Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

The last full day was the highlight of my trip.  My friend rented a charter boat to fish on Lake Pontchartrain.  Unexpectedly the boat ride to and back our fishing spot was just as exciting as the fishing.

We hung on for dear life as the wind and spray hit us.  It was exhilarating!  The captain said he was only traveling twenty-seven mile per hour but it seemed faster.  I was never in a boat that small.  The fishing was almost anticlimactic.

I lost track how many of speckled trout I caught.  As my friend said in his sardonic way–I caught ‘my world record’ for speckled trout.  The guide was good and patient with us.  He talked slowly with a southern drawl.  I also caught two sting rays, two small croakers and the only flounder.  It was fun although I did get tired standing up to fish.

I did not catch any sheephead.  The guide caught two and my friend one.  They were bigger than any of the other fish–four to six pounds.  My only disappointment there was no time to eat any of the speckled trout.  I was leaving the next day.

The guide and captain was good and if you are ever in the New Orleans area I would recommend this charter.  He called his charter “Therapy Charters”.  When I questioned him how he got his name, he simply said ‘fishing is therapy.’  If you ever want to look up his web site it is www.therapycharters.net.

Tags: 'fishing is therapy', "Therapy Charters", boat captain, charter fishing boat, croakers, fishing, flounder, Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, my old friend, New Orleans, sheephead fish, southern drawl, speckled trout, sting rays, vacation
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After a week in New Orleans I was cold here.  I went out to inspect the garden and had to put a sweater on.  It really was not too cold as far as a May day but I spent seven days in Louisiana and got spoiled.  It was high fifties and sixties here and damp and all I wanted to do was bundle up a little.  These temperatures here were really were (???) not that unusual.

Tags: garden, Louisiana, May day, New Orleans, spring
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The hospitality I was shown by my friends will remain with me for a long time.  Long after my visit was complete and I was back home.  Both my friend and his wife were very gracious towards me.  I did not want to infringe upon them and they did give me some space.  Their hospitality toward me is what I remember.  I did realize I was a guest but I did not try to take advantage of that.  He did his best to make my stay a memorable one.  He took me on a boat trip down the Pearl River.  And that over two hour ride was lots of fun.  We saw at least a dozen alligators and many birds.  Our guide was a real character.  We ate at different restaurants.  I never had a sandwich of fried shrimp before.  There are so many memories it will take me a while to process them.  But long after they are gone what I will remember the most is how comfortable both of them made me feel as their guest.

Tags: alligators, birds, fried shrimp sandwich, friend and his wife, gracious hosts, guest, hospitality, Louisiana, my visit, Pearl River
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I will fly back tomorrow and this area will fade in my memory rapidly.  I will share my pictures I will develop right away with my wife.  With a little luck I will have, at least, one good shot of a alligator and I will be able to share the beauty of my friend’s yard.  I will forget the humidity quickly.  And the causeway whose length was twenty-five miles along “the Lake”.  What I won’t forget so easily is the red headed woodpecker still plentiful in this area.  You don’t see those in our area.  I got a real kick out of seeing them for the first time.  The trip to the French Quarter was memorable and so was the walk down Bourbon Street.  I did see the Mississippi River.  But before I know it, I will be back home.  I truly did miss our four dogs.  And my wife.  And I will be surrounded, again, with my familiar things–my music, my books, my house and yard.  It is always good to occasionally venture out to an area unfamiliar to you.  There is always another way to do something.  And a visit to a different area reminds you of this.

Tags: alligator, birds, Bourbon Street, dogs, French Quarter, humidity, Louisiana, Mississippi River, my books, my friend's yard, my music, my wife, our four dogs, pets, red headed woodpecker, visiting friends
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There were some highlights today.  My friend stopped the car twice and got out.  Once to make sure a turtle made it safely across and another time he grabbed a king snake that was probably two feet long and deposited it across the road.  I was aghast at this.  I don’t like touching any kind of snake.  Another highlight of today was when two wild pigs crossed the road right in front of us.  One was bigger than the other.  I had never seen feral pigs before.  These were only three highlights of this day but it made the day memorable.

Tags: feral pigs, king snake, Louisiana, my friend, turtle safely across the road, wild pigs, wildlife
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