Cherubs and Nutria Rats

  There are certain items that I would never dream of acquiring and placing in the gardens here on the Bayou. They just don't fit in with the whole scheme of things.  Usually, I deem these things to be either too fancy or too frivolous to be part of the place.  Then there are things that acquire the yard instead of the other way around.  These items suddenly appear and never leave.  One of those such items sits in among the roses. It has been there ever since it showed up at the doorstep years ago. Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, I came in possession of a small statue of cherubs.  Just the thing that does not belong in a rustic setting of fish nets, crab pots and anchors.  Cherubs with their delicate wings and sweet smiles have a hard time coexisting with nutria rats, alligators and otters.  It just doesn't happen.  Well, yeah, these cherubs do.  They have a great deal to do with at least nutria rats.

  Katrina's flood waters dumped a huge amount of debris in our yard.  I found the cherub statue under a mountain of boards, marsh grass and boat parts.  Not knowing what it was, I pulled it from beneath the pile. Ahh, cherubs.  Hmmm, just what I needed.  I stuck the thing aside thinking that someone might adore it and take it home.  It didn't happen.  The cherubs stayed and soon became a part of the garden.  Now, I have sort of become attached to the cutesy little thing.  Not that I would ever want another and would definitely never purchase such a thing but still this thing is part of the place now.  It sits under a rose bush and looks right at home.  

  When I pulled the statue from the debris pile, I saw a slight movement in the hole left behind in the debris pile.  At first, I was startled thinking it might have been a large cottonmouth moccasin but then my heart melted a bit.  Under all of that trash was a tiny, infant nutria rat.  It looked at me with sad eyes.  The poor little thing had been buried alive and was starving.  Now any other day, I might have thought, "Good riddance" as these things wreak havoc on the marshes but seeing any life after such devastation was amazing.  I reached down and picked up the little rascal. As much as it could, the little thing seemed appreciative.  Now what? What was I to do with a baby nutria rat especially when I did not even have time to care for myself.  I took it back to the Bayou and released it.  It would have to fend for itself the best it could.  It was not long afterwards that I heard it cry.  The cries were weak but persistent. All night, I could hear the sad cries of the little one and that tugged at the heartstrings a bit. By morning, I was having a major guilt trip about setting the little tyke out on its own and went down to see if I could find it.  I did and to my surprise, it had reunited with its mother.  At least part of the family was back together again.  

  Now when I see the cherubs in the garden, I think about that little nutria and how it survived against all odds.  The statue is sort of a symbol of endurance.  It will stay in the garden for as long as I have a say about it. Like I said, I am not a fan of this sort of thing but, hey, it has a story. Anything that has a good story behind it makes for good yard art!  Right?