Baja St. Martin

I’m hearing that the price of crawfish to fishermen has dropped to $2.50 a pound – in some places to $2. I’m probably the last one to know this, but some crawfishermen are using corn on the cob for bait now. They say it lasts longer than meat bait and must be cheaper. Some fishermen are catching 10 sacks a trip. Others say only two or three, which is not bad if the price stays up.

The water in the spillway is still fairly high. The north wind blew one day and pushed the water down, but then it shifted back to the south and the level has risen back.

This is a strange crawfishing season. The persistent and late cold weather seems to be affecting a lot of things adversely. I have not yet put out tomato plants for fear of the chilly nights, but I have planted cold hard things like lettuce, kohlrabi, arugula, chard. My green beans are coming up nicely and I’m praying for no more freezes.

My sister called this morning to say the temperature at her house in southern Michigan was 16 degrees and the snow was not melting at all. Both my sisters are getting tired of the cold and snow. A school year there customarily extends into June but now there’s talk of maybe continuing into late, late June to make up for snow days.

My purple martins are busy nesting. Once again, at least one sparrow (or wren?) is nesting two doors (holes) from a Martin. Both are stuffing bedding matter into their respective holes. They seem to be tolerating one another.

My son-in-law, bless his heart, texted me the other day to say he had one hummingbird already at his feeder. We have a friendly competition over this every year and I had to confess that I haven’t even put out my hummer feeders yet. That’s on my list today.

Everyone in Belle River is talking about the proposed rezoning application by F.A.S. (Fred A. Settoon Environmental). A town hall meeting will be held and I’ll be sure to let you know what occurs. The permit, which was published in the Teche News last issue, says F.A.S. is seeking to have a current area of the levee rezoned from woodlands, etc., to heavy industrial. Lots of gossip is zooming around about what the company will tell us and what they really mean if it’s not the same. The Zoning and Planning Commission will meet to vote on this issue later. We’re hoping this latter meeting can be postponed to allow time for more study on the proposal.

I will admit I am not in favor of this because it is not far from my house and I dread the possibility of truck and barge traffic on road and river. It’s already bad on the road. F.A.S. tank trucks rumble by already and they are not going slow and they don’t look lightweight!

On April 11 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., St. Martin Parish District Attorney Phil Haney is hosting a luncheon for Lower St. Martin veterans in the new Belle River Community meeting room on Hwy. 70. Ms. Shirley Akers is facilitating this get together which is being held to give local vets a chance to visit, share information, and ask questions about benefits, etc., from Veterans Affairs counselor Dee Vicks who will be present. If you are a vet of any military encounter and live in Belle River, Stephensville or Four-mile Bayou, give me a call to let me know if you can come. Bring your spouse and/or significant other. We need to know how many lunches to prepare. E-mail me at lcooke9417@bellsouth.net or call at (985) 513-8622 by April 7.

Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be e-mailed at lcooke9417@bellsouth.net.