Just Vines!

  Sometimes, it seems as if my eyesight is waning just enough to make me ponder things.  Perhaps this is a good thing as it does make me use the brain a bit.  I figure that anything that causes me to think cannot be all bad or, maybe, I am just looking for that proverbial silver lining here.  My kids keep telling me that exercising the brain is just as important as exercising the rest of the body.  That would be all fine and dandy but at some point, things just get tired!   Both the brain and the body are getting old!

  This afternoon, the old dog actually wanted to walk a bit.  The sun was shining, the weather was warm and the hike was slow...very slow but still we hiked.   It has been a while since he has had the energy so it felt good to see him enjoying the hillside once again. Our hike took us down near the marsh edge on the east side of the property.  This side of the shore is lined mostly with old oak trees, bay trees and a few hickories but the other side has a lot of pines and black gum trees. Several of the trees across the marsh are dead as they were struck by lightning a few years back.  One black gum is the favorite perch for the ospreys.  From the tiptop of the tree, the ospreys can observe the whole twisting runs of the Bayou and all of the critters that call it home.  The birds can see when mullet or redfish are running through the shallows making them prime targets.  

  Today, one of the ospreys sat high in the tree all the while screaming for its mate.  When I first glanced, I was taken aback as it appeared that the bird was entangled in some bit of wire or rope.  I always hate when I observe my critter friends in need and try to help them.  This would not be the first time that one of them became entangled in some discarded fishing gear.  Try as I might, I could not clearly see just what was twisting and turning in the wind but I had the bright idea of photographing the bird.  By enlarging a picture, it would give me that clear view that I needed.  

  Once inside, the photograph revealed that my concern was all for naught.  What I thought was cord was actually vines that had climbed all the way to the top of the tree.  The osprey was not ensnared!  What a relief!  Have you ever tried to capture an osprey?  It is not easy.  It is a lot like tangling with a flying bobcat! Those talons are razor sharp!  I am sure glad that this bird was healthy and free!