About The Sylvania times. (Sylvania, Ga.) 2022-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 2024)
thesy lvaniatimes. com The Sylvania Times Wednesday, February 14, 2024 - Page 13 Bidd Sands Lake & Lake Woody, A Valentine’s Weekend Getaway! Bidd Sands Lake & Lake Woody, A Valentine's Weekend Getaway! This week, I want to talk to the Men. Of course guys you know what day it is. It is Valentine's Day. We are all suppose to do something special for our"'significant other", sometime this week or weekend. So, I personally think, during this beautifuf weekend, you need to take them to a park and have a picnic and maybe fish a little. Now, you may have a favorite or special place in mind. However, I want to share one of my favorite places that is close by and your "significant other" will just love. The "Evans County Public Fishing Area" in Claxton, Georgia. Not a far drive at all. And the surroundings are great! Not to mention the great fishing too. This great fishing area encompasses three separate lakes. Each one offers unique fishing and outdoor opportunities for each and every one of us. Bidd Sands lake is the largest of the three. It consists of large expanses of open water and areas of dense lilypads. And let me say, you can catch the largest, Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bream and Catfish you have ever seen. Another part is Lake Woody. This lake is very natural with hardwoods and cypress trees in habiting most of its upper portion. It doesn't just offer very good fishing, but offers duck hunting during quota hunts with it's large area of flooded forest. Now, the third lake, is Lake Longleaf. This lake is managed for Channel Catfish and is stocked several times each year and it maintains an excellent fishery that is easily accessible from a fishing pier or from the bank. Now, not only does this park have great fisning, it features a large RV and Tent campground, a commercial kitchen event center and a covered pavillion that is available to reserve for gatherings. This wonderful park features nature trails for the two of you to venture through, and realty nice archery range along with a bird and wild-life viewing area. I have to say, it is an excellent venue for a romantic getaway for a couple to enjoy a day or weekend of talking around a warm campfire, fishing, taking walks, visiting with nature and just getting away from the hustle and bustle of life itself. I hope you and your "significant other" get a chance this Valentine's Day to get away and enjoy some time at this wonderful park, just a short drive away! See ya next week! (yack The FarmWife at Two Pennies Farm Virgin No More Nancy Baker Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I have had two adventures with my horse Venus that resulted in several broken ribs. It was not like in the movies where the hero wraps some strips tom off his shirt around his chest and goes right on hero-ing. Broken ribs are painful! I couldn’t make any sudden moves or bend over without getting stabbed, and taking little, shallow breaths was making me lightheaded. I felt a little like Scarlette O’Hara at Tara after the war. To paraphrase, “As God is my witness, I will never break my ribs again!” To that end I purchased a Hit-Air Vest. It’s a wearable airbag in a vest. It has a cannister of air inside that is triggered by a Deadman switch. There’s a tether from the vest to your saddle. When you are 17 inches out of the saddle, the tether pulls the plug on the cannister, and your vest inflates as fast as your car’s airbags. When I first started researching Hit- Air Vests there was a lot of talk on the internet about how loud they were when they deployed. Several folks said it sounded like a gunshot and would frighten the other horses. Even though some of my riding friends were reluctant to chance having their horses scared by the noise, I really can’t go through more broken ribs or worse. I bought the vest and wear that and a helmet every time I get up on Venus. Thursday, we went out riding with some friends. I don’t think I’ve ridden Venus since the first of the year and she was feeling her oats. She wanted to be the leader and to go faster than a walk. We’d get ahead of the group then circle around to the back. We did this a million times, and she was not happy. Dee, a mare, came trotting up behind us and Venus let fly with both back legs. Venus doesn’t like other mares much, but she’s always been mannerly about it. She didn’t make contact with Dee, so she tried again. By this point she had had enough. I was trying to get her over to the side of the trail so she wouldn’t hurt anyone, and she just lost her mind. She started bucking and I came more than 17 inches out of the saddle. BLAM!! I thought the cannister was loud, but then it was strapped to my body. The air bags instantly inflated. There’s a bag that goes the length of your spine, one over the lower back, one around the back of the neck. Two in front and one under each arm. It’s a little hard to breathe for a few seconds after the airbag deploys because it makes the vest quite snug. But it starts slowly deflating right away, so that’s not a problem. Even with the vest I had hit the ground hard. I remembered hearing my head hit the ground, but the air bag behind my neck cushioned that blow. My previously broken ribs were a little sore, but nothing was broken. I’m pretty sure from the way I landed that I would have broken a few ribs and concussed myself, but the vest protected me. Even better, my friends didn’t know I had come off until Venus blew by them reins flapping in the wind. No other horses or riders panicked at the sound of my air vest deploying. Yay! Venus came back to the other horses, and with a leg up from another rider, we were able to finish the ride. Two Advil and an ice pack when we got home, and I was good as new. I’ve got two replacement air cannisters on order, so no riding till they get here. Five of us Saddle Sisters aren’t Hit- Air Vest virgins anymore. And it’s a good thing. ATTENTION SCREVEN COUNTV! Theme Contest It’s getting that time again to start planning for the 73rcJ Annual Screven County Livestock Festival! VOU COULD WIN Call or email us with your best theme ideas! 912-564-7878 screvencountychamber@gmail.com All entries are due by February 14 THE COLLINGSWORTH FAMILY PRESENTS BEST OF THE CFAM SPRING TOUR 2024 Tuesday, April 9,2024 7:00 pm Screven County Auditorium 110 Halcyondale Rd, Sylvania, GA 30467 Sponsored by: ttjBnkins CountyTimes AC!* 'T 1 ^OYLVANIAtlMES bkiitm. For Tickets: Scan code or Call: 1-800-965-9324 www.TheCollingsworthFamily.com HAVE VOUR DESIGN PRINTED BV THE BEST !
