Sometimes, it seems as if my eyesight is waning just enough to make me ponder things. Perhaps this is a good thing as it does make me use the brain a bit. I figure that anything that causes me to think cannot be all bad or, maybe, I am just looking for that proverbial silver lining here. My kids keep telling me that exercising the brain is just as important as exercising the rest of the body. That would be all fine and dandy but at some point, things just get tired! Both the brain and the body are getting old!
This afternoon, the old dog actually wanted to walk a bit. The sun was shining, the weather was warm and the hike was slow...very slow but still we hiked. It has been a while since he has had the energy so it felt good to see him enjoying the hillside once again. Our hike took us down near the marsh edge on the east side of the property. This side of the shore is lined mostly with old oak trees, bay trees and a few hickories but the other side has a lot of pines and black gum trees. Several of the trees across the marsh are dead as they were struck by lightning a few years back. One black gum is the favorite perch for the ospreys. From the tiptop of the tree, the ospreys can observe the whole twisting runs of the Bayou and all of the critters that call it home. The birds can see when mullet or redfish are running through the shallows making them prime targets.
Today, one of the ospreys sat high in the tree all the while screaming for its mate. When I first glanced, I was taken aback as it appeared that the bird was entangled in some bit of wire or rope. I always hate when I observe my critter friends in need and try to help them. This would not be the first time that one of them became entangled in some discarded fishing gear. Try as I might, I could not clearly see just what was twisting and turning in the wind but I had the bright idea of photographing the bird. By enlarging a picture, it would give me that clear view that I needed.
Once inside, the photograph revealed that my concern was all for naught. What I thought was cord was actually vines that had climbed all the way to the top of the tree. The osprey was not ensnared! What a relief! Have you ever tried to capture an osprey? It is not easy. It is a lot like tangling with a flying bobcat! Those talons are razor sharp! I am sure glad that this bird was healthy and free!
I was able to slip out for a much needed break this afternoon. The old dog was in a sound sleep so a quick hike seemed logical. His health requires an almost constant companion, as of late, and that companion is me. My short, but sweet, hike took me along the marsh edge to behind the canebrake. Being just after noon, there were not too many critters to be found. Early morning and late afternoon hikes seem to be the best critter-tracking times. A lone gray squirrel was my only find.
I watched as this little female squirrel busied herself burying nuts and seeds. She would scurry about to find an acorn, crack it open then bury her stash. The cracking is done to keep the nut from sprouting. The burying is done to give her a food supply come later this winter. All in all, our little friend will stockpile close to 5000 nuts and seeds before the cold weather sets in. Some, she will put in her cozy, leaf-lined nest but most she will bury. The ones in the nest will be eaten only on days when she deems the weather is too inclement to venture out. On those bad days, she can eat a few nuts or seeds and nibble on the twigs that complete her nest. On good days, she will be found scurrying about the yard. Her memory will lead her directly to the nuts she buried months prior.
Well, her memory will lead her to where she buried the nuts but sometimes those stockpiled goodies are missing! While our sweet, little female was busy preparing for winter, a lazy male squirrel was following not too far behind her. He was digging up the very same nuts that she so carefully buried. By sitting and observing, I have come to the realization that most male squirrels are lazy and do not think ahead to the future. They do not build the nest. They do not stockpile as many foodstuffs. They are not beyond stealing what their ladylove has worked so hard to gather! If all the females stopped gathering, the whole lot of them would die of starvation! No wonder she has to find 5000 acorns! She is a workaholic and he is lazy to the bone!
Meandering about the hillside, you just never know what you may find. What was not there yesterday can easily pop up today. That is what makes hiking interesting. The small oddities that seemingly appear out of thin air get you to asking how? And why? And where? Some of the finds are pretty but others are creepy. Then, there are those that are downright confusing.
The hike this afternoon led me down behind the greenhouse where there is a large black gum tree that has seen better days. The tree has been battered by many hurricanes and has the battle scars to prove it. Some of those scars left gaping holes. Many critters take advantage of the holes to provide housing for their little ones. Nests are built inside the holes and are usually lined with leaves and soft grasses. Today, however, it was in one of those holes, way up in the top of the tree, that my bewildering find was made.
About thirty feet up the tree, there is a hole that obviously houses a critter of some sort. I could see that the hole has been recently occupied because a tumble of contents was extending beyond the opening. It was one of those "contents" that left me scratching my head. Slightly protruding from the "door" of the nest was a plastic water bottle. How in the world did the critter get that bottle up in the tree? Why in the world would it want a plastic bottle in its nest? And...what type critter would even consider the idea of toting it all the way up there? It was baffling, to say the least, but there it was.
I have yet to figure out this latest "Mystery of the Bayou" but I am intrigued enough to keep watch on the hole. Perhaps one day, I will spy the critter and, at least, answer the "who" question. Some critter has a lot of determination, that is for sure!
