Alley Oop!

Back in the 1930's there was a comic strip about a caveman who lived in the village of Moo.  He, his girlfriend, Oola, and his trusty steed (dinosaur) solved all sorts of problems for King Guzzle and Queen Umpateedle.  Although this was before my time, I remember reading a few of the comic strips that were later published in the local newspaper.  Now why this has anything at all to do with my pictures of the day is totally because of Pop.

Years and years ago, Pop and I used to go fishing almost every day.  It was a special time between the two of us.  He took my older siblings as well but with me being the youngest, it was different.  Translation..he took me to give Mom a break!  Still, he made sure that I had a good time all the while learning the "ins and outs" of the art of fishing.  There were so many unspoken rules that he insisted I learn.  One and probably the most important was to respect the water and all life in it.  Pop would show me all of the critters of the Bayou and made sure that I understood that they belonged there..I didn't.  One of my favorites was the Great Blue Heron.  This bird was huge!  To a wee child, the bird was the largest I had ever seen!  It was taller than me! I was enamored by the grace at which this bird could wade through the marshes.  It seemed to have no fear of anything!  When I asked Pop what it was called, he answered quite seriously "Alley Oop".  Now, Pop knew better but I suppose he just wanted to see my reaction.  I reacted quite well!  From that day on, all Great Blue Herons were called Alley Oop!  Even just before he passed away, he and I would talk about fishing and the critters of the Bayou.  The herons were always in the conversations.  Alley Oop made for fun times!

This morning, the skies were heavily overcast.  When I let Ms. Ez out for her morning run down the hill, I noticed a large bird fly into the top of one of the pines near the marsh.  Hmmm?  Time to investigate!  I eased my way down the hill and around under the sprawling live oak tree.  Here I could scan the pine tops for the bird.  Aha!  Just as I thought!  Alley Oop was paying us a visit!  I took several pictures of him with the grey skies as a nice backdrop.  Old Alley Oop watched me carefully.  Not once did the bird seem the least bit concerned that I was there. After I got my fill of photographing the bird, I wished him a "Good morning, Sir" and eased back up the hill.  Ms. Ez never did figure out what had me so captivated.  She merely stood and watched like the dutiful pup she is.