storage. Should still be able to move mine and another when the ground dries enough to support trucks - knock wood. But the others are sitting in nearly knee boot deep water in a spot where they'll have to be retrieved across even lower ground.

Didn't bother checking to see if I could get to the marsh yet.

Oh...saw several mottleds and two black-bellies while out and about, but nary a teal.

Our storm news is that Sweet Chereaux's brother was air-lifted from his Winnie, TX place last night, and is now safely sleeping in our guest room. Worn out and worried about all he's left behind, but otherwise fine. We're blessed.

Glad he made it out ok and has a sister and bil that care enough to take him in. Can't imagine having to leave everything in a circumstance like that, and even worse, not having a place to go to get out of it...........not to mention the anxiety of "what could happen to everything you own" while you are not there to protect. These situations bring out the best in some, and the worst in others.

I should point out that Gerald owns a home that's safe in Madisonville and just rents the Winnie place to be closer to his work, so it could have been much worse in his case.

After taking his Nonk Peake for a field run, Marsh and I dropped him at the house and slipped off for our first "just he and me," more or less serious training session in a very long time. Have to admit ulterior motive for my choice of venue, which was the last rice I knew to be cut before the rains and, therefore, my best guess for teal watching while we worked.

Didn't find any so married to a spot that they offered good video, but did find quite a few in the rice:



And numerous groups working the general area, though mostly following the mottled ducks' lead and keying on flooded fallow ground, rather than the rice. Made me want to open a craw of two.

Also enjoyed the audio treat and resulting adrenaline rush of having a good bunch blindside and flare over me at close quarters. Even had camera in hand and turned on when that "first of the new season" event occurred:

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Don't know which of those colors we were, just that we're lucky to be inconvenienced by high water, rather than under it. May try to make it down the flooded hard road to the marsh today or tomorrow. May not.