It has been ages....

   As saddening as it is, the old place is not what it used to be when we first built the Little Bayou House.  Then, the whole area was wooded with very few houses and those were the homes of family.  Now that lovely thing called progress has seen the wooded areas clear-cut and new houses built.  We do not know but a handful of our new neighbors on either side.  The Little Bayou House sits on one of the only pieces of ground that is still in its natural state.  The yard was cleared enough to plant gardens and fruit trees but the remaining property was left untouched.  The creek, marshes, boggy areas, and woods are all still intact and shall remain that way, if I have any say about it.

  With that clear-cutting came an influx of critters.  The poor animals had no place to go once their homes were literally smashed.  No one cared about the little ones that may have been in nests or dens.  More than once, babes were separated from their parents or just run over by tractors.  It broke my heart to hear their cries but there was nothing I could do but whisper a feeble prayer.  Without homes, the critters scrambled to the only area that offered refuge...our place.  Now, we are overrun with any and all critters.  This, in itself, has created problems.  Many went hungry and many fell to the over abundance of new predators.  Coyotes, bobcats, fox and raccoons all were in search of any food they could find.  The first three found easy prey in the numerous rabbits that had, at one time, led a peaceful life here.  Soon the rabbits were ravaged to the point of non-existence.  It has been ages since a rabbit has been seen on this entire hillside.

  I missed seeing the bunnies in the yard and even the gardens where they would nibble the cabbages.  I took it as a "sign of the times" and, even though I mourned the loss of bunnies, I dealt with it.  With that in mind, you can only imagine my elation in finding a single baby bunny this morning.  As I came off the pier, a slight movement caught my eye.  I was caught off-guard by the sight of the wee rabbit.  My heart flipflopped with joy!  If there is one baby, there has to be an adult pair!  Perhaps our bunnies are making a return!  

  It was not long, however, before the realization set in about the baby bunny's survival chances.  As I sat watching the tiny tot, I had a good talk with it about staying out of harm's way.  (Yes, I do talk with my bayou critter friends.)  I know the rabbit had no idea what the crazy woman was saying but it would occasionally look at me, cock its little head and look wistfully at me.  Oh, please...please let this bunny live.  I miss our rabbits so very much.  Stay safe, Little One, stay safe.

To Those Who Care Not...

  "Progress" sometimes seems to be a beast of a problem to me.  Progress, as others see it, is a step forward but, in my case, it is a whole marathon in the opposite direction.  I do not like leaving the beauty of nature in turmoil due to what others think is necessity.  I am referring, of course, to the demolition of the only "wild and free" areas left around here.  The Bayou is one of the few plots of ground where the wild things reign and Mother Nature is allowed to do her own thing.  Houses, apartment buildings, condos are all being built around us and will most likely soon swallow us up to boot.  It is only a matter of time before we are forced to submit to the whims of those in power and the Bayou will be only a dim memory from days gone by.  It saddens me to think of such things but facing facts is something I have to do before it smacks me in the head.  None of the nearby property owners seem to care about any of this as they are all money-hungry.  Most do not live around here so what happens to the area does not hold any significance.  It does befuddle me, however, as these same people will tout concerns over what is happening to the earth through such things as global warming but, at the same time, refuse to believe that they own any responsibility.  Perhaps it is their thoughts that if they close their eyes, poke out their hands to receive pay outs and pretend that it is all for good, then nothing could be amiss.  Tell that to the critters that have no where to go.  Convince me that allowing the last piece of unblemished land to become flattened by bulldozers is ecologically smart.  Tell me again how you care.  

  I was pondering all of this as I sat on the pier and to my west was a large tractor working on the land. This particular one was digging up the marshland but beyond that others were grinding through the woods. The rumble of engines to my east, told me that more demolition was being done on that side.  To the north, much of the same could be heard. The Bayou is surrounded.  The beasts are eating the trees, ripping through the marsh, gnawing up animals' dens and generally disrupting life.  There is nothing I can do to stop any of it and others do not seem to have the decency to care.

