Edgar Allan Poe, A Black Cat and Thunderstorms

   For the past few days, we have been getting daily rains complete with thunder, lightning and wind.  The storms are soothing as I know the gardens are being well-watered.  It is during these storms that cat and I sit snuggled together enjoying each other's company.  As Prince of the Bayou, Mr. Bat demands that I hold him tightly on days like this.  He still has throwback anxiety from when some hateful person flung him from a car window during such a storm years ago.  The thunder and lightning do not bother him but the raindrops on the rooftop do.  So, my work day ends and I gladly cuddle the Prince.  What better way to spend a storm than with cat cuddles!

  Yesterday, the snuggles put me in a chair that gave me a direct view of the french doors and their colorful glass panes,  It was not long before the sun peeped out enough to give those panes a delightful glow!  To the left, Edgar Allan Poe watched over us as the lamp softly glowed beneath him.  This vision brought comfort as I thought just how much I like the way the room is decorated.  While not to many people's taste, it suits mine perfectly.  The room is filled with quaint objects such as antique lamps, furniture and clocks...lots and lots of clocks!  Then there are the quirky "finds" from thrift stores, roadsides and friends.  Nothing in this entire room meets the "expected" living room aesthetic...from the almost black walls to the red velvet loveseat and purple chairs.  It is just eccentric and eclectic enough to meet my standards...and Bat, the cat's.  He and I find comfort here among the oddities.

Euphoria?

   The old adage of "Red sky at night, sailor's delight.  Red sky in morning, sailor's warning." holds true most of the time.  Sometimes, however, that red sky (or golden in yesterday's case) is eerily beautiful, if that makes sense.  We have had a good number of thunderstorms lately and after yesterday's rain, the sky turned remarkably golden.  Although I was inside, the vividness of orange lit up the room.  Curious, I had to head outside to see what was happening.  Seriously?  Not much other than the entire sky was orangish colored but it made the whole place "feel" different.  As I meandered through the back gardens, a feeling of inexplicable euphoria overcame me.  Since I was alone, I came to feel as if this "magical sunset" was meant just for me.  I quietly padded along the footpaths without a care in the world.  (Too bad that feeling cannot be everlasting.)  Soon enough a slight mist started falling again and forced me to take cover.

  Back inside, I could only admire the beauty through the window.  Still, I smiled.  I had been submerged into the mysteriousness of an early evening stroll. The smells, the sounds, the closeness of nature...always make the heart sing.

Time To Head To The House!

  Early this morning, thunder grumbled in the distance and clouds covered the sky.  I figured there was enough time to get one quick hike in before everything cut loose.  Grabbing the camera and slipping on my moccasins, the short trek to the pier started.  About halfway down the hill, a slight mist started hitting my face so the camera was covered by my conveniently baggy shirt.  It was already acting contrary so there was no reason to add to the problems.  Ahh, peace!  Once I near the marsh, it seems that I am in my element as a certain peace envelopes me.  I stood with my eyes closed breathing in the salty air.  Yep, this is definitely where I belong.

  Then, I opened my eyes to a threatening situation!  In the few moments that I was meditating, the clouds thickened and obtained a rather ominous glow.  Uh, oh!  That did not look good!  It is never safe to be on the pier during a thunderstorm so I had best get myself back to the Little Bayou House!  Hustling up the hillside is a feat for an old lady but I did it in remarkable time.  In fact, I got there JUST in time as...CRACK!  BOOM!  A large lightning bolt shot across the sky to the back of the Bayou.  Needless to say, I did not wait around to see if a tree was struck!  I surely did not want to be outside with lightning popping about the place.  Boom!!! More lightning strikes and then a torrential downpour!  Whew!  I am sure glad I was back inside.  

  The day was much the same with thunderstorms rolling across the Bay every few hours.  On a positive note, the area got a good helping of much needed rain.  Things will look so refreshed come morning.  For now, I am glad I am back inside the snug Little Bayou House.

