Creek Bed Wonderland

Michael and I have been scrounging around for dead logs to cut for firewood.  We have been tugging and pulling logs from the underbrush and tangled grapevines.  This area has not been cleared since Hurricane Katrina whipped through the Bayou eight years ago. Hence, we are literally fighting our way to the downed logs.  Our weapons of choice are pruning saws, snips and axes.  It is a bit of work but well worth the effort when you consider how many good trees would be destroyed if we used tractors and power tools.  Plus, all of this strenuous exercise is good for our health.

I always try to remember my camera while on these excursions since you never know just what you might find.  It is like an entirely different world down under the canopy of treetops.  With the creek bed being nigh on dry with the onset of winter, we are able to explore a bit further than we normally do.  The threat of Cottonmouth Moccasins makes one a bit leery about sludging through the overgrowth during warmer weather.  Down deep where the Bayou meets the creek, it is almost a fantasy world..a place where one can almost imagine faeries, gnomes and other magical beings live.  Thick green mosses mat most of the logs and ferns drape gracefully over the bed of pine needles.  Mushrooms of every sort grow freely on the mulched ground while the palmettos fronds appear to be thatched roofs of some small home.  These and the occasional bright red of a tiny Maple or Sycamore sapling all are picture-worthy creations.  I have a tendency of neglecting my wood gathering duties while I examine each and every interesting bit of flora or fauna that we discover.

Michael has shown tremendous patience with me as I refuse to let him cut a log just to protect some moss or mushroom.  My demands that he avoid pulling a vine that holds a grey squirrel's nest or chopping a hollow tree that houses flying squirrels are met with a shrug of the shoulders and a muttered "Sure".  He loves the wildlife as much as I do and readily agrees that we need to avoid disturbing them as much as possible.  This little wonderland known as the creek bed will remain intact as long as we have anything to do with it!