Weather Vanes!

I have a strange fascination with weather vanes. I remember the first time I ever saw one was years ago when Dad took me to "town" with him. As part of the trip, we went into a hardware store right in the middle of "downtown"! That amazed me in itself but once Dad pointed out what was on top of that store..I was downright flabbergasted! There on top of a conical rooftop was a weathervane with a moon and a witch! I just knew that place must have been haunted! Like most hardware stores, the place was filled with all sorts of weird and wonderful items but none of that held my interest..I wanted to go back outside to watch the witch! The witch weathervane has stood the test of time and has become quite the landmark of Downtown Biloxi! So much so that many people never even notice that there is a dragon perched on a nearby chimney!

The witch weathervane on top of Ellzey's Hardware Store. A landmark of Biloxi, Mississippi!

Since that first sighting of a weathervane, I have wanted one to sit on top of my house. It most likely would not be the best of ideas to install one as a hurricane might rip it off. Then my vane would be stuck in a tree somewhere and I would never see it again. Still, I like weathervanes and do wish there could possibly be one on the property somewhere. When I was on the pier, I noticed that the gazebo across the Bayou has a weathervane! A nice big weathervane! This one is not a witch..it is a Great Blue Heron..so fitting for here on the Bayou. I spent a moment being envious..I so wanted a vane! But there was work to be done in the yard and I had to stop lollygagging about on the pier staring at an iron bird!

Great Blue Heron weathervane on the gazebo across the Bayou.

The rose garden demanded my attention for the next couple of hours. I clipped, trimmed, weeded and raked until the area started resembling a well-tended garden again. I was enjoying being outside! The sun was shining and the birds were singing..all was well with the world! As I was working, I heard the cooing of a Mourning Dove. Looking up, I saw it! I had my weathervane! Perched on the edge of my roof was a dove! This dove returns to the peak of the house each Springtime. It sits there watching over the arbor where Mrs. Dove always nests. Surely it is too early in the year for her to be nesting now! We still have Winter to deal with..it is not Spring! Still, I was happy to see my friend and I suddenly realized that this bird was a far better thing to have sitting on my rooftop than a chunk of iron.

Mourning Dove "weathervane" sitting on the peak of the Little Bayou House!