Fungi Fields!

  As I am writing this, we are in the midst of yet another thunderstorm that is dumping a torrential amount of rain down upon us.  The roar of the water hitting the rooftop is almost deafening.  This type weather has ruled the summer making things seem a bit soggy around here.  Over the past four months, we may have had ten days without rain.  Today appeared to be one of those days but as night fell, so did the rains.  For nigh on the past hour, It has been pouring nonstop and there seems to be no let-up in sight.  We are in for another long night of high winds, lightning and inches of rain.  Thankfully, we live on a high hill overlooking the Bayou.

  Just this afternoon, Mark and I noticed that the hillside was quickly turning into a mushroom farm.  As far as you could see, thousands of the fungi were dotting the ground.  In just a small area, I found about thirty different types.  Big ones, tiny ones and every size in between...red ones, white ones, tan ones, brown ones, spotted ones...you name it, we have it.  In fact, some of the mushrooms even have mold on them so it is almost like two for the price of one!   Yep, that is a lot of rain!

So, while we are being inundated with rain, I decided to take advantage of the mushroom fields and get a few photos.  All of the above photos were taken in a small area of the yard in less than five minutes.  There were tons more but the old dog decided that he did not want to be a fungus photographer so we headed back inside.   I am not sure of any of their identifications but they are interesting!

 

Sun Showers or "Beam Me Up"

  Yep, there is such a thing as a sun shower but the name is a bit misleading.  A sun shower is when the sun stays visible during a rain shower.  It may be bright and sunny but have a drizzly rain coming down.  This happens often as a small cloud passes over but does not completely block over the entire sky.  It is a localized shower.  It can be raining on one side of the house while the sun is beaming brightly on the other.  It is misleading in the fact that a "rain" shower means that rain is falling to the ground but a "sun" shower means that rain is falling to the ground.  Same thing...not a good name.

  While on the pier yesterday evening, we actually had a true sun shower or at least it appeared to be such.  A large thunderhead blew up from the horizon blocking out the setting sun.  While that huge cloud lingered the sun beamed down between the clouds to shoot rays in what appeared to be a true shower.  We are accustomed to seeing storms look like this with actual rain falling but the sunbeams were something new.  It was gorgeous!  Those beams shot down right on top of my cousin's house.  It sort of reminded me of those nice rays that movie spaceships beamed folks up from Earth.  I better check on my cousin!

Now I am pondering what fine word should be applied to this weather phenomenon.  Since sun shower is already taken, a new name is needed.  "Beam me up, Scotty!" might work but it has been erroneously contributed to Captain Kirk!  (And that is a story for another day.)

Oh, This Weather!

  As of late, we have been having a lot of weird weather here on the Bayou.  By "as of late", I mean this whole past year.  Things have just not been right.  By the first of August, we had already received as much rainfall as our yearly total should be and it just keeps on coming. Things are soggy, to say the least.  Instead of our usual late afternoon thunderstorms, we are having deluges.  Inches of water pour from the sky almost daily.  The rain gauge is in constant need of emptying as are any other receptacles about the place.  Everything is filled with water and that only encourages mosquitoes to lay more eggs.  They are not the only ones, though.  I even found tadpoles in the folds of a tarp covering lumber!  Tadpoles, mind you, in little pockets of water.  Geez!

 This evening was not unlike any other day.  Our clouds came.  The rains poured.  Thunder pounded.  Lightning blasted.  It was another rough storm.  It does seem like we should get used to the things eventually but, since each one comes from a different direction, they all exhilarate.  This evening after the particularly severe storm, I noticed that the sky looked a bit different.  Hmmm?  Time to brave the elements and take a look.  Sure enough, the sky had an orange glow about it and the yard seemed extremely bright even though dark clouds were still gathering and thunder threatened.  

