Be Careful of Falling Buzzards

   Mark took a jaunt over to Louisiana to get a couple of sacks of oysters to open for the Thanksgiving meal on the river towboat where he works.  Our brother-in-law rode with him so he could get a couple of sacks for his family.  It is good to have a "co-pilot" on trips...even short ones.  This took all of about three hours over then three back.  Just a nice ride with the promise of fresh oysters.  But, as with any venture, there can be setbacks and unexpected pitfalls along the way.  It was no different with this short trip.

  It seems that along the highway over to Louisiana, they saw a flock of vultures in the distance.  This is not unusual as the birds are nature's garbage disposals and any roadkill is fair game for them...albeit, a tricky game for them to get their prey.  Speeding vehicles can sometimes create more roadkill out of the predators eating the previous unfortunate animal that died.  You guessed it.  Mark hit a buzzard.  Well, more correct, a buzzard hit Mark's truck.  It seems that as they neared the flock, all flew up except one.  It flew up but then decided to fly back down before Mark had passed the roadkill.  Bam!  The buzzard hit the hood of his truck!  There is a huge dent right in the middle of the hood!

  If you have never seen a vulture/buzzard up close and personal, they are rather huge creatures.  We have what are called Turkey Vultures (locals call them buzzards).  They have about a seventy inch wingspan, are about the size of a large goose and weigh anywhere around five pounds and upwards.  Imagine a five pound bag of sugar smacking your truck hood while you are traveling about 70mph.  It is not a pretty sight.  Thankfully, the impact was contained on the truck's hood and the bird did not hit the windshield.  Mark and Larry came through the incident ok....sadly, the bird did not.  So...a new concern for travelers....Be wary of falling buzzards!

DON'T HURT MY CRITTERS!

  Once again. a friend needed a bit of "Bayou Therapy" and, once again, we wound up on the pier fishing.  Sitting and fishing is about as good as therapy as one can get.  It gives you a chance to ponder situations that otherwise cause nothing but turmoil.  While fishing, anxiety is the furthest thing from the mind.  Peace and calmness envelope the body and soul.  This is what usually happens.  Not during this day of fishing.  It was just the opposite.  The stress level was out the window.

  All was going well even though we were only catching catfish.  It did not matter as it was more the fellowship that was needed.  We would cast the lines, hook a catfish then toss it back into the water.  All of them were heavy with eggs and I just do not have the heart to harm a pregnant mom....even a fish mom.  I hate harming any critter needlessly.  Then the unthinkable occurred.  Darlene was talking and not paying a whole lot of attention to what she was doing.  Just above her head, one of my pelican friends was circling in hopes that I would toss it a meal.  At the same instant that Darlene's line was cast, the pelican flew past.  Sure enough, her line flipped over the poor bird and caught its wing.  The bird, not knowing it was lassoed, kept flying to the west.  Darlene, not knowing she had roped a bird, was wondering where her bait landed.  Then, she screamed.  "I have hooked the bird!"  Sure enough, the poor pelican had landed in the water on the opposite side of my brother's pier and was flopping around trying to untangle itself.  I raced up the two hundred feet of our pier, over a good five hundred feet to his pier and down another hundred to where the confused bird frantically splashed in the water.  Just as I bent down to grab the bird, it broke loose and Darlene's line when whizzing over my head.  The shocked pelican flew to the nearest post to compose itself.  

  Obviously, the pelican knew I was trying to help as it made no move to escape when I examined it for injury.  I am happy to say, other than being a bit upset, the bird was not harmed.  I was so thankful to find that the hook was not embedded in the bird and that the line had not damaged the wings. I apologized profusely to my critter friend, took a picture as the bird posed and, then went back to our pier to chastise Darlene.  "DO NOT HARM MY CRITTER FRIENDS!" I admonished.  

  I think Darlene has learned a lesson about fishing on the Bayou.  I keep telling folks to be aware of their surroundings but sometimes it takes an accident before it actually sinks into the brain.  It is just sad that the critters are usually the ones that pay the price for folks being inattentive.  This time, other than being a bit sore, the bird will be fine....thank goodness!