Baja St. Martin

I received a very nice Christmas card from a cousin in Michigan with news of his kids, sisters, etc. My cousin is a retired lawyer and now raises Scottish Highland cattle. There was a picture of one of the cows on the card and it looks like a musk ox, with short legs, large horns and very shaggy hair. They said they also have several sheep primarily to keep the cattle company. I guess the “boys” (or maybe they’re girls) are very friendly and like sheep!
I’m not sure why John is raising these animals aside from their meat value, but since the name is McLaughlin Farms maybe that’s where the Scottish part comes.
I am a fan of author Bernard Cornwell who has written a whole series featuring British soldier Richard Sharpe and his exploits from 1799 to 1821. Cornwell writes so eloquently about the battles you’d think he might have been there. Very descriptive and pretty bloody. There are about 18 books in the series and I’ve read them all before but now am starting again.
With this beautiful weather the Belle River landing has been packed with vehicles. From the look of the empty trailers I’d guess the sport fishing must be decent. I’ve talked with a few commercial fishermen who tell me they are just putting out a trap here and there to check. The water is high now so the boats can go everywhere. I even saw a sign somewhere in Pierre Part saying “Boiled crawfish for sale.” Probably pond crawfish but it’s an indication.
On Jan. 28 I saw one purple martin checking out my big birdhouse on the dock. I just got the two houses up last week so I was right in time. It didn’t stay and I’ve not seen any since but I suspect the gang will be arriving soon. I can hardly wait to hear that distinctive chirping every morning.
Someone ran into our mailbox with their boat trailer some months ago and it finally got so wobbly I bought a new box a few days ago. Then it turned out my husband had to cut off the old box because nuts and bolts were badly rusted. The new box I bought didn’t use the same mounting apparatus, so back to the store for extras which also didn’t work. Finally, my husband fabricated a few pieces, we got the box mounted and then I realized that I’d bought letters but no numbers to put on the box. And all this was on the same day that I bought something at the Dollar Store but forgot to bring it home and then I bought something at the Pierre Part Store and forgot to bring that home. I was totally frustrated, disgusted with myself and beginning to wonder if something was wrong with me!
But...! The weather is beautiful. Once again I can sit on my favorite logs and read and wave to boats with a warm sun on my back. It’s wonderful.
It was good to see Grover again. He doesn’t seem to age at all. It was fun seeing all the people again.
Mr. Palma Johnson will be coming to the Stephensville Fire Station on Feb. 24 to offer help with electricity bills. He will return to the Belle River meeting room on Friday, Feb. 27, for the same purpose. I’ll tell everyone I see on Food for Senior day but if you read this column, pass the word.
Hope to see many of you at the Jan. 31 gumbo lunch in Stephensville. And hope to see more of you at the Feb. 26 public hearing on the FAS/levee application. Come prepared to speak if you want. Or just lend your moral support. We can use lots of both.

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