  Now with several tropical systems moving across the ocean, I have to ponder if all of the aforementioned rains will have ill effects on the place.  Since the ground is already mush from so much water, will our trees withstand gale force winds?  Can the rivers, inlets, bayous, lakes hold any more water?  Will the already flooded neighborhoods survive more rain?  It is all something to think about, folks.  Best to prepare now since the next two months present a good chance of a hurricane whipping into the area....a soggy, water-soaked area that probably cannot endure much more of this.  I am so thankful that we live on a high hill above the Bayou.  Now if our trees can dig their roots a bit deeper into this mushy ground, things may be ok.  Mark and I were joking about needing pontoons under the Little Bayou House!  Hang tight, folks, and keep a weather eye on the horizon!

Going Camping!

  Sometimes you just have to pitch a tent and go camping.  When the woes of the world come crashing down upon you, taking a brief respite can be all it takes to get you back on track.  The grandlittles had intentions of taking a swim in the pool this morning but before they could get dressed in swimsuits, I heard the distant rumble of thunder.  Uh oh.  That was not good.  I am one of these folks who respects the weather and all it has to throw at you so the dip in the pool idea came to a screeching halt. Needless to say, the grandlittles were a bit...umm...disappointed at the outcome of their plans.  MawMaw had to think and think fast!  What could divert their attention from the devastation they were facing.  Hmmm??

  I headed to the craft room and pulled some rope, a painter's tarp, a large cardboard tube and a couple of large screw-eyes.  Yep!  We were going camping right in the middle of a thunderstorm!  Mary Ruth trotted herself upstairs to fetch the "guys" as she called them (aka her dad and uncle) and I made plans of how to erect said tent.  "Just throw the rope over the beam, tie a slipknot, pull it tight and measure it.  Then drill a hole here to install a screw-eye.  Slip the tube over the rope and tie off the end in the screw-eye!"  I had it pictured in my head and just knew it would work....the "guys" were not so sure of their mom's tent building nor of her sanity in coming up with the idea in the first place. Erecting a large tent in the living room and camping out sounded to be a bit more trouble than it was worth.

  Come to find out....I was right!  It did work and the kiddos had a blast crawling in and out of their new abode.  Toys from the playroom and about ten thousand balloons were carted in to complete the campsite.  What fun! A couple of scavenger hunts complete with lanterns in the darkened rooms added to the experience!  Needless to say, the grandlittles had a blast pretending in their own tent  especially when PawPaw joined them in the fun. The pool was soon forgotten and the rainy day carried on without a problem.  MawMaw to the rescue!

Little Glowy Mushrooms!

  Today never really happened.  Mother Nature decided that we should live in darkness so she rolled in the clouds, dumped copious amounts of rain on us and threw in a couple of fun things like tornadoes and waterspouts. The clouds were dark, rolling type that just kept coming.  Needless to say, there was not a lot of roaming about the hillside.  Going a bit stir crazy inside, I slipped out to the greenhouse.  (Probably not the safest place to be while tornado sirens are sounding but I figured that one place was as good as another. Besides, in between downpours I could slip out and pick the figs that were growing just outside the greenhouse!)

  It was during one of the torrential downpours that I noticed the sky darkened to almost pitch black but two tiny mushrooms were just as visible (if not more so) than they were with the slight bit of light filtering through the windows.  Ok, that was just too adorable!  These two mushrooms were growing in a flowerpot that held the Night-blooming Cereus. While everything else in the greenhouse was shrouded in darkness, the mushrooms were like little nightlights!  I wondered why I had never seen these before but that was easily explanable.  Two things came to mind.  One, the mushrooms just popped up since all of this rain and, two, I am rarely in the greenhouse after dark!  Well, that made sense.

  The way I figure is that even though Mother Nature was being a bit contrary today, she decided that one little bit of nicety never hurt anyone.  She let the tiny mushrooms appear at the perfect time to add a bit of happiness to my day.  Despite the ornery weather that pounded the Bayou, I was able to find the one (literal) bright spot and that was right in my greenhouse!  No wonder this is one of my favorite places to be!

