I've got a few random thoughts rattling around my head after a soggy weekend in the bush...

* It's a beautiful thing, being in the woods before sunrise, listening to all of the sounds. The songbirds as they greet the day, the wild turkeys gobbling off in the distance, the relentless hammering of woodpeckers.

Two toddlers in the house, plus an odd work schedule that isn't really on a schedule at all, makes early mornings difficult in the best of times. Still, every time I make the decision to get out while it's dark, I'm never disappointed.

* You know you're getting a little punchy there, junior, when a dog barking in the distance sounds like a tom answering your call.

* Kudos to the 118 anglers -- paired off into 59 teams -- that made it out to the Maine Open B.A.S.S. Tournament on Cobbossee Lake on Sunday.

It was wet, cold and rough going on the open water. But, as one of the fishermen put it, "Other than that, it was perfect."

* It's officially open water fishing season now. How do I know?

Well, it had nothing to do with ice-out or water temperatures and everything to do with permission. As in, when my wife turned to me and said, "You really ought to try to touch water with the canoe this weekend," I knew I was good to go.

* The red-winged blackbirds are back. It must be spring.

-- TB