It's Coming!

  The day started off on a perfectly decent note.  The predicted rains had not started yet and a visit with Darling Daughter was the happiest way to begin the day.  Occasionally, she comes before work to share a cup of coffee with her mom!  My day is always better when she is around regardless of the weather.  Along about 10am, she headed to work and shortly after, the skies darkened.  Twenty minutes later, it poured...and poured.  Torrential rains hit the Bayou for nigh on two hours.  

  During a short break between that and the next rainstorm, Son and I rushed to the pier to tend to the small skiff.  There had been so much rain that the boat was nearly full of water.  The pump was stuck and no water had been emptied.  He repaired the pump then started bailing.  I stood and watched helplessly since two of us in the tiny boat would have been too difficult.  I kept watch on the Bay and incoming storm.  The thunder was drawing nearer and I could see a wall of rain inching closer and closer across the water.  "Hurry!  We have got to get back to the house!" was met with "I have to finish."  So, I waited in the drizzling rain with him.  Finally, he jumped from the skiff and said, "I am just going to pull the boat ashore then pull the plug."  That sounded like a grand idea so the two of us hauled the boat up the bank.  It was heavy and hard work but we finally situated it in a safe place, tied it to a tree and he pulled the plug.  "Let's go!" I said! 

  We made it to the door when another storm let loose.  The winds were terrific with this one.  Limbs were being ripped from the trees and tossed about the yard.  Suddenly, there was a loud clattering on the rooftop.  "Uh, oh!  Hail!"  Some of the largest hail that I have ever seen pelted the house.  Son spoke..."I am glad we made it inside.  That may have hurt a bit."  Yep.  It may have.  

  All said and done, we received over four inches of rain in less than three hours and there is more on the way.  We will stay snug and safe in the Little Bayou House and not worry about what is happening outside.  The boat is secure, the cat is inside and all is well.  Stay safe, folks, stay safe.

Seemingly out of place...

  I am gradually getting used to not having the old Bayou Dog by my side on hikes about the hillside.  I still have not ventured too far from the house but a lot of that is due to the inclement weather we have been having as of late.  It is on the cool side and with the drizzly rain, I prefer to hang about inside the Little Bayou House where it is warm and snug.  I do head to the pier to check on the old skiff but, other than that, I am housebound.

  Here lately, I have been seeing quite the number of large boats in the channel across the Bay.  These things look a little out of proportion for our small body of water.  I suppose these crafts are heading to the shipyard or some such place for repairs.  I know for a fact that they are not just cruising about the channel for fun.  It does amuse me to hear the loud blasts coming from beyond the trees when the boats near one of the bridges.  The noise reminds me of the old foghorns that were ever present in foggy shoreline scenes in movies from long ago.  The long, rolling thunder of the horns come in about ten minute intervals both night and day.  I am getting used to hearing them but have to admit that when I first heard them, I was a bit perplexed.  Nothing this large has entered the Bay in quite some time.

  I studied the logo on the side of a recent craft and found it to be a marine medical emblem.  Perhaps these are supply boats that head out to the oil rigs.  It makes sense that these crafts need to be in tiptop shape to make that long (sometimes rough) run.  In the meantime, it makes for an interesting scene up this far in the Bay.

Early Morning Ponderings

  Any fisherman worth his salt knows that to catch fish, you really should get out on the water before dawn.  This holds true especially if the tide is changing just about that time.  Those fish will be ready to feed and the fisherman should be in place and ready to make the haul. Mark and I went to the pier in the wee hours of the morn so he could head out in the small skiff.  Mark has proven that this boat is all that is needed to "bring home the bacon".  While a larger, fancier boat would be nice for visiting relatives, the old skiff works just fine for us. Granted it is small but it is also easy maintenance and Mark always manages to find the fish!  

  Once again this morning, I stayed behind on the pier.  Our sweet niece, Eva, was coming to the Little Bayou House a bit later and I wanted to make sure that I did not miss her.  As Mark eased the boat out from the pier, I was enthralled by his silhouette against the red sky. It reminded me a lot of Pop and his early morning fishing trips.  Pop and Mark were big fishing buddies and spent many an hour on the Bay. More oft than not, they would bring buckets full of fine fish home for our dining pleasure.  There were many times back in the day when we depended on those catches.  Early in our marriage, Mark's work was seasonal so fresh caught seafood and veggies from the garden fed us...and fed us well.  We still laugh about our menu during one particularly hard year.  He would come home after putting in a hard day's work and I would make the following announcement!  "We are having corn, peas, shrimp and okra!"  To which he would respond with an "Oh, yum!"  With the same scenario each day, I would merely change the order of the items. "We are having shrimp, peas, corn and okra!"  Every day saw a different order of the same four foods.  We did not complain as we were so thankful to have our bellies full.  Things have changed a lot during those early days but we are still just as thankful.  The blessings are many.  Now we have four chest-type freezers filled with seafood, vegetables and fruits.  There are hundreds of jars of jams, jellies, fruits and veggies lining the shelves. These stockpiled foodstuffs will feed not only us but any visitors to the Little Bayou House throughout the winter to come.  We are thankful.

