The Right Idea!

  Several times today, Mr.PJ and I made our rounds about the place.  The old dog found hog tracks in the back by the canebrake, romped through the goldenrod and waited patiently for his no-show of a friend, Mama Nutria Rat.  On each of our hikes, the constant splashing of the brown pelicans could be heard even above the brisk northeast winds.  It seemed as if there were an awful lot of the birds around the Bayou!  When we made our way to the pier, that assumption was proved correct.  While we normally have four or five of the birds that hang around the pier, nearly a hundred could be counted within view.  These birds were drawn into the Bay for some reason...but what?  Hundreds of gulls could also be seen making the dive-bombs into the rough waters.

A few casts of the net soon gave me the answer.  The birds had all followed a school of shrimp into the shallows.  It is about that time of year that shrimp make their way of into the Bay.  Each year, I am able to catch enough shrimp to feast upon just by throwing the net a few times.  So...I threw. Yep, we eat shrimp tomorrow!

  The brown pelicans and assorted gulls and terns all follow the massive schools of shrimp.  For the next couple of months, the birds will dine upon the shrimp and fatten themselves for the leaner times of winter.  Their splashdowns will be heard, not only during the day, but all throughout the night as well.  The pelicans will hunt by moonlight if necessary while shrimp are in the shallow waters of the Bay and Bayou.  I, too, will shrimp by moonlight!  For the next month or so, shrimping will be of utmost importance.  Most locals do not pass up the chance for catching the free shrimp that others purchase at an exorbitant price.  Yep, that is just one of the perks of living on the Bayou.  Cast the net a few times each night and fill the freezers with food for the next few months.  If nothing else, we eat good here on the Bayou!  Fish, shrimp, crabs....all free for the taking.  Yum!  Those pelicans have the right idea!