Up close and personal!

  Here on the Bayou, we make use of most everything.  Things are used, reused, repaired, recycled, upcycled and, then, used again!  It is just one of those "waste not, want not" ideas that has stuck throughout the ages in my family.  There is also this mantra of "waste not, want not" when it comes to food as well.  It seems almost sinful to just let food go to ruin.  Then again, this might come from the fact that most of our food is either home-grown or self-caught. When you have to physically work for your food, you appreciate it all the more. The garden and the Bayou provide for our needs quite well.  With now four deep freezers filled to capacity and the "larder" shelves heavy-laden with all sorts of goodies, I feel it is time to sit back had enjoy the fruits of our labor.  The fall garden is already in the ground and the shrimping season has waned for the time being.

  Speaking of shrimp, Mark and I were on the pier this afternoon during a bit of squally weather.  We had to secure his boat and all of my fishing gear to keep the storm from claiming it.  While there, he tossed the net a few times out of curiosity.  We were wondering if the bad weather had brought the shrimp back closer to shore.  He caught one! Yep, it was a nice one and it would have been delightful if we had caught others but only one found its way into the net.  I was holding this nice, large shrimp when I decided that it needed to be photographed "up close and personal"!  Why?  I have no clue.  I just did.  This was a fine specimen of crustacean!  It was quite large and had a beautiful color to it.  The critter was just pretty...as far as shrimp go.  So I got Mark to hold the critter whilst I photographed it.

  While most folks realize that seafood is quite healthy to eat, a lot of folks do not know that shrimp can be considered one of the world's super foods!  These crustaceans are loaded with an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrient.  This nutrient can help prevent colon cancer.  Shrimp are also loaded with selenium which is good for the heart.  These are both good reasons to add seafood (especially shrimp) to the diet!

  Back to photographing this particular shrimp.  Today was a good day for the critter.  Its health remained in good order.  After just a few seconds, the critter was dropped back into the water and bid a hearty farewell.  I could not see keeping just one shrimp even if it might have been quite tasty and surely healthy!