Winter Is Wearing

  I started out with a bang this morning.  The recent mass of cold days that kept me stuck inside the Little Bayou House had only led me to the notion that I needed to be outside.  Since the weather is highly agreeable, now was the time to put into motion all of the ideas that cluttered the mind.  I wanted to rip out the gardens and get set for spring.  One of the things that needed tending was the board path that leads down to the pier.  Over the nigh on fifteen years that the path has existed, time has taken its toll.  Dozens of the boards were rotted while others had become out of line and made walking a bit hazardous.  It was my idea to remove the entire mess and start over.  This notion led to other things and soon (in my mind, at least) the entire garden area needed to be revamped.  So, while Mark and Son replaced some rotted siding on the house, I set to work digging out boards. This task was much easier in my mind than in reality.  Tonight, I am sore.  Every muscle in my body seems to scream when I move.  While physically I am in pain, mentally, I am elated.  So much was accomplished!  The board path has been removed, dirt leveled and the area is ready for revamping.  Gardens have bulbs removed, dirt turned and edging removed.  Leaves have been raked, hauled and burned.  It feels good.

  While removing the planks that made up the pathway, I had to use an axe to knock out the huge spikes that held them in place.  This, also, rendered the boards useless as they splintered and broke.  Inside one of the huge timbers that lined the walk, beetles tumbled out in mass confusion.  The critters obviously had decided to overwinter inside the rotted wood.  These huge, two-inch-long insects had tunneled throughout the timber causing even more rot.  My first instinct was to kill the critters and rid the garden of all insects but, then, I recalled hearing somewhere that there are a few beetles that actually feed on garden pests.  Not being one that is particularly up on my beetle species, I had no idea whether this was a "good" beetle or a "bad" beetle.  So...the critters went free except for one poor beetle that had not made it through the winter.  The one in the photograph had met its demise through some other means other than by my hand.  Its body did make for a good photo opportunity as dead beetles sit really still unlike their live counterparts.