Strange Things In Strange Places

    One never knows what may wash in with the tide around here.  We are accustomed to finding all sorts of "treasures" after a hurricane but having things come in during the winter months is a tad unusual.  The north wind has a way of pushing the tide far out from the pier leaving no water to float anything much less a bunch of oddities.  An oddity did make its way to a small inlet on the other side of my brother's pier (just to the west of us).  A freak storm from the south pushed the tide far enough up into the Bay that it left gifts behind for us.  By gifts, I mean debris that needed clearing.

  At first, I had no idea why a buoy was sitting almost on shore.  It then occurred to me that this thing was yet another "treasure" left behind by the high tide.  At least, it is not MY treasure and I do not have to discard that huge thing.  According to the "Regulatory Buoy Markers" list, the marker seems to be either a "no swimming" marker or a "swimming" marker as both have a huge red diamond mark in the middle with an + in the middle.  I find it odd that both have the same emblem but, hey, no one should be swimming in this area anyway.  First, there are alligators that do not like to be disturbed.  The gators stick to the small inlets where they will not be harassed by people but will defend their territory if necessary.  People are the intruders...not the gators.  Second, the bottom here is mud...soft, mushy mud that makes it easy to sink up to your waist in no time flat.  In a matter of minutes, you can become hopelessly mired!  The mud has been compared to the "quicksand of the Deep South".  Third, under that mud lies anything that previous tides, reckless people and numerous storms have dumped into the area.  This means everything from broken glass to boards with barnacles or other pointy, sharp things hide just out of sight. 

  I am not sure what the writing says on the buoy but lets hope no one takes it to heart that this is a "swimming" area.  Once in, a swimmer may become stuck and, as that person sloshes around trying to free himself, all of the gators in the inlets will be alerted to his presence.  The gators will come to investigate causing panic in the swimmer.  Said swimmer will slosh even more to get to safety and may just happen to stir up some shard that causes a wound.  Things will go drastically downhill from there.  Again, people are the intruders...the gators live here.  But...sadly, if an alligator ever does defend it territory, it will be the one dispatched.  

  The buoy sits right against the shoreline in about a foot of water.  Hopefully, another storm will come in and either wash it further ashore or back out to where it originated.  Also, hopefully, people use some commonsense when it comes to being around the bayous and not need some marker to inform them one way or the other.

Treasures in the Marsh

  When living on a bayou, one comes to expect storms and extremely high tides.  This is nothing new.  We know that there will be days that our yards are filled with water and with that water come a myriad of strange things.  Oddities have a way of washing in from who knows where.  Sometimes, these things are usable and are snatched up with glee.  Other times, one wonders why the item was ever created in the first place and how it got in the water.  Even small storms such as the one that has been lingering about for the past few days can wash up a multitude of items.  

  Son and I headed to the pier to check on the small skiff once again this morning.  Sitting over to one side just out of our reach was a buoy. This...was a usable item!  One never knows when a good buoy might come in handy!  We made plans to retrieve the bright orange ball as soon as it is feasible.  The winds need to subside a bit before we dare get in the skiff. 

   You might wonder just what my intentions are in retrieving the buoy. Years ago, Mark brought home a large white buoy that he found while out fishing.  The thing had floated up on the opposite shore and was obviously abandoned.  He lugged the thing into the boat and headed to the pier.  That buoy became a thing of joy! At least it did for the dogs. They so loved to "attack" the buoy and send it rolling down the hillside. Mark had the brilliant idea of tying a rope to it and a tree at the top of the hill.  This was done to make it easier to hoist the huge thing back up once the dogs fought it all the way down to the marsh edge. 

  Now another buoy has washed ashore.  Since we have no dog at the moment, I thought that Sunny, our former foster dog, would love to have this one.  She and Ms. Ez (RIP) had so much fun with the other that I am sure Sunny would be overjoyed to see another.  Hopefully, my daughter will not mind having a large, red buoy in her nice, new yard!  Tomorrow, Son and I will slip the skiff out in search of treasures in the marsh! Buoy....here we come!  Sunny....get ready for some fun!

Buoy and Girls!..Or the Beached Whale!!!!

Sometimes it doesn't have to be an expensive toy to be amusing. A discarded find, a scavenged item or even a reclaimed, repurposed piece of trash can provide hours of fun! Such is the case with the two dogs that reside here on the Bayou. Bayou dogs obviously have a greater sense of adventure or at least are provided with greater opportunities to explore those adventures! Both of these girls have found a new toy!

It all started with Mark going fishing out on the Bay. Sad to say, he did not catch any fish due to the recent floods but at least he found a most interesting play toy for the dogs. When he came in from the Bay, he towed in a large abandoned buoy. It was about five feet long and a good two feet in diameter! I am not sure just where or how this buoy was used prior its current designated purpose, but now it is the toy of choice for both dogs! At first, Sunny was a bit dubious of something that size probably seems as large as a beached whale to her small self but Ezzy, on the other hand, knew just how to handle this monster! She dove at the large, white whale feet first! Her front paws smacked the buoy and sent it reeling down the hill. Mark stood and stared in disbelief..he had just toted this thing up from the marsh and was not overly thrilled at the prospect of the haul back up the hill. Once the buoy was heaved back in place, we made the dogs sit still while we attached a long rope to one end and fastened this off to an oak tree at the top of the hill. Now the dogs could attack at will and the monster (buoy) would be easily retrieved! Smart thinking by the human counterparts to these fine friends! While Sunny seemed content to gnaw on the knotted rope, Ms. Ez soon learned that she could roll the buoy by shoving it with her nose. She would poke her snout under the buoy and shove. The large white mass would roll with great ease. This kept her occupied for hours! I love this thing! Or I did until I noticed a red smear down the side of the white whale! Blood! Oh, no!

Yep, Ms. Ez's poor nose was rubbed raw! She had no intention of stopping, though! The excitement that had built while overcoming this beached whale, was far outweighing the pain of a sore nose! I tried to make her stop! Nope! Wasn't happening! By this time, Sunny had the knot totally chewed off of the buoy so Michael heaved the heavy buoy up on the wicker settee. Surely Ms. Ez would not attack it any longer if it was out of reach! Wrong again...she bounced at the buoy! This was her toy and she was not having anyone take it from her! No matter what we did, she weaseled her way to the buoy to attack it again and again! No beached, white whale would inhabit her yard! We actually had to bring her indoors before she would leave it be! I am happy to say, her nose is healing well. A few more days and we will let her have another play date with the buoy! One thing is for sure...if ever a white whale beaches itself on the Bayou, I know I will be well protected! Ezzy...the whale slayer!....or buoy killer!