Fishing trip

Last Wednesday Dave and I drove up to Clinton, LA to our grandparent's camp. They own lots of land and the family members use it for hunting and fishing. The goal of our fishing trip was to break in our brand new baitcasting rod and reels that we bought at Cabelas. I wasn't expecting to catch anything because it was cold and windy and not a good day for fishing. We had been casting for about an hour when I caught a largemouth bass! I caught him on a white spinner bait and I'm guessing he weighted about 2-3 pounds. After the picture was taken, I threw him back in so he can grow big!

We didn't catch any more fish so we left around 1PM and headed to my grandparent's house. As soon as I got there, I showed them the picture of my fish. They said it was a pretty fish! I agreed....it had nice color and was fat. Then, we sat around the fireplace, talked, drank hot tea and ate cookies.

After that, we walked outside to visit my uncle's donkeys.

They love to be petted and I think they wanted some food, but I didn't have anything for them to eat.

Dave and I petted them awhile, then walked around to the other side of the barn. The donkeys followed us! They look so cute here.

We left the donkeys behind and headed for the back porch. We sat in rocking chairs and watched goldfinches root around in leaf litter. They got close to us and I was able to snap a few pictures. I'm not sure what kind of bird is in the last picture. Maybe its a female goldfinch.

Over the Levee

I live in south Louisiana, about 20 miles south of Baton Rouge. Saint Gabriel is a small town that sits across from the Mississippi River. We live on River Road. River Road is a very long road that follows the river as it winds its way down to the Gulf of Mexico. All along River Road is a levee that keeps the Mississippi River from flooding. Here are some pictures that I took this morning when I went for a walk up and over the levee and through the woods to the river.

The levee side that faces my house is nothing but grass, but the backside is solid concrete (for reinforcement).

Once you cross the levee, you will see a path that leads to the river.

I love cardinals. I spotted him while walking along the path and he stayed still long enough for me to snap his picture. He wasn't close to me...I had to use all of my digital zoom and most of my optical zoom! I also saw a female cardinal, but wasn't able to get a picture of her.

The cardinals were seen in the trees growing in this overflow pond. Every year the river floods (due to snow melt up north) and after the water recedes, a small pond is formed where the water wasn't able to drain out.

I'm not sure what kind of vine this is, but it was growing all around the pond.

Blackberry vines have pretty purple fall foliage.

The Mississippi River! Its very wide and deep here.

Fall color from sycamore trees. Sycamore trees are one of my favorite trees. I love how the bark peels off to reveal white wood underneath.

Brrr!

Its a cold day in south Louisiana....26 degrees this morning! The high is 55 and thats not too bad. When I walked outside this morning, there was a blanket of frost over the grass. I forgot to bring in some of my "not cold hardy" plants and I don't think they were able to survive the below freezing temps. I'm not too worried about them because they are easy to replace. I did remember to bring in my special plants, like plumeria, hibiscus, and a large jade plant. I keep them in the outside laundry room with the hot water heater and they are able to stay warm there. Thankfully, this cold snap is short lived and the temperature will be back in the high 60's by the end of the week!

Dianthus

Its been a while since I've written a blog, mainly because not much has been happening. Garden plants are blooming some, but they are not near as pretty as they were in the spring. The one plant that looks nice is my dianthus. Here it is in bloom!

One of the reasons I haven't blogged much is that I spend most of my time working at Cabelas. As Christmas approaches, Cabelas extends store hours to ensure that every customer has the opportunity to buy Christmas gifts or buy something for themselves. That also means that employees have to work long hours.

Christmas time = really good sales. Dave and I took advantage of the doorbuster sale this morning and bought two scopes (on sale $15 regular $50) and two rod/reel combos with a baitcasting reel. Thats a very nice reel! The rods were around $45 each, which is a nice sale. I'm hoping to catch a nice sized largemouth bass with my new rod.

Dave and I will soon be visiting the state parks for a mini vacation. We will catch fish, walk the wooded trails and photograph wildlife. I'm hoping for a barred owl picture! Stay tuned for state park blog posts in the weeks following Christmas!