Miniscule Work of Art!

   I am one that wanders aimlessly about the property purely engrossed in the miracles that surround me. The early morning hikes that start before dawn on the pier then wind around behind the greenhouse and canebrake are always full of surprises.  At this age, I should be amazed simply by the fact that there are still things that can surprise me but, come to find out, Mother Nature always has something new up her sleeve.  It is grand.

  This morning's pier time found me mesmerized by the workings of a tiny creature.  The critter in question was a wee spider that had spun her web on a pier post.  A single, bent nail provided support for her upper strand and the web stretched from there to the post.  The web was perfect!  Added to that perfection were the jewel-like droplets from the light sprinkling of rain over the Bayou last night.  Teeny, tiny spider did not catch much for her breakfast but her web was surely an extravagant thing of beauty!

  The strength of the web, even from a spider this tiny, was astounding.  In proportion, the weight of the water droplets had to be extraordinary but most of the web was intact.  The few broken strands were most likely caused by the rough wind or from a large insect before the misting rain occurred.  Since webs are spun purely as a means of catching food, I often wonder if a spider ever sits back and admires her work of art.  If not...she should.  Humans only wish we could do half as good.  I am now going to make an effort to check on Teeny Spider with each trip to the pier.  She deserves the admiration.

The Handsome Prince!

  Yesterday, I found the fiery dragon in the garden.  As Queen of the Small Gardens, his presence elated me.  The protection of the garden plants rendered by a green anole is not to be scoffed at by mere humans!  The fiery dragon was welcomed and encouraged to live a long and happy life here.  The baby lizard is welcome to nestle down in the chrysanthemums any time he wishes!

  This morning's find was not a dragon but a handsome prince in disguise!  If you read faerie tales at all, you know that all frogs have that possibility of being an bewitched prince!  Yes, a quite lovely frog refused to move out of the pathway during my early morning stroll.  As I meandered the Small Gardens near the Puddle Pond, I nigh on stepped upon the poor critter!  This fine creature was also protecting the gardens as it was plucking caterpillars from the herbs!  What a handsome prince he was indeed!

  Since my queendom still is limited to the Small Gardens, I have found that more and more of my critter friends are moving nearer the gardens.  Frogs, snakes, lizards, turtles, toads, birds, squirrels, coons and fiddler crabs can be found scurrying about under the heavy leaves.  This is most likely due to the recent spate of rainstorms that have occurred over the past few weeks.  The nigh on daily rains have animals seeking dry spots.  Personally, however, since I am having to live in a make-believe world to overcome boredom, I prefer to think these fine friends are coming to visit me.  As Queen, I can do that.

A Lesson in Courage and Strength

  I watch most of the critters on the Bayou and surrounding woods.  I like them.  I relate to them.  Somehow, I feel that we are kindred spirits. We live in peace and we help each other.  Each, in our own way, reach out to the others.  Yep, even critters have been known to lend a helping hand to those in need.  I have seen cardinals feeding orphaned mockingbirds, an owl and a hawk pairing together during hunts and even mama squirrels adopting orphan babies.  I try to help when I can without overly interfering with the course of nature.

  Back about two months ago, I decided to hike back behind the canebrake.  There are always some fun critter friends to  be found there.  Sure enough, I found a small green tree frog.  The poor thing was being attacked by ants.  I picked up the little critter,  brushed off its assailants and toted him to the Frog Pond.  There he could live in peace with the many other tree frogs.  He sat still in the palm of my hand and I was able to observe him well.  The poor froggy only had one eye.  This infirmity was not due to the ants.  Obviously, the poor fellow was born this way.  I figured the critter did not have much of a chance to survive but that did not stop me from helping it.  At least, I could get him closer to the pond.  I rinsed him in the cool water and lowered my hand so he could climb into the water hyacinths.  The little frog seemed grateful.  I bid him good luck and we parted ways.  

  Today, I found my friend again.  He seemed quite healthy and had nearly doubled in size!  Surely this little guy has been eating well!  He was still in the water hyacinths and was singing a fine serenade to some female green tree frog!  Well now!  My little friend did survive and was doing rather well for himself!

  The whole thing about this frog is the fact that he did not give up.  He could have fallen into the "Oh, woe is me!" trap that people often do but, instead, he plodded along and became as good a frog as any other in the Frog Pond despite his disability.  The frog had grit.  He had courage.  He had strength.  This frog was not about to sit back and bemoan the fact that he only had one eye, which in the froggy world is a pretty monumental disability.  Without perfect vision, it is hard to catch prey and even harder to avoid predators.  90% of people with a lot less problems would whine and complain and ask for handouts.  Not Mr. Frog!  He has a lot more fortitude than to let some infliction overcome him.  I learn a lot from critters.  No wonder I prefer them over people.