Murky Bayou?

  It recently occurred to me that some folks have an erroneous idea of my life here on the Bayou. Perhaps my tales have unintentionally led people a bit astray.  Obviously, there are those who think bayou life is filled with the weird and wonderful things of the theater.  While things can be strange at times, life here is not mysterious.  Contrary to popular belief, there is not always some low fog hovering amongst the cane (reference below!) and Big Foot has yet to make his appearance.  (Although, occasionally we do have some pretty strange critters bounding about the marsh!)  My life here cannot be compared to some creepy carnival sideshow with voodoo and zombies.  It amuses me that folks ask me constantly if they can "visit the Bayou" as if it is majorly exciting.  They have the mistaken belief that I can conjure up "spirits" like the fictional character "Tia Dalma" from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean".  Nope.  I cannot do that.  No way, no how.  (Although, I must admit that my son does bear a striking resemblance to the character "Jack Sparrow"!)  That said, at times things do lend themselves to being just creepy enough to send shivers up the spine of those of the not-so-brave sort.  Whether it be the screeching call of a loon or the bellow of a bull alligator, there are things that can be a bit disconcerting. The "uninitiated" might step a tad closer to the door of the Little Bayou House.

  However!  (Isn't there always something that goes against the rules?)  However, things do occur that are a bit fun to "play with" and to twist, turn and otherwise distort into a mystery!  Take, for instance, yesterday morning!  I was out at daybreak.  It was making up to be a most beautiful day and I wanted to get a head start on my yard work.  I stoked the leaf burner.  The hot ashes from the day before sprang to life and smoke started billowing out of the burner.  In the distance, I could hear the loud splashes of the pelicans as they hunted breakfast.  Across the Bayou, a couple of coons were quite "busy" and their squeals echoed through the early morning stillness.  To anyone not knowing these sounds, the Bayou would seem to be a wild and eerie place.  Just as I was thinking that very thought, I noticed how strangely the smoke was behaving.  The humidity was causing the smoke to lay low to the ground.  It was not rising high in the sky but rather trailed through the undergrowth and around the hillside like some live entity.  Aha!  If only!  If only I had some gullible folks around here at that very moment! The smoke laid low like any good swamp mist should! My shrieking coons could be the "Swamp Critter" splashing (remember the pelicans?) about the marsh.  With just a bit of "good story-telling", my visitors would be easing back up near the doorway!

  

  It is funny how this is.  Several years ago, we were having a large fish fry with lots of family members and a few friends.  A good many of the young folk gathered on the pier to try their hand at fishing.  Just about dark, my niece asked me to relate the tale of the "Bayou Critter".  This was a bit of a fantasy tale that my oldest son and I created years and years ago.  The tale grew with passing time and was a point of interest around here.  I told the tale in my own eerie way dragging on and on until it was well after dark.  This caused the young folk (late teens) to become a bit leery of making the hike back to the house with no light.  I volunteered to fetch several flashlights from the house.  When I did, I "let slip" to my oldest son, Mark, and my nephew, Daniel, about the telling of the tale and how scared the teens were.  That did it!  They both slipped out the back door and down to the marsh edge.  I hiked back to gather the young folk homewards.  Just as the group stepped off of the pier, Mark and Daniel went into action!  Mark let loose a bloodcurdling yell while Daniel threw several large logs into the marsh! My sweet daughter-in-law, Joanna, was on the back porch and excitedly yelled to me.  "Mom! WHAT WAS THAT?" She had played along well with Mark and Daniel's ruse!  I have never seen nor heard so much ruckus come from a group of teenagers in my entire life! They bolted toward the Little Bayou House. Once they were inside, the hair-raising jitters did not stop!  I do believe storytelling with a little background activity can convince anyone that there are sinister creatures lurking about in the Bayou!

  To me, the Bayou is a peaceful place.  It is a bit of paradise where one can escape the things that are really scary!  As for the smoke?  I found it had a certain loveliness about it as it snaked its way beneath the canebrake.  Life is only what you make it and I choose to make mine as serene as possible.