Saturday, May 31, 2003 in the Central Mississippi Delta.

Spring has come to the Duck Camp 101. It is always amazing to see what you know as a brown hinterland of muddy soup and naked trees turn into shining green fields and forests. What was mud and leaves is now green and growing. The “volunteer” stands of millet beat all I have ever seen. It did not look nearly this good before duck season last year. I hope that the millet re-heads and comes out like this again when it is plowed under in September. The doves are everywhere, feasting on the unexpected smorgasborg of seed heads that have arrived.

The water level is about perfect for hunting. I wish it would stay as it is until duck season closes. However, I know that if it does not drop some, no crops can be planted. Signs of life are everywhere. In less than an hour, I saw 4 deer, 3 turkeys and a mother wood duck and her brood. It is nice to know that our wood duck friends are still on duty. The herons are in the shallows in droves, stalking the baitfish. The tribe of mice is back and running amok in the camp house. Pesky mice, but I guess they are just trying to make a living, like the rest of us. Things look pretty good in my tiny little corner of the duck hunting world.