Struggles

  We all have our ups and downs and we deal with them...or most of us do. Some things come and others go.  Life here on the Bayou is no different than anywhere else beyond the obvious slower pace and natural surroundings.  An easy life is never promised to any of us..as is life in general. To a certain extent, we all struggle on a daily basis.  

  While out and about the hillside, I find a lot of things interesting. Whether this is a plant that I do not recognize or perhaps a nest of baby rabbits, I figure that things are here for a reason.  Today's find drove home that idea of a struggle with life.  A nest of baby mockingbirds with their first glimpse of the world should be a happy occasion but, if one sits and watches, you will see the constant effort of the parent birds to find sustenance for the hungry mouths that await in the nest.  That strain is multiplied greatly by the ever present danger from predators. Cats, hawks, crows, snakes, even squirrels present a danger to those defenseless babes.  The parent birds protect to the best of their ability and usually do a grand job.  The ravenous tykes are fed and the cycle of life continues.  Life begins anew.

  Also, an unusual find.  Dangling from the leaf of a petunia plant was the lifeless body of a bee.  It precariously wafted in the breeze at first making me think that the bee was actually just visiting the blooms.  A closer look revealed that the bee had somehow met its demise.  With a food source so close at hand, the bee must have just played out its life. No chemical sprays have ever touched the petunias where this guy was feasting so unless he picked up something elsewhere, I rest assured that sprays did not harm the critter.  Life ended.

  Some come....some go and life continues.