  A lone pelican sat on a post of my brother's pier.  It was the sole bit of consolation that lightened my mood and gave me a small glimmer of hope.  The bird will survive. It has the option to move on just a whim.  Others are not so fortunate.  About six months ago, the property to our west was clear-cut.  Not once did it concern either the work crews nor the property owners that many dens containing wee babes were being crushed. Many, many tiny lives were lost.  At night, the cries of the mothers could be heard as they were out hunting for the long-dead babies.  It was heartbreaking to think of their loss.  Coyotes, bobcats, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, fox and deer had all used that property as a safe haven.  It backfired on them all because of that thing called progress and people who turn a blind eye toward the damage.  I guess the old saying that "Money talks" holds true.  

The Bottomless Pits!

  With every hike about the hillside, I seem to be finding more and more grey squirrels are moving in on us.  Since the property to our west has been clear cut, the animals there had no place to go...except here.  Now, I am overrun with every critter imaginable.  Most are skittish and are staying in the wooded area behind the house.  The squirrels, however, have decided that the yard is their preferred residence.  Perhaps since the family of bobcats, a dozen or so coyotes and just as many fox are in the back, the squirrels are staying in the front.  To be honest, those predators need to thin the crop of squirrels a bit.  They are obliterating my garden!

  Most folks have a huge misconception about the squirrels.  It seems that a lot of people think that squirrels are cute and cuddly.  They have this idea that squirrels are a lot like house cats but nicer since "they only eat nuts and won't catch birds".  Who are you trying to kid?  Granted a squirrel is not going to catch a full grown bird, but, face it, squirrels are omnivorous. They can and will eat anything they can overpower...and that includes birds.  Usually, they stick to raiding nests and robbing the eggs but, occasionally, that nest may have tiny birds so that changes things.  Yep, the squirrel will still devour what is in the nest but their appetite changes from eggs to nestlings.  

  Today as I was wandering the gardens, I thought of how squirrels will just about eat anything.  With the onslaught of critters, I have lost peaches, plums and tomatoes to the rascals.  They are eating the green (unopened) pine cones and a few of the hickory nuts.  It was this afternoon that I saw a young squirrel eating yet a different kind of meal.  This rascal had caught and was devouring a cicada.  I don't trust the squirrels.  They eat just about anything so it is best to not leave anything that is valued out in the garden!  They will have it in a heartbeat!

A Sad Situation For All

  With our potential new neighbors clear-cutting the property to our west, we are being inundated with critters.  The poor things have no place to go other than here.  They are confused, agitated and hungry so...they raid the gardens.  I fully understand that this is merely an act to survive and has nothing to do with meanness but I really was in hopes of eating a few peaches or plums from the trees.  The critters do so much damage that it is heartbreaking.

  A week ago, the coons raided the peach trees and took a nip out of about half of the unripe peaches.  They broke limbs and knocked hundreds of peaches to the ground.  If they had taken one or two peaches each, I would not have complained.  I figure there was plenty to share but to ruin almost a hundred pieces of fruit and not eat it was so disheartening.  I was so upset that I headed out with a basket and picked every remaining peach from the trees.  Yep.  These were unripe but I figured that I could let them ripen indoors a few days then make jam and jelly.  During the day, I put the covered trays outside so the sun can hasten the process.  The first batch of jam turned out well so I have high hopes.  Five boxes of peaches have yet to ripen but appear to be on the verge of doing so!  After that episode, the rascals raided the tomato patch and ruined dozens of tomatoes.  Again, I was saddened and have been watching the plot like a hawk since then!  Two nights ago, the raccoons found the plum trees.  Thousands of unripe plums were dangling from the tree limbs and I was so in hopes that I could restock the pantry shelves with plum jam.  After the night of rambunctiousness by the coons, two hundred plums were on the ground again with one bite taken.  I was sickened at the sight.  Needless to say, all of the remaining plums that were starting to ripen were picked and the same process as with the peaches was started.  Hopefully, I will be successful in ripening these, too.  

  I am not sure what can be done with so many "homeless" or misplaced critters.  Somehow, we will have to learn to live harmoniously but I am not seeing it.  It makes me sad since this situation was by no fault of the critters. They are trying to survive the best way they know how.  It is sad.