Gators and Hailstorms!

  The storms just keep rolling in on the Bayou and the one today was a doozy!  Not only did we have our usual inch or so of rain, spectacular lightning show and high winds, this storm decided to change things up a bit and pound us with hail.  The hail, sometimes up to golf ball size, pelted the Little Bayou House for nigh on an hour before moving on to drive some other poor folks mad.  The pounding on the rooftop was deafening at times but all's well that ends well and we suffered no lasting damage.

  The morning before the storm was quite perfect, though.  While heading down the pier, a large splashing on the shoreline made me think that the otters were at play.  I readied the camera only to find an alligator instead of my frolicking otters.  This gator was a small one of about four feet in length and was happy to be floating about in the water.  It watched us warily but made no effort to vacate the vicinity.  I watched a while before turning in the other direction. Ha!  Another gator was eyeing us from the south!  This was a much larger critter than the first.  It, too, showed no fear but watched our every move.  I do believe both were waiting for us to fill the crab traps with bait so they could have breakfast.  Too bad, Gators!  You tore the wire on the traps so no bait will be needed!  You, my fine friends, will have to work for your meal today!

  Now it is nightfall and, once again, thunder rumbles as another storm is approaching.  These are all bringing moisture up from the Gulf and inundating us with rainfall.  Thankfully, the hill dries quickly and there is no standing water.  I do not mind these storms and I am pretty positive that the gators do not either.  (Although, they may not have appreciated the hailstones!)

Photobombing Bird

  For the past, oh, year or so, the Bayou has seen more than its share of rain.  We are lucky, though, since we live high up on a hill overlooking the water.  Other folks' places are pretty much soggy.  Take a stroll through their yards and you better be wearing waders.  Your shoes are guaranteed to be sloppy wet otherwise.  Here, however, the rain simply runs down the hillside and into the Bayou.  It is not uncommon for a dark cloud to push up on the horizon in a moment's notice.  More than once, I have been caught off guard and had to make a mad dash back to the Little Bayou House to escape the torrential downpour.

  Earlier today, the clouds on the western horizon were particularly black and threatening.  I had gone down to the pier to check the crab traps (which, by the way, are no more thanks to the alligator!) and noticed that a storm was quickly forming.  There was only time to grab one photograph before thunder started booming overhead. Time for me to scoot myself back up that hill!

  Later, I realized that I had inadvertently photographed a swallow at the same time as the cloud.  These little birds were zipping about just above the water's surface as they snapped up all sorts of insects.  The midges and mosquitoes did not stand a chance! There is a whole colony of the birds nesting in a cupola of my neighbor's house. The family does not seem to mind or are not aware of their house guests which makes it nice for both me and the birds!  They have a nice cozy home to raise their young and I get free insect control. (Although....I would hate to be the one that cleans the cupola!)

  The rest of the day was spent watching similar squalls roll in off the Gulf.  All I could do was admire the photograph and my friendly, little photo-bomber!  

Storming on the Bayou

  Things look a tad bleak on the Bayou.  Today, like yesterday and the day before, severe storms dominated.  Thunder, lightning, torrential rains and high winds (at times, tropical storm strength) pounded the Little Bayou House and, for that matter, the whole South.  We have been under the gun for days now and all of this has kept me housebound.  Son and I have been running from one spot to the other battling leaks. The wind pushed rain down the chimney and under windows and doors.  One tiny leak in the roof made itself known by the tap, tap, tapping as the water hit the floor.  A pan under it will suffice until the weather permits a climb to the rooftop.  While I am not exactly happy with that, we are blessed. Others in the area had far worse troubles.  Flooding is the word of the day here and the threat of tornadoes kept us all alert and on our toes. Hopefully, tomorrow will see the system move on its merry way and we can have a bit of much needed sunshine.  

