Cleaning House

  The rains kept me housebound today so there was no hiking about the hillside.  My outdoor time was minimal.  I would step out the door just long enough to grab another armload of firewood for the old woodstove.  It was doing a fine job ob keeping the chill away but needed stoking often.  I was certainly glad that I had the opportunity to take a leisurely stroll yesterday because I would be a fine mess of stir-craziness today had I not.  Instead, I baked, wrapped gifts and cleaned house in preparation of Christmas.

  Yesterday, someone else was busy cleaning house.  A quick flutter in top of the old black gum tree told me that the red-bellied woodpecker was quite busy.  Without stopping to acknowledge my presence, the bird worked on her nesting hole.  No, she is not planning on having a brood any time soon but is clearing out and preparing her site for herself.  She will spend the cold, wintry nights bedded down in the snug nest.  Yesterday, she was pulling out old nesting material, hammering a new escape route and making general repairs to her hole.  New grasses, mosses and leaves were being brought in to line her own little home.  She was preparing her "she-shed" for the winter.  Come spring, if she decides to reuse the same hole, she will, once again, gut the inside and rebuild her nest.  Everything will be tossed as she remodels!  Out with the old and in with the new!

  I watched for a bit and thought of how thankful I am that this bird will have a snug, cozy nest to sleep in during the winter months.  With the cold rains of today and tomorrow, I am sure she is thankful as well.  A little work on her part will keep her well protected.

A Better View of a Gorgeous Bird!

  I will be the first to admit that my eyesight is extremely poor.  While I used to be able to see things far across the Bayou and beyond, that range is sorely declining.  Even with prescription spectacles, things are blurry at best.  So, this afternoon while on the pier, I could not identify a large, black blob that was in the top of a dead black gum tree on the far side of the Bayou.  What in the world was that thing??  It seemed large, was very black (dark) and showed a good bit of movement.  I knew it was a critter of some sort but to be that far up in a tree was something else again.  My first thought was a bird...perhaps the bald eagle.  As far as I could see, there was nothing else to do but make my way along the marsh edge to get a closer view of the mystery critter.

  The old dog and I eased our way along the marsh until we reached the wild persimmon trees on the east side of the property.  Here, I could get a better view if I slipped between the palmetto clumps close to the water's edge.  Sure enough, the critter was much easier to identify from this vantage point.  Instead of an eagle, my friend was an osprey!  The confusion was caused by the bird preening itself which hid the white underparts.  With wings outspread and head tucked, the bird hunched over like some menacing vulture!  Once the bird saw me, it took as much interest in me as I did in it.  The osprey tried to get a better view of who was hiding in the palmettos.  Once it decided that I was not a threat, it perched upright in its majestic position and let out a loud screech!

  Satisfied that I had positively identified my critter, I eased my way back out of the palmettos and up the hillside.  That bad eyesight might not serve too well in spotting a cottonmouth that may be lurking down beneath those brambles!  It was best to get myself out of the midst of things unseen!

I'll Take It!

  Autumn!  Ahhh!  The bliss!  Chilly nights, colored leaves, brisk breezes, sweater nights!  I think this is just about perfect!  Except on the Bayou these things will come a bit later if at all.  While other folks are happily proclaiming that Fall is almost here, I am still going barefooted and sweating in the sweltering heat.  The thought of wearing anything more than a short sleeve shirt brings groans from those of us this far in the Deep South.  We can only wish! Still, Autumn comes tomorrow whether the weather agrees or not.  

  On my short hike in the yard at daybreak (very limited due to the uncooperative leg), I did come across one bright spot that is about as fall-like as we are going to get at the moment.  A single red leaf had fallen from a Black Gum Tree in the front yard.  Time to get out that rake!  The leaf being backlit by the rising sun looked like a bright flame rising from the grass.  Its glowing red enthralled me to the point that I wanted to keep the leaf forever in this state.  That ain't gonna happen, folks.  By late evening, the sun will have turned the leaf to a crispy brown and my little bit of Autumn will have burnt out like a match.  Vanished into thin air!  Gone.  Maybe another tomorrow?

  I have heardtell that you can "preserve" fall leaves by soaking them in glycerin.  Perhaps I should attempt that but then, I may not truly appreciate the "single" red leaves that I find occasionally.  Too much of a good thing can spoil the magic in something found for a moment.  Preserving the leaves will be a good project to do with the grandkids if they are ever here in Fall, maybe, but that will be a long time coming.  Instead, I will take my one little bit of Autumn and be happy in it.  I will take it when I find it.

