Dastardly Devil and Water Witches

  The Bayou has seen its share of precipitation over the past few days and it seems that we are in for a few more days of such sogginess.  The sky stayed dark gray except for one fleeting moment when the sun actually poked its head out to check on things.  Strange thing was that moment happened right in the middle of a heavy downpour!  To get an idea of  just how fleeting it was, by the time I grabbed my camera to get a picture, the clouds had blocked out the sun once again.  Drats! (A photographic attempt was taken through the screen door but did not show the weather phenomenon accurately.  It was that moment of brightness that struck a memory.  "The devil is beating his wife!"  Yep, it is a Southern thing.  In Deep South Mississippi, this has long been the "reasoning" behind the phenomenon of the sun shining while it is raining.  The logic behind the saying is that the evil devil was angry at God for creating beautiful, sunshiny days and, as the devil would do, he took out his anger on his wife.  Her tears fell in the form of raindrops.  So, any time the sun would shine while it was raining, folks would say "The devil is beating his wife again."  The devil's wife must suffer terribly and should consider leaving that abusive marriage!  

  The rain could not keep my cousin and me from the pier, though.  She and I went down between thunderstorms so she could fish a little before heading back to Georgia.  Her weekend here was far too short but she did end it with the catch of a fine redfish.  After she left, I made a last quick trip to the pier to check the old skiff.  It was then that I spied the Water Witches.  A whole water dance of grebes had flown into the Bayou and were hanging out for the drab day.  (Yes, a group of grebes is a water dance!)  Horned Grebes have the unfortunate nickname of "water witches" which, as far as I can tell, stems from the fact that they have red eyes.  To my way of thinking, this is a sad nickname to slap on such a sweet bird.  

  So between the rainstorms, dastardly devil and water witches, it has been one interesting, albeit drab, day.  Come the weekend, I might be wishing this weather was back as we are to see our first bout of cold air hitting the Bayou.  Brr!  Better stock up the woodpile!