  Mark and I did make a quick run to the pier early this morning to check the little skiff.  Heavy clouds shrouded the horizon and gave us the gut feeling that we would not make it back to the house before being soaked. We did manage to sneak to the back to pick some of the navel oranges so I could fill my day making marmalade.  No sooner had we filled our bucket than the rains started once again.  A mad dash to the house led us to discover our mistake!  Instead of going out the backdoor nearest the citrus grove, we had used the front door heading to the pier.  Oops!  Around the house, I dashed.  I darted through the house to unlock the door for Mark who was carrying the heavy bucket of oranges.  Poor guy!  He was patiently waiting at the backdoor while getting soaked!  

  I am ready for this rain to move out of the area and a bit of cooler weather to settle in for a while. I have plenty of citrus fruits occupy my time.  Oranges, satsumas, grapefruit and kumquats all need to be canned, made into marmalade and butters and the peels dehydrated. The Little Bayou House will smell wonderful and the pantry shelves will be stockpiled once again.  With the marmalade made today, biscuits may just have to be on the menu for breakfast in the morning!

 

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!

Severe Summer Storms!

  It was hot.  Stifling hot.  Not a breath of wind hot.  I usually do not complain about the weather no matter if it is icy cold, pouring rain or just plain old hot but I did today.  I did not complain to anybody else but I did spend a good bit of time muttering about how sweaty I was and how I wished it would come up a good thunderstorm.  It did.  Well, sort of a thunderstorm anyway. 

  Late evening saw me heading to the pier in hopes of cooling off a bit. Perhaps a bit of a breeze was stirring down there that was not reaching the house.  On the way down, I marveled that there was only one small. poofy white cloud in the whole sky.  I figured we were in for a hot, dry summer because the storms lately have been moving north of us.  I sat for a few moments before deciding that the wind was not going to cooperate. It was when I turned to go back to the Little Bayou House that I saw the entity that had taken over the north sky.  Wow!
  
  Black clouds were swirling in a large circle and drawing closer and closer with each passing second.  Before I could even get to the shoreline, the storm was overhead and the winds were threatening me with pushes and shoves.  It was all I could do to race toward the house. For a few moments, reaching it seemed doubtful. This was one fast moving system!

  As soon as the screened door slammed behind me, all of the windows in the house started rattling.  Papers, curtains and even pamphlets were being tossed about like an mischievous imp was ransacking the place.  A vase of gardenias toppled over and spilled water on the rug and framed photographs fell to the floor.  This storm was strong even inside the house!  I raced around slamming down windows, latching the casement windows and closing doors.  This thing was wild!

  Outside, the winds wreaked havoc on the garden.  Tomato plants were ripped from their cages and potted plants toppled.  Limbs started cracking from the straightline winds.  From the window, I could see birds being slung about like ragdolls.  

  This storm came out of the blue to smack us.  We had no warning that anything this powerful was going to hit us.  Still, even with all of the potentially dangerous winds, something good came from the storm.  The temperatures started to drop.  Our suffocating heat was being relieved even if it was just for the evening.  And the rains came.  Soft and sweet to start but with promises of more to come. But the rains came.  I am thankful.  And I am thankful for the strength of the Little Bayou House and the shelter it provides.

After the Storm...

Just as I sat down to write this, we lost electrical power!  A powerful thunderstorm was just leaving the area and obviously was leaving quite a trail of destruction behind it.  From what I hear, power is out over much of the Coast and there is widespread flooding.   It is times like these that I appreciate the snugness of the Little Bayou House.  Although, it is far from being a fancy place, I always feel safe and secure within its walls.  Sometimes it takes the storms of life to make us appreciate the calm times.

One thing about thunderstorms in the late afternoon, you get beautiful sunsets!  With the remnant clouds still hanging low but breaking in spots, the sun peeps through and casts a most beautiful glow.  This, in itself, makes up for all of the gnashing and clashing of lightning and thunder!  On the pier, I have a front row seat for the spectacular show.  The sky is a kaleidoscope of colors and there is a certain peace that envelops the Bayou.  This is one of my favorite times to be alive.

