Winter has come to the Bayou!

As strange as it may seem to a lot of folks that have been in full winter mode for some time now, the Bayou is just seeing its first winter-like weather for the season. Sure we have had "cool snaps" but nothing of any real mention. Even yet, the freeze last night is slight in comparison to other places around the country. Still this morning, I awoke to freezing temperatures and a bit of ice on the fishpond. Hmmm..twas a mite cold on the pier so I opted to sit by the fireside with my first mug of coffee of the morning!

The icing of the fishpond would not be worth mentioning except for the fact that when I was out and about this morning, I observed something out of the ordinary. On the edge of the pond, a slight wiggle in the water/ice caught my eye. I pondered just what in the world would be brave or stupid enough to be swimming around in the slushy ice. I stepped a bit closer..the slight movement occurred again. I stared at the pond thinking perhaps I as just imagining things. Finally, my eyes focused on what was causing the ever so slight wake in the water..a Fiddler Crab! Are you daft, Little One? Aren't you supposed to be hibernating or something? None of your buddies are out in weather like this! I have no idea if this little guy has been in the fishpond for long or if some hapless bird dropped him there this morning but I just cannot imagine how cold he must have been!

Not sure of just what I could do to possibly help the Fiddler Crab or even if I should attempt to remedy his problem, I reached for a nearby stick. I thought I could lift him out of the icy water for whatever reason. Perhaps if I toted him back to the Bayou, he could find a burrow of a friend crab and wait out the frigid months ahead. As the stick neared him, however, he darted back under the water. Hmmmm...I stared at the slush and wondered if I had really just seen a Fiddler Crab in the fresh water fishpond in January or if I am going slap nuts. (I was sure glad to have taken pictures..no one would have believed me had I told them this tale!)