"Hope Does Spring Eternal"

  "Hope springs eternal".  This is a partial quote from Alexander Pope in his poem "Essay on Man".  It is usually applied when one thinks that a situation is doomed but a small sliver of hope still gleams in the wings. That is how I saw it today.  "Hope springs eternal".  For years just outside the front door, two old black gum trees stood seemingly forever.  It is hard to kill these trees and even when one does die,  it is equally hard to take it down.  Hurricanes try their best to knock over the trees but to no avail.  Hurricane Katrina, with her fierce winds and extreme storm surge, could not fell one such tree that had been long gone due to flying squirrels chewing a colony of tunnels through the trunk.  The tree stood solid against all odds.  Now, twelve years later, the two trees near the door have met their demise due to the very same hurricane.  Old injuries from storm tossed debris were welcoming doors to wood boring beetles and now termites.  My two sentries that guarded the front door cease to live.  It saddened me as the trees provided shade from the harsh summer sun and blocked much wind from storms coming off the Bay.  

  This afternoon as I stood giving my last goodbyes to two steadfast friends, I noticed that hope does spring eternal.  A large section of one tree had rotted from the center outward.  The outer bark had been ruthlessly torn during Katrina tossing a deck (from across the Bay) into the tree.  The gash was a good four feet in length and probably a foot wide.  Trees were the least of our worries after the storm as we cleared the (ten feet deep) debris from around the house and made repairs.  It was far more important to rid the place of potentially disease carrying debris than worrying about the health of a tree. Eventually, the borers moved in and gutted the tree.  But...from death comes life.  Today, I found that the very same wound that killed the tree brought forth a new life.  

  Where the core of the tree had sifted down into the shell of bark, a arrowhead philodendron had taken root.  A nearby hanging plant had sent a tendril reaching out until it found the soft mulch inside the hollow tree.  The new shoot took root and now stands as a completely separate plant.  The new tendrils dangle gracefully from the gaping wound of the old tree.  The tree, itself, had become a "pot" for the new plant. Hope and life springs eternal when given a chance to take root.  There is always an answer if we only look for it.

Speaking Of Leaves....

  Yesterday while photographing the yellow butterfly amongst the possum grape leaves, it was easy to notice that at least those leaves bore a slight resemblance to something like autumn.  Or, perhaps, it was just wishful thinking.  Today, however, there was no mistaking the distinct fall-like colors in the black gum leaves that came fluttering to the ground.  A easy breeze came in off the Bay and showered me with red and yellow leaves from the tall trees.  The garden was littered with these bright bits of encouragement that the seasons would soon be changing. I am so ready.

  Autumn is my favorite time of year...or maybe it is winter.  It is a hard choice between the two.  With autumn comes the usual holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving but my mind is on our annual clue hunt. This takes up the entire month of October so things are already in full swing.  Preparations have to be made and, as usual, time is running short!  The feeling of angst that things will not be finished on time is always plaguing me so as soon as the day's chores are completed, the rest of the day is allotted for creating!  Sometimes this keeps me up until wee hours of the morn but, since it is something of my own undertaking, the lack of sleep is not a problem.

  But...back to those leaves!  Pop always called the trees "black gum trees" so, needless to say, that is my name for them as well.  Another common name is black tupelo which is derived from the Creek Indian name for the tree "ito opilwa".  This roughly translated means "swamp tree" which is fully appropriate.  These trees love growing in near swamps.  

  The trees are the first to show a bit of color here on the Bayou.  Since we rarely get the full "glory of autumn" with the leaf color thing, the black gum trees are highly appreciated for their bit of a show.  The leaves being blown from the trees today are a start of my "autumn".  I will take whatever I can get!  I do not mind getting showered with leaves while I water the garden.

Home, Sweet Home!

In the dying Black Gum Tree that sits just outside the front door, I noticed a good bit of activity over the past few weeks.  There has been construction (or destruction) of sorts happening in the very tiptop of the tree!  The Redheaded Woodpecker has been quite busy excavating a new hole.  In and out..in and out..pieces of rotten wood flying everywhere.  Then last week, the activity stopped.  No more pounding or scraping could be heard.  I began to think the bird had cleared the tree of all critters that might have infested the rotten wood.  It was also at about this same time that I noticed one of my pair of woodpeckers seemed to have disappeared.  Only one bird hung around the feeders and in the nearby oak tree.  Not being able to distinguish between male and female woodpeckers, I have come to the conclusion that one of my birds is about to become a mother!  She must be setting on her clutch of eggs in the newly formed hole!

Last evening as I sat outside with Ms. Ez, I saw one Redhead fly into the top of the tree.  No, it did not go into the hole but rather sat just a few feet away. So..Daddy Bird keeps watch over the nest! While I watched the hole, I did catch one glimpse of Mama Bird but nothing more.  She was safe and secure inside her cozy nesting cavity!

As I sat staring at the dead tree, I began to see strange things!  My imagination led me to an entirely different view of the tree.  This was not just a dying tree that was full of holes but a creature!  I could clearly make out a face!  The Redheaded Woodpeckers had carved a likeness of a human..or at least in my crazy imagination it was a human! Perhaps my birds liked me enough to pay homage to me!  Ok...enough of the imagination running amok, it could not be me!  The mouth is far too large!  Still, the tree did bear a striking resemblance to a face.

Today, Mark and I watched the lone woodpecker make his rounds to the feeder and oak trees.  He never strayed far from the Black Gum Tree housing his mate and future kids.  All was right with his world!