The Tempest

  My grandmother used to always use the idiom of "Tempest in a teapot" to describe some of her grandkids when they were being a bit rowdy.  I guess as country kids, we were quite active at times and she was just not used to that.  We were kids being kids. Nowadays, we would most likely be labeled with some learning or behavior disorder but then we were just "misbehaving".  Of course, we were reprimanded and not one of us are any worse for wear.  We were not mollycoddled that is for sure!  We did not behave so we were corrected in the good old-fashioned way of a switching.  (Can't do that nowadays!  No, no, no! Hmmmph!)  I thought about that tempest in a teapot mid afternoon today.

  The kitchen windows face the north and I had been watching dark clouds build up on the horizon while I cleaned.  They did not seem to be too threatening so I figured all was well. I did, however, make the remark to Mark that it seemed just like the weather before a tropical storm or hurricane. I guess I should learn to keep my mouth shut!  Little did I know that on the south side of the house, a tempest was sneaking in on us!  From out of the Gulf of Mexico, a squally bunch of weather zipped our way.  I walked into the (south side) living room just in time to hear the wind start to whip around the Bayou.  I peered out the window as the bird feeders blew off of the driftwood hangers. Uh oh, this is going to be a doozy of a storm!  The wind pounded the Little Bayou House relentlessly.  Limbs and other debris pelted my house. Out on the Bay, the waves were huge!  They splashed up over the pier with a vengeance!  Ahhh, my kind of weather!  Yep, even though storms like this squall could spell trouble, I do, indeed, like them.  There is a certain excitement that comes with watching the strength of the wind and water.

  After the worst passed over us, I headed out to check the rain gauge.  Wow!  In just under an hour, we received nigh on two and a half inches!  I made my way to check the greenhouse roof.  Not a single problem could be detected there!  Next, the pier. The water made it a bit slippery but I was able to make my way to the end. Whereas just minutes ago, a raging squall had the waters churning, now it was slick calm. There did not seem to be any problems with our pier but my brother's boat did not fare as well.   His small skiff was upended with the outboard motor down in the water.  I could see items floating far out on the Bay and assumed that those were from his boat.  Not having our boat in the water, I could not retrieve his escaping belongings.  Since he was not home at the time, there was little I could do but bemoan the fact that he might lose some things.  This man will be able to repair any damage to the motor and will have his boat up and running before we know it but I did feel badly for him.  He always helps anyone and everyone in need and I could do nothing to help him in return.  This was no small squall.  The tempest wreaked havoc.

Vivid Reflections

It was a quiet New Year's Day here on the Bayou.  My son, Michael, and I were the only ones here to enjoy a delicious meal of black eyed peas, cabbage and chicken casserole with a dessert of fresh-baked apple turnovers!  After gorging ourselves with fine food, we decided it would be in our best interest to take a hike.  Perhaps all of that food would not settle in as extra weight!  While out and about, we gathered a bit of firewood and then headed to the pier.  The day was overcast with intermittent rain showers.  That sun could not be seen at all!  Still, what enthralled the two of us was the reflection on the calm water.  Who would think that without a brilliant sun, objects could be so perfectly reflected!  Yet, they were!

First to catch my eye was the image of the trees across the way.  How pretty it seemed..how peaceful!  Perhaps all of this peacefulness was the quiet before the storm!  We both knew that come darkness, there would be a continuous racket of fireworks that were delayed by rain last night.  As I took several pictures of the trees, Michael called my attention to his uncle's (my brother's) boat.  Wow!  The image was so perfect that you could actually read the name of the boat in the reflection!  Every aspect of the boat was duplicated in crisp detail!  I have never seen the Bay this calm during the middle of the day!  It was amazingly beautiful!

This being New Year's Day, perhaps we should all do a bit of reflection on the past year.  Can we honestly say that our deeds from this past year are as beautiful and crisply clean as the reflections on the water today?  If not, perhaps we should all work on our habits in the coming year.  Then, next year, our reflections will stand out above the rest.  Hmmm?  Perhaps that is something to ponder as we make those resolutions.