Last night, Mark and I watched as another storm put on a fantastic light show.  This one was far enough out over the Gulf that it was safe for us to be on the pier.  We could see the large bolts of lightning striking one after another. The storm clouds hung around for over an hour creating havoc for any boaters still out on the water.  Again, I felt secure being here.  Afterwards, another gorgeous sunset.  Several dozen photographs later, he and I made our way to the Little Bayou House. While we walked we discussed the recent summer storms.  This summer has been filled with many such storms and most occurred after a day of blistering heat. Our temperatures today reached about 102 degrees.  That is hot but factor in our thick humidity and it is stifling!  Is this what is referred to as the Dog Days of Summer?  I have always heard that this is a period of time between July and September.  Whatever it is, I do hope that Fall is just around the corner!  I could sure use a bit of cooler weather!

Cherries, Chopsticks and Cousins...

I wonder if it was mere coincidence or perhaps one of those things that was just meant to happen.  Mark came home with four large bags of cherries the other day.  He knows that I love fruit of any sort but cherries rate right up there as one of my favorites.  The first bag was washed and eaten fresh but that still left three bags.  I needed to do something with the fruit but what? That is a lot of cherries to pit!  I pondered the fact.  Then I read where my cousin, Helen, had just picked some cherries and was making a wonderful pie!  Yum!  That sounded incredible!  Cherry pie! She had written that she pitted her cherries with a chopstick!  I had never heard of doing this!  I learn a lot from my cousins!

Two pounds of cherries that needed pitting.

Michael and I had to bring Ms. Put, the cat, in for her yearly visit to her veterinarian but afterward, I intended to make a pie or two!  While we were battling the cat (trying to crate her), a severe thunderstorm worked itself into a frenzy. The booming and banging did not make the crate thing much easier but finally we succeeded and off we went. (I have to admit that the sounds effects were most perfect for the ordeal in getting a windmill of cat claws inside a crate that seemingly shrinks to the size of a match box when in use!)  The rough weather brought back a flood (hehe) of memories!  I started beleaguering Michael with tales of thunderstorms during my childhood.  I always loved rainy, blustery days while at school.  Not so much at school but on the way home.  We rode the school bus and  it would pass Pop's fields before coming to a halt in front of the house.  From the open fields, we could see the house and if I saw the kitchen light on, I knew that something good was being baked!  Occasionally, Pop would be in the kitchen baking turnovers!  Aha!  Thunderstorms and Turnovers!  The idea hit me..I would make Cherry Turnovers!

Since we had no chopsticks, we used a wooden skewer.  Remove the stem and insert the stick.

Firmly push against the pit until it plops out the other side! Cherry is pitted!

Once we were home, Michael and I searched for chopsticks.  Hmmm..the Little Bayou House seemed devoid of any such devices!  Well now, where there is a will, there is a way!  Skewers! I had a multitude of those little rascals!  Using the back or larger end of the skewer, we poked the pit right out of the cherry!  This was rather easy!  Pull out the stem, insert the chopstick (skewer in our case), and push!  The seed shoves right out the other end of the cherry leaving a nice, clean hole but the cherry intact!  Easy-peasy!  It took Michael right at twenty five minutes to do two pounds of cherries.  While he did that, I made the dough.  After a bit, the house smelled divine with nine large turnovers baking in the oven!!!  Three of these will be given to my brother.  It is always better to share baked goods!

Three of the nine Cherry Turnovers that were baked today.

Now you tell me..coincidence?  I had cherries..Helen picked cherries.  I had no idea how to pit cherries..Helen told me!  Terrific thunderstorm hits..jogs memory of past storms and baking. I was to make a pie..Pop used to make Turnovers.  Hehe...So, I was taught to pit cherries with a chopstick so I could make Cherry Turnovers during a thunderstorm!  Personally, I think it was just meant to happen! Thank you, Helen!  I would have never thought of pitting cherries like this!