Baja St. Martin

Isn’t this weather beautiful? I’ve gradually been cleaning out flower beds and hope to purchase some spring flowers this weekend. I do have gladiola bulbs in the ground and I think I saw a sign of a leaf coming up.
I guess you’ve been following the Courtesy Ford of Breaux Bridge Giveaway contest and hope you’re voting for Stephensville Elementary which is in number one spot so far. As Principal Staton says, “We’re a little school with a big heart.”
What he didn’t say and which is true of all schools in every parish, schools can always use money. MFP (Minimum Foundation Program) money is just not enough to cover all the things a school needs. Not just so many dollars per student, but all the stuff that you might not think of as school supplies but that are essential to the operation of a business. If you work in an office or a business or both, look around and just make a quick count of all the teeny, tiny, odds and ends you need to function.
So! My purple martins have arrived! Now I just put out a hummingbird feeder and am anxiously awaiting my first little visitor. The bumble bees are also out and that brings back memories of when I first came to Louisiana and first taught school. I was absolutely dumbfounded and charmed to see the boys walking around the playground holding onto a long thread tied around the thorax of a bumblebee. Like little helicopters! Of course, there was always someone who tried to bring their captive into the class and more than a few who tried terrorizing the girls.
I learned later that these were the non-stinging bumble bees and at this moment I can’t remember if those have a white spot on their faces or they don’t. There were bumblebees up north but I don’t think there were any of the non-stinging kinds nor any carpenter bees. Maybe I just wasn’t noticing.
Food for Seniors coming up March 26 in the usual places: Stephensville Fire Station and the Belle River meeting room. Same times – 8 a.m. in the former, about 9:30 a.m. in the latter.
I will be heading to California for the wedding of my oldest granddaughter on May 2. The ceremony is on the beach at a place called Fort Mugu State Park. My daughter and other granddaughter are flying out for the big day. We three made our plane arrangements separately by necessity (all coming from different places) and I noticed below my flight itinerary details it says “poor flight.” That’s what you get when you’re pinching pennies a little and/or trying to get to a certain out–of-the–mainstream airport. It’s also what you get when you have to change planes once or twice enroute. I think it will be an exhausting roundtrip but worth every minute.
I talked to several fishermen at the landing today and all said they weren’t catching much crawfish but are still baiting traps here and there, trying out various spots. One man said he’d gotten two and a half sacks but that was after quite a bit of time and I don’t know how many traps he ran. All said the price now was $1.85 a pound, again not much for this early in the season. You just know it won’t be long before someone, somewhere finds just the right spot and catches crawfish. At which point, the mad rush will be on and the price will plummet.
I love to sit at the landing these days, watching all the boats coming and going, fishermen comparing their finds, where they put traps, probably not telling where their good ones are, complaining about gas and bait, motor problems, laughing and joking. It’s such a fun time.

Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be emailed at lindacooke1939@gmail.com.