The "Water Garden"

  Stormy days on the Bayou are some of my favorite times.  There is just something about a good storm that revitalizes the body and mind.  I need that often especially here lately.  With the heavy rains came high winds.  Those winds pushed the tides far up into the yard and pushed it even further back into the Bayou, itself.  Far back in bowels of the Bayou where the creek empties, there is one spot that draws me.  The swamp almost calls to me to visit, occasionally.  On those times, I slip on my leather moccasins and make the hike.  I tred gingerly so as to avoid any cottonmouths or snapping turtles that lurk there.  All of that just to view one certain spot.  Here, the ferns grow to great heights and arrowhead plants flourish alongside of the white spider lilies.  One gets the feeling that this spot is almost magical!  I fully expect to find some will-o'-the-wisps with their tiny, flickering lanterns during one visit.  The place is wonderfully mystical!

  Just a couple of days ago, that urge to check the spider lilies overcame me and I crept deep into the creek to the spot.  Nothing was blooming...no lilies, no wild irises, not even the duck potatoes.  Still I was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the greenness that surrounded me.  Then, fast forward to today.  During a break in the rains with the winds pounding the Little Bayou House, I headed out the back door.  The swamp called....I answered.  

  The place was completely different.  No, the flowers were not blooming but a tranformation had taken place.  Now, my little wild garden spot had been flooded.  The ferns and lilies were all engulfed with the brackish waters that came flooding southward down the creek from the heavy rains and the salty water being pushed northward by the high tide and harsh winds.  What a difference!  Instead of faeries flitting about trying to entice me further into the swamp, I fully expected to find that cottonmouth underfoot!  Then, the rains started once again and I had to scurry back up the hillside from the creek, through the woods and back to the safety of the Little Bayou House!