Winter days and fuzzy friends!

Last night when I checked the thermometer before heading to bed, it was warm..almost too warm. The temperature outside was a balmy 66 degrees and inside closer to 70. Not bad but still it felt to warm to be playing in the Christmas decorations. This morning, however, was a different story! My trek to the pier proved to be quite chilly! The base temperature sat at about 45 but the wind chilled me to the bone! This same north wind blew all the water out of my Bayou! It was high and dry! I had headed down the walk before daybreak and never noticed that the water was so low. I found it strange that there were not the myriads of ducks around the pier but other than that, it seemed to be a ordinary morning on the Bay. The rising sun told a different story..there as no water! The tide was pushed a good fifty maybe seventy-five feet from the end of the pier. No wonder there were no ducks this morning! Mudflats are not particularly conducive to swimming! A lone pelican (Gus!) dove after mullet in the icy water. Other than his splashing, all was quiet. No water means no busy Bayou life. No herons or egrets wading in the shallows..no osprey plummeting from the sky to catch fish..no ducks paddling around looking for a handout and no otters playing tag through the waves. It seemed almost ominous..that there was some storm on the horizon scaring all of my Bayou friends. I am glad it was not and they were simply a bit further out getting breakfast. Ezzy and I made our way back to the house without seeing one interesting thing save the pelican!

Once back inside, I took to vacuuming the needles from the ever molting tree. Between plastic pine needles and dog hair, my vacuum cleaner gets a workout! I do not know which sheds more but at least after a while the tree can go back in the box..the dog..well, I better not pack her into the closet! As I was vacuuming, I caught a glimpse of something outside the window. There on the side of a tree was a squirrel that seemed to be watching me do my chores. The tree is just a couple of feet (literally two feet!) away from the window, so Mr. Squirrel had a great view! Perhaps he felt he had his very own large screen TV or maybe he has a tremendous liking for vacuum cleaners. Either way, he sat there eying me from his perch. It did not even bother him when I snapped his picture. Then suddenly..he started chattering excitedly and scampered up the tree. I thought this was a mite strange until I realized that Ezzy, the

dog, was standing beside me! I guess that poor squirrel thought she was going to chase it through the window! Ezzy on the other hand, never saw the fuzzy critter at all, she was too busy peering at the huge green and white pine needle/hair ball that had formed in the vacuum cannister. I suppose it really did look unusual..maybe like a green and white hedgehog..all furry but prickly at the same time! Squirrel..you were lucky this time! Just wait until tomorrow!