Baja St. Martin

I just couldn’t resist calling my sisters the other day and letting them know that as we spoke I was stretched out on a chair on my front deck with the temperature on the nearest thermometer showing 70 degrees. I loved the groans I heard. Actually, they were having something of a heat wave with temps in the 30s, so they weren’t suffering too badly.
It has been beautiful here lately, hasn’t it? I keep telling myself that winter isn’t over, that we will probably have more cold, maybe even freezing weather, but I still got out and trimmed back frozen branches on some bushes, began clearing my seawall flower beds, cleaned out the area in back of my house where the Four O’Clocks will come up. I got grubby knees, dirty hands and it felt wonderful!
I see the DNR announcement about the Feb. 26 hearing in the papers now. Some people are coming to me and saying, “I thought the whole FAS/levee thing was settled,” to which I reply, “Oh, no, not by a long shot!” I hope you can come to that hearing. It should be interesting.
I met the most interesting lady the other day. Miki Pfeffer has just published a book on “Southern Ladies and Suffragists,” about Julia Ward Howe at the l884 World’s Fair in New Orleans. This wasn’t the first World’s Fair, but it was the first one with a Women’s Department, which I thought was amazing for such a southern location. I guess I should have realized the NOLA was a cosmopolitan city even in those days, with quite a few women prominent in business. Ms. Pfeffer is 79 years old which gave me a real emotional boost knowing that it’s never too late for a lot of things like publishing a book!
So much for the nice weather. Today it is windy, cold and wet. Not very nice at all. I did think this morning earlier that it is about time to clean out my purple martin birdhouses and raise them up for the coming season of birds. I lower the two houses to the dock in the winter so I don’t have to worry about the wind blowing them over.
I will be heading north to spend a few days with my sisters the second week of February. Probably not the best time for travel but it’s been over a year since we’ve been together. None of us are getting younger and our phone calls more frequent so I decided we’re due for a face-to-face. If I get a chance to make a snowman in my sister’s yard, I’ll take a picture and send it to you.
By the time this is in the paper the gumbo lunch that the Sheriff provides for the seniors of Baja will have taken place, but I’ll mention it now. I know it will be nice. I missed the last one – can’t recall why – so I’m looking forward to this one.
Food for Seniors will be on Jan. 29 for Baja people and it will also be nice to see old friends, especially Grover.
I’ve been hearing about the deflated football issue lately and watched Bellichek and Brady deny knowing anything about it. I have no reason not to believe them, but wonder who, if anyone, actually tampered with the balls and if it made any difference. I guess we may never know what happened but it surely does leave an unpleasant taste. I do enjoy watching pro football usually, but mostly when the Saints are doing well, so this year I didn’t pay much attention to any of the games. And too often, the Super Bowl game is not good. I guess we’ll see.

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