Happy Anniversary!

Today marks a milestone! It was one year ago today that I attempted to break into the blog world. I was nervous to say the least! I could not imagine anyone ever wanting to read anything that I had written..or read about anything that happened here on the Bayou. Face it..my little corner of the World is just not that exciting to the outside world. But my oldest son insisted that I try. He set up the blog, used a few of my pictures and sent me a password to get started. Eek! "Just write about anything that happens during your day." he said. "Just write it how it happens..in your own words..in your own style..and don't worry. People will read it." That scared me even more. Now here it is a year later and I have not missed a day of posting. I never knew that my Bayou had enough exciting events to ever fill a week much less a year. Then again, perhaps it is not the excitement but the peace of the Bayou that draws an audience. My Bayou is peaceful..something that I wish I could share with the World..with you.

At night recently, the peace and quiet has been disturbed a bit. My friendly mockingbird still serenades me from the rose arbor but now added to that is a loud buzzing. The cicadas (locusts as we call them!) are out and about big time! These fine critters let you know when they emerge from their subterranean life. I have the wonderful little exoskeletons all over the fences and arbors where they shed. The skin splits up the back and out crawls an incredibly weird-looking bug. One that is so strange that it is beautiful. These guys are said to crawl around underground for a number of years before making their way above ground. Once out, they molt and climb to the tree tops. Here the males form groups to "sing" away until some female enters the picture. Reproduction is the sole purpose of all of this confusion. The female will cut slits in tree branches to lay her eggs. She will lay up to six hundred eggs which will hatch in about eight weeks. The newborns will drop to the ground and dig in where they will stay for the next thirteen to seventeen years. And life goes on..the cycle begins again.

Their buzzing will last about two weeks or so, then all will be quiet. The above ground life of the locust will be over. I do not mind the buzzing of the locusts..the sound blends with the rest of the noisy nights on the Bayou. With the window open, I can hear all of the calls, chirps, whistles, grunts, growls and howls of the night. I try to identify each creature by its sound which is not always easy. Some sound so alike that at times I am confused to just what creature is prowling outside the window. In a way, all of this noise is part of the peacefulness of the Bayou.

Serendipity..ummm..yeah right.

Serendipity..the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines this as luck that takes on the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for...hmm. I wonder what just the opposite is??? Today started out with me having gut feelings not to head to the pier..I should have listened. It started with me having gut feelings not to take the zoom lens off of my camera while on the pier..I should have listened. Later there was the gut feeling that I should not ask for my son's help with a major problem that resulted from me not heeding gut feelings..I should have listened. One thing leads to another and sometimes none are good. You can surely see just where this is leading by now! I awoke feeling a tad apprehensive for reasons unbeknownst to me. I thought for sure a trek to the pier to watch the sunrise would calm all inner turmoil. I was so wrong. Everything was as usual..the pier..the sun..the coolness of the morn..until I decided to remove the zoom lens from the camera to take a picture. The lens has been sticking lately so I had to twist harder than usual. This motion caused me to slip and drop the lens. It hit the pier and......rolled....right off the end. AARRGGGHHHH!!!! Immediately, a knot swelled up in my throat..the stomach churned and I thought I was going to be ill right then and there. Camera zoom lens are not cheap!!! Reluctantly, I peered over the edge. At least one thing was going for me..it was low tide. The lens had dropped over in about one foot of water. Ideally this would have made retrieving the lens a lot easier. Not so..one foot of water and a zillion and a half feet of soft, mushy mud. The type mud that will swallow up any and everything. The sun was not up far enough yet to cast any light down in the water and with the rising tide, I knew it would not be long before my lens was a goner forever. I grabbed a flounder gig and gingerly prodded the bottom carefully to not stir up said mud. Nothing...poke, poke, poke..nothing..this was not helping. By this time, I was starting to panic! What to do..what to do??? Poke..poke..clink! Ahh..perhaps that is my lens! I ran to get a long handled scoop net. Up the hill and to the door...wait! Son!!! He would be able to help me!!! I raced inside and halfway up the stairs..."SON!!!" (At this point..keep in mind that it is 5 AM!) I called again.."SON!!..I have a major problem and need your help!" The poor fellow leaped out of bed probably thinking the house was on fire..someone was breaking in..or at least the coffee pot was broken..(any of which would have thrown me in a tizzy!). He hurried down the stairs and looked at me bewildered. I told him the story all the while making my way back to the pier. He poked and prodded..scooped and skimmed..no lens. Now before I go any further..I must set the record straight. This would not have been such an ordeal had I not depended upon this lens daily. Nor would it have been such a problem if not for the mud. But beyond those, the biggest obstacle that stood between me and my zoom lens was the seven foot or so drop off the end of the pier to ever reach the water! Our pier sits high above the water at low tide and there is no ladder to get down to the edge. Son looked at me with a helpless expression and slipped over the side. Once in the water, he sank up to his knees in mud and would have continued had he not held onto a rope that was tied to one of the pier posts. The "clink" that I heard turned out to be a clam shell..nothing more. He reached down blindly again and again..searching through the slippery mud. Finally! He fished out a treasure! MY LENS! I was ecstatic to say the least! He rinsed the mud from it and handed it to me! YAY! My HERO!!! Then comes the rest of the story. Now that he was over the side, how in the world was he to get back on the pier?? He was slowly growing shorter and shorter as he sank in the quicksand-like mud. He would pull one leg up and try to take a step..not working. At this point, I made a mental note..."Build a ladder on the side of the pier." He shoved himself up and grasp the edge of the decking of the wharf. Before I realized what he was doing, he attempted to use the post for leverage and boost himself. "No!!!!" too late..his foot slid down the post onto the barnacles. For his heroic, kind act of helping Mom, he was rewarded with a nasty slice on the foot. Uggg! Not good at all! The post maneuver not working, he edged his way around the pier. Once he got nearer to the shoreline, he was able to clamber up on a brace board and onto the deck. I tried to pull him up, but I think I was hindering his efforts more than helping. I inspected his foot..oh, my..ugly! We hurried to the house. After a good, hot bath, his foot was soaked and doctored with herbs. Hopefully, this will be enough to keep it from becoming infected. Need I say it? He is a remarkably kind young man!

Today is an anniversary! Thirty-two years ago, my husband and I were married! Sure, there have been ups and downs as with any marriage, but through the good times and the bad, we weathered them together. That is the key word of any marriage..together. This morning, the florist delivered another beautiful basket of plants. Hubby knows that I would much rather have plants than all the cut roses in the world! The plants, I can enjoy for years to come..each time I look at them, I will be reminded of his love. Happy Anniversary, Hubby! May our love grow stronger and stronger as we look forward to the next thirty years of togetherness!