13 January - Day #42. Last night Murphy Island was quiet, the silence only being broken by the occasional train whistle. It was cold this morning as evidenced by Nellie's thick frost jacket. Without a cloud in the sky the sun warmed things quickly and we saw 60F by the afternoon. The scenery changed dramatically today. A wide open river gave way to a narrow, curvatious, stream protected by lush woods. we've reached the "mecca" of fishing grounds and what boats we do see are runabouts. Lots of little fishing villages spring up along the river making for a colorful backdrop. We idle back for posted manatee areas but have yet to see a manatee. We've heard they're farther down the river basking in the warm spring waters. We drop the hook just north of Astor, a small riverfront community, where just about everyone we met was talking about their day on the water and the fish they caught--or the big one that got away. Today's picture is of hyacinths floating past Nellie. 35nm today/920 total. BJH
