There is no way to describe how time drags when you are stuck in some venue and all you can do is wait for it to end. This is exactly where I was for five days last week. I’ll admit the first day or so wasn’t so bad. Several dozen charbroiled oysters helped ease the pain of what I call in the business world, “pressing the flesh.” Meet and greet, handshakes and smiles, exchanges of contact information, are all part of the game. Five nights of hotel restless sleep only adds to the torture. As I always say in the bug world though, you can do anything for five days and it pays the bills. When snow became part of the forecast, everything changed. When pictures of bucks started blowing my phone up, enough was enough.
It is quite uncommon for south Louisiana to encounter sleet and snow. It played into my hand and an early departure for home was granted. Finally, this one is over with. There is nothing on the horizon, at least from a business standpoint until the middle of January. If something does pop up, I will do my best to ignore it. Though inclement weather was expected south of us, I was totally shocked when I let the yorkies out at 5 a.m. and the white stuff had covered my lawn. I’ll admit, I felt like a kid again as excitement ran through my veins. I departed from my usual dark roasted coffee and out came the hot chocolate. I forgot about the week long meeting for old man winter, and all that it entails, was making his presence.
Chloe and Lacey didn’t think highly of the powdery substrate that totally captivated my attention. I suppose if I had to wade out into the slush in the pre-dawn darkness with ice crystals sticking to my paws and fur, I would probably think differently also. In a matter of minutes, silky fur was reduced to mats embedded with bermudagrass runners. Shaggy they did look, and I could only imagine how they felt. No worries, for a warm towel polished them right up and they immediately found their bed with warm blankets. As they snoozed, I started thinking about some of my coldest experiences with snow. Trust me, I have had many. I’ll highlight a few of these frigid follies.
The first cold memory I can recall occurred at what is now Grand Gulf nuclear plant. My dad and Charles Warwick leased a parcel of land along Bayou Pierre in Claiborne County. This was primarily a cattle operation with scattered blocks of timber embedded within its boundaries. Now keep in mind, when I was eight years old, warm hunting attire was almost non-existent. Cotton, quilted long underwear along with blue jeans and flannel shirts was about the extent of the good stuff to wear back in the day. This particular afternoon found me sitting in a ladder stand with my dad. We were on the back side of a deep snow and with clear skies, the temperature was plummeting. By late afternoon we were in the teens with a strong north wind. Just as the “witching hour” was approaching, I became nauseated. Seriously, I was so cold I was sick to my stomach. My nose would begin to drip and would freeze on my lip. I remember wiping my runny nose and saw that it was bleeding. Thank the Lord my dad finally called it quits before dark and we climbed down. I must really love hunting for it’s a miracle I ever went again after that afternoon. I still think about that day.
I recall a last day hunt in Alberta, Canada many years ago. Now you may think I’m crazy but the actual temperature was twenty below with a forty mile per hour wind. This put the wind chill around 40 to 50 below. Now keep in mind also, we weren’t in heated box blinds with a thermos of coffee and a body heater suit. We stood along cut lines and open barley fields trying to catch a buck out in the open. Words can’t describe how bitter it really was.
Then there was the time when daylight found us on the very south end of our lease in Montana. We had parked our truck and walked another mile or so to watch a big block of brush where some giant bucks lurked. An hour or so after daylight, the wind picked up and the temperature started dropping. We couldn’t take it but for a couple of hours and headed back to the truck. By now the winds had reached around seventy miles per hour with snow piling up. We reached the truck only to find the tires had frozen to the ground and wouldn’t budge. All the while, snow was getting deeper and deeper. With no means of transportation, we set out for camp on foot. Several hours later, we “strolled” into camp physically frozen and exhausted. A few days later, everything thawed out and we retrieved our truck. And we call this fun? Maybe I should re-visit this sometime.
It’s downright funny at times when I wish for cold weather. When cold weather does arrive, I find or make excuses to avoid the elements. When I think back on what I have endured in years past regarding cold weather, this is really a piece of cake. I think it’s just human nature and we’re never really satisfied. Think about these scenarios. When it’s summer we long for winter. When the cold weather chills us to the bone we want to be at the beach or the lake. We even go to the extreme to put sugar in our tea and then turn right around and add lemon to it. Do you see my point?
This article is very timely for now there is no way I can sleep in tomorrow. No matter what the weather is, I’m rising early in the morning and will find my way through the darkness to a special little haunt. If I feel the bite of frost at sunrise, then I am successful. I hope you do the same.
Until next time enjoy our woods and waters and remember, let’s leave it better than we found it.