The Goblin Tree!

Just in time for Halloween..I have found a goblin in the yard! This goblin sits there night and day without ever a single person but me noticing him! It is not as if he is trying to hide or even be evasive in any way, he is just so mundane that no one sees him. In one of the large Black Gum Trees in the front yard, I see a face! It is quite the large face at that! There are two massive eyes and a huge gaping mouth! I must admit, this goblin does have an impressively blank stare, though! I am so tempted to go out with a bit of paint and color in the eyes and maybe a few teeth just to give it a tad more definition. Then perhaps others will notice my Goblin Tree. Or perhaps the face is only visible to someone with a very vivid imagination. Back in the day, Granddaddy would take me around the yard and point out faces in trees and flowers. He would always point to a tree or a flower and say "Do you see the face looking at you?" At first this frightened me..I did not want faces staring at me from the trees and flowers! That was just a little too creepy! Then he showed me how amusing it was to hunt for the faces that only we could see! It became a great game between the two of us and I would always try to find a face before he did! My imagination was set in gear far back when I was a small child! This game always stuck in my head and to this day, I have a tendency to find faces everywhere. This old Black Gum Tree just happens to be the latest of many but it also happens to be one of the most defined.

The face is actually made up of scars in the bark of the tree. Six years ago, Hurricane Katrina damaged a good many of the trees on the Gulf Coast and many died. My Goblin Tree was one of the survivors. It received so many bumps and bruises but was a tough old tree as Black Gums tend to be. The scars are healing but will always be evident and it is just a freak of nature that these scars are in the formation of a face. I named it the Goblin Tree simply because nothing else fit. I stood looking at it the other day and the imagination started soaring again. The Goblin Tree is facing southward towards the Bay and I wondered if it is watching the horizon for future storms. (Tonight, however, we have a strong North wind and the temperatures are dropping quickly..maybe it just has its back to the wind to stay a bit warmer!) My Goblin Tree..another thing that makes this Bayou a bit more endearing!

The Dead Tree

There is a Black Gum tree in my yard that died about six years ago. Black Gum trees are tough old trees and even when they die, it is hard to knock them down to the ground. They just keep on standing until eventually as pieces fall off there is nothing left to them. This old tree is nothing but a stob..and for any who do not know what a "stob" is..it is a Southern word for a straight chunk of wood. This chunk of wood can be the remainder of a tree, (like mine), a post, a root that is exposed or any piece of wood that is stuck in the ground. Anyway, this stob's existence as a tree is over but it is still so full of life. Most noticeable is the woodpeckers of all kinds that visit it everyday hunting for their dinner. Their hammering can be heard echoing over the entire hill as they pull grubs and carpenter ants from the wood. These bugs and worms live in tunnels that lace the rotted tree stump. The woodpeckers pound away at the wood creating holes that soon become homes for smaller birds such as the bluebird and wren. Flying squirrels occupy other holes near the top. There is a nest of field mice in the bottom of the trunk between the roots, this home has two doors chewed into the wood making a nice escape exit if needed. I have seen bats clinging to the sides waiting for their evening flights. Slugs, spiders and moths also have found homes here. It is like a condo for critters! I know we should have cut this dead tree long ago but I find it so fascinating that such a diverse group can live in relative harmony in such a small area. Pieces are breaking off every time we have a strong wind and I always check for any critter residents before discarding them. I think perhaps it has at least one more good year before the remaining stob will come crashing to the ground. Perhaps by then I will have plenty of bat, bird and squirrel houses in nearby trees that all my animal friends can relocate without any problems.

Not all of the critters of the Bayou are being friendly. The Belted Kingfishers have been going at it for the past week. It is a constant war for territory, with their screeching and aerial battles from sunrise to sunset. There was one pair here for the past year but now a rival has come on the scene. I have been assuming that it is the males that are competing but I when I finally photographed one, to my surprise it appears to be the female! The male does not have the rufous (reddish brown) band on its chest. There is a chance that it is a immature male since they do have somewhat of a band..I will have to wait to later in the winter to determine for sure. In the meantime, I get to watch their air show and listen to their squabbling during the daylight hours.

Now that the evenings are getting a bit cooler, I am able to open the windows instead of using the air conditioner. This makes me happy as I can listen to the nightly serenading of the toads, frogs, cicadas, crickets and owls. These seem to be almost harmonious and seem to "go" together quite well..but then. Then there is the sole mockingbird that sits on the rose arbor right outside the window. This bird sings all night and is not at all in sync with the other animals of the night. How this mockingbird can stay awake nightly and then perform its concert again during the day, is beyond me. Also..why does it sing all night? In the Spring, I thought it was the male serenading his "wife" as she set on the nest warming her eggs. Now I am inclined to disbelieve this theory as she hatched her brood long ago. Perhaps it is scared of the dark and thinks that if it makes plenty of noise nothing will come near to scare it. Whatever its reasoning is, I am enjoying the music! It can sit outside my window any night!