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St. Mary Parish residents have until Wednesday to register to vote in time for the Nov. 13 election, according to the Registrar of Voters Office.

The deadline to register using the GeauxVote app is Oct. 23.

Early voting will be Oct. 30-Nov. 6, excluding Sunday, Oct. 31. You may vote 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. on early voting days on the third floor of the St. Mary Parish Courthouse or at the Registrar's Office at 301 Third St., Morgan City. You may vote in either location regardless of where in the parish you live.

If you have questions, call the Registrar of Voters Office at 337-828-4100, extension 360.

The ballot will include local propositions and four proposed amendments to the Louisiana Constitution.

The amendments would:

--Centralize Louisiana sales tax collections, which are currently collected parish by parish.

--Lower the state income tax rate for the top bracket from 6% to 4.75%.

--Give taxing authority to newly formed levee districts. The amendment would not apply to the St. Mary Parish Levee District.

--Allow the Legislature to divert more money from dedicated funding sources to other spending in order to balance the budget. Currently, the Legislature can move up to 5% of dedicated revenue to other purposes. The amendment would raise the cap to 10%.

The St. Mary Parish School Board is seeking renewal of an 11.82-mill property tax.

The tax adds $29.95 to the annual tax payment on a $100,000 home that qualifies for the homestead exemption, and $147.75 for a $200,000 home.

Five-year-old boys are known to get a little fidgety when it comes to having to sit quietly for extended periods of time. Their attention span also tends to wane as well. Such was the case this past weekend on opening day of squirrel season.
My son David had called me earlier in the week asking what season was open and if I could take him and my grandson, Eli, on a squirrel hunt. It would be Eli’s first hunt of any kind, and his dad was anxious to start introducing him to hunting.
Of my three sons, David was always my shadow when it came to my outdoor pursuits. I can remember carrying him, a sack of decoys, my shotgun and ammo through the marsh to hunt ducks when he was about the same age as Eli.
So, there we were, three generations of men with our eyes glued to the canopy of several live oak trees looking for movement in the branches as the twilight gave way to sunrise.
In short order the forest on Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge had come alive.
“What’s that bird calling, Papa?” Eli inquired.
“It’s a pileated woodpecker,” I whispered.
“A pileated woodpecker?” He said, repeating my words.
“Yes, buddy,” I answered.
I wondered if he’d remember the woodpecker’s name knowing full well that kids his age are like little sponges. Besides, I thought, the dang bird also looks something like a small pterodactyl; only with colored feathers. And most kids his age know their dinosaurs.
Right about then we could see and hear the rustling of tree limbs high above us. My son looked at me and using his index and middle fingers, he first pointed to his eyes and then to a location above, letting me know where he saw a squirrel.
Sure enough, the bushy tail was cutting acorns for breakfast.
The squirrel ran along a branch and my son took aim. The shotgun bellowed and a load of fine steel shot plowed through the leaves hitting its mark. Our first squirrel of the morning!
With a big smile on his face, Eli said, “That was loud. It scared me.”
We all walked over to the tree we saw the squirrel fell from and scoured the ground until we found our quarry.
Eli struggled a bit keeping up, because much of the understory was covered in chest-high palmettos. We could see where we were walking, but for him the vegetation was like a big green wall.
After I saw a copperhead slither away while we were looking for the squirrel, I let his dad know we needed to keep Eli extra close and be on the lookout for other snakes.
There are two species of squirrels in Louisiana: the gray squirrel (Sciurus Carolinensis), which is the most common coastal marsh hunters chase in the fall and the fox squirrel (Sciurus Niger) found more in the uplands.
Both species are omnivorous. Nuts (buried and unburied) like acorns, pecans and hickories are mast that dominates their diets during the late summer and fall. However, these critters also eat buds, beetles, bulbs, tubers, roots, berries, fruit, grain and even eggs of birds.
Basically, there’s no scarcity of food sources that would disrupt populations. What’s more, the season dates and bag limits have never changed as far back as I can remember, with opening day traditionally the first Saturday in October.
The last in-depth report from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries that provided small game harvest statistics was issued following the 2012-13 season.
That report indicated some 50,700 small game hunters bagged an estimated 872,100 squirrels that season.
Essentially, a small army of Louisiana hunters barely put a dent in the state’s squirrel population annually.
The oak trees we happened to be sitting under were full of acorns the squirrels were feeding on. There wasn’t any need to do a lot of walking opening day, that was for sure.
I told David after he picked up his squirrel, “We’ll just sit and let things quiet back down. They’ll come right back to this little group of trees.”
It wasn’t long before we started seeing movement in the upper canopy again and we shot a couple more squirrels. That’s also when Eli began to fidget and say he was hungry. Unfortunately, we forgot the little bag of goodies his grandma took time to prepare.
Not to worry though, Papa always carries a few Rice Krispies treats in his truck, which got us through the next 30 minutes of the morning’s hunt.
Just past 8:30 a.m., David leaned over and said, “Dad, let’s go. I want Eli to have a good experience on his first hunt, so he’ll want to go again.” That boy had grown up to be a wise daddy.
No doubt had we stayed, we would have limited out or come fairly close.
But, with a half limit of squirrels in the bag we went home with a good mess to cook up. And more importantly, the knowledge of a mission accomplished, gently introducing a 5-year-old to hunting.
Squirrel season runs through Feb. 28, 2022, with a daily bag limit of eight.

