We did survive to get into another month, the second of this year.

So I guess one could say that we are definitely on our way to getting into another decade, the second of this century.

What we had said about the rainfall has held true as we are getting as much this month so far as last month. Not complaining as the water table had gotten pretty low, so low in fact that it will take several years of more than average rainfall to get it back up.

As the water table rises, we should see and hear of more sinkholes forming in the area and down in Florida especially. All the limestone under us will start giving away and making for some exciting living for some of us. It got that way in my neighborhood a few weeks ago. The pavement in the street that goes by my house gave away and formed a-not-so-large hole. The road folks came and worked on it and filled it in. They came back last week and filled it in again as it dropped some more and got wider. We may not have seen the last of the road crew nor the ever-widening hole.

We have been putting money into the coffers of the medical profession this week. Of course I had to work sick while someone else got to lay out of work and rest up. Now I did lay out of work when I had the heart bypass surgery. But that didn’t last long. I was talking and answering questions over the phone the next week after I got home from the hospital. I was talking on my cell phone while riding in the EMS vehicle to the hospital. And riding in that old van should have told me everything would be OK if I survived the ride. They must have gotten the van from a paint contractor after he had worn it out. It still had the racks in the back or what looked liked the racks in the paint vans I had seen.

And it wasn’t nearly as bad as I make it seem. It could have been my last ride, so I was enjoying it, especially after the last shot and the pain went away. The old folks had always told me that if I was still alive when the pain went away, I had a good chance of making it. Hey, I was happy.

And the driver turned the old van into a race van. Two times he stood the van on its nose. One time when a car pulled out in front of us and another time when a red light appeared out of no where in the middle of no where. The driver said both times, “sorry Mr. Howell.” I was just glad that I was strapped to the gurney. It had a good set of tires and no telling where I might have ended up.

I was just thinking about what went on as today is five years and one month since I took that ride. At least I lived to have a few more exciting rides. One of those rides, I killed a mailbox and severely wounded a trash can on another. Thank goodness no bloodshed either time. Did loose a mirror each time.

There is little to tell in the hunting or fishing area this week.

Hunting is down to the small game seasons and not much of that is going on.

Folks would certainly go fishing, but the water is high and muddy. As the old folks say, too much fresh water. Fishing is going to get better and get better soon. It will happen the week after it gets a little warmer and the water goes down.

By now we usually see a few bass beds. Big fish bed a little earlier than the smaller ones though I think they have done this so many times that the really big females just drop their eggs, and if they hatch all the better and if they don’t, so what.

A big ole female just may absorb the eggs back into her system rather than going through the process. Not a lot of those would hatch. The best size females to have to ensure a good hatch would be between two and one-half pounds to around five pounds. They usually have a lot of eggs and they will hatch out. She has nothing to do with the survival of the fry after they hatch.

A school of bigger fish may eat the entire school of fry or maybe with luck half of them survive.

That many surviving out of a bedding season would overstock a body of water in just a few years. Mother Nature will take care of her own though sometimes it may not look like it.

Hang on for a few more days.