NEW IBERIA — The Shadows-on-the-Teche Fall Arts and Crafts Fair will take place in the Shadows gardens from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9.
Vendors from around Louisiana will display and sell original work. A variety of hand-crafted products will be available for sale.
Some of the items on sale will include original art and woodwork, handmade jewelry, candles, children’s clothing, bows and headbands, dolls, homemade preserves, jellies, salsa and oils.
“Come enjoy the day with your family and friends while supporting local artists, craftsmen and Shadows-on-the-Teche,” said Jayd Buteaux, marketing and programs manager at Shadows-on-the-Teche.
Admission to the fair is $5 per person (12 and older), $3 for children (ages 6-11), and free for children under 6.
To make this event as safe as possible for staff, coronavirus precautions that are in line with federal and state guidelines, which includes wearing masks when unable to social distance will be implemented.
Smoking and pets are not allowed on the Shadows grounds.
About the Shadows-on-the-Teche
The Shadows-on-the-Teche, National Trust for Historic Preser-vation site, opened to the public in 1961 with the mission to preserve the buildings, landscape, collections and historical integrity of the site; to research and interpret through education programs a 19th century southern Louisiana plantation economy and community and their evolution; and to encourage an appreciation of and interest in historic preservation.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which owns and operates the Shadows-on-the-Teche, is a private, non-profit organization. The Shadows does not receive funding from federal, state, parish or city government.
The site supports itself through admissions, special programs and events, and donations to the Friends of the Shadows. For more information, visit ShadowsOnTheTeche.org.

Numerous holidays are upon that call for baking cookies, cakes and other treats. However, during the holiday rush, it’s easy to get side-tracked or tired, and perhaps even a little bit overwhelmed by all the things to do in such a short period of time.
Holiday baking doesn’t have to add to seasonal stress. With these tips and shortcuts, there will be plenty of sweet treats for the family.
Stick with tested recipes
Although holiday bakers may want to branch out a bit with their culinary creativity, recipes that have previously been prepared with great success can take some of the work out of holiday baking.
Preparing recipes you recall preparing in the past is much easier than trying something new. If you’d like, add sparkle to old standards, such as decorating oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies with colored sprinkles.
Cookies are fast-baking
Did you know that cookies were originally made to test oven temperatures? Culinary historians say that cookies were first made to test if an oven was hot enough to bake other goods.
Today, cookies can be whipped up in mere minutes. Make a batch of dough and then freeze or refrigerate it, thawing it when the time comes to bake. Also, think about baking one day and decorating the next if pressed for time.
Embrace colored candy melts
Icing can be tricky to master. Simply heating colored candy melts and pouring over cakes or painting onto cookies can add festive appeal to desserts. Candy melts even come in many different colors and can be combined to achieve the tint desired.
Keep ingredients in top form
Don’t let poorly performing ingredients or a lack of supplies be your undoing. Butter can be softened quickly in the microwave when needed for recipes.
Eggs can be brought to room temperature by allowing them to sit in a bowl of warm water. Ensure that brown sugar stays soft by putting a piece of sliced bread in the container. Don’t forget to stock up on other baking staples, such as vanilla and almond extracts, baking powder/soda, molasses, and confectioner’s sugar.
Don’t bake from scratch
Not all recipes need to be made from scratch. Boxed cake mixes can be embellished and turned into delicious desserts without much fuss.
Substitute melted butter for oil, buttermilk for water, and add an extra egg for a rich cake. Mix in chocolate chips or nuts or experiment with garnishes for a festive look.
Parchment paper is key
Line cookie sheets or cake pans with parchment paper for easy dessert release and quick cleanup. Parchment paper and even foil can help lift cakes or cookie bars out of pans so they look neat and do not stick.
Holiday baking can be made much easier by employing a few tricks of the trade.