Learning From The Critters

  It is no lie that I spend a lot of time watching the critters of the Bayou.  I learn from them.  Critters are smart.  Their whole lives totally depend upon their survival skills and they have honed those to perfection.  People, on the other hand, have become lackadaisical and soft.  There are many who could not survive a week without some assistance.  By studying the critters, I have discovered so many useful ways and have been applying them, in a lot of instances.  These are all things that have made life easier for me.

  This afternoon, the sun came out for about an hour so I took full advantage of it and stacked yet more firewood.  With the two wood-burning stoves going full tilt, the pile dwindles quickly.  Stockpiling during nice weather sure helps.  It was then that I noticed someone else stockpiling.  A beautiful Red-bellied Woodpecker was helping itself to the birdseed that I had strewn on the ground.  The bird had eaten its fill and was stashing a good number of seeds in the bark of the nearby oak tree before moving on to the hickory tree.  Red-bellied Woodpeckers are known to store up to four times as many seeds and acorns as they need to survive.  In fact, they can (and do) stash thousands of food items in nooks and crannies and have an uncanny sense of finding them again when needed.  The bird was stockpiling food for hard times.  

  People need to be more like the critters and not expect handouts.  My pantry shelves are lined with hundreds of jars of home-canned food items and the garden is producing a fine winter crop.  This is all fine and dandy as it keeps me from having to go to the store for items.  My pet peeve is to hear visitors to the Little Bayou House exclaim "We know where we are coming if things hit rock bottom!"  Nope.  Everyone has the same opportunity to fill their own pantry even if it is with "store-bought" goods.  We are not playing the "Little Red Hen" game here.  Folks, just use a bit of commonsense.  You do not have to go to extreme but having a few things on hand never hurt anyone. Or, perhaps, commonsense has gone the wayside.  

Yet Another Weather Forecaster!

   There are all sorts of pieces of folklore concerning the weather.  One says that the color of the sky can predict the day's weather.  One says that the thickness of the red band on a woolly bear caterpillar tells you how cold a winter is.  Another claims that the migration of fiddler crabs can foretell a hurricane's landfall and strength.  Many others deal with drought, winter's cold, depth of snow, arrival of spring and even if rain will fall within an hour.  Just about any oddity of nature has its own tale and ties to weather.  

  This afternoon, I made a quick hike around the property.  At the bend of the path near the wild persimmon trees (and therein is another winter forecast), I noticed that the Yaupon Trees were loaded with berries.  These are the wild type that grow where they may on our hillside.  While the berries are toxic, I use the leaves in tisanes so it pays for me to leave them be.  It was those berries that took me aback, however.  In the past, the berries have not ripened until late October or even into November but here were some bright red berries. Why so early this year?  I pondered the matter and decided that there had to be some tale attached to the occurrence.

  Sure enough, when I checked "folklore about yaupon", several tales came up.  Some were tied to the toxicity of the berries and did not interest me but one did pertain to the weather.  "If Yaupon berries ripen early, it is a sign that winter will soon follow and be abnormally harsh."  Well, now!  "Abnormally harsh"...does not sound right for this far south but perhaps we are due for a winter.  Honestly, we have not had one in several years.  

  I mulled over the fact about the berries then thought of the rats that I have been battling in the greenhouse.  Why have they moved indoors and why the extreme hoarding of seeds and bedding?  The woodpeckers and squirrels have been busy, too. Mama Squirrel has added extra padding to her nest and has been pulling hickory nuts and acorns to add beneath the lining. She is going to be set for winter.  The woodpeckers have been stashing acorns in crevices of tree bark and between the slats of the garden fence. They, too, are ready to ride out some lean times.  Maybe Son and I should start gathering firewood for the old wood-burning stoves.  We have plenty of foodstuffs to tide us over if the roads get icy but heating during excessive cold depends on our woodpile.  Yep, it may be time to start laying in a stock of firewood. If we believe the berries and the attached folklore and, if, we believe the critters and their habits, perhaps we should be doing the same..  Hmmm...think I better go grab a few of the remaining persimmon seeds and see what the seeds have to say.   Those things have not been wrong yet!

While the north wind doth blow, Sleeping Beauty slumbers soundly!

  The wind is whipping about the Bayou like something crazy.  The Little Bayou House's windows are a-rattling and the trees are sending up howls as the wind thrashes through their bare branches.  Outside, the temperature has already begun its plummet to lows unknown. Although, we shall never equal the frigid lows of our neighbors to the north, it is still quite, ummm, nippy out.  Mark, Michael and I did what we could to protect the three "Ps" as our weatherman calls them...pets, pipes and plants.  We had a few extra chores as the tractors, pump and woodpile all needed tending.  By nightfall, things seemed to be ready to face the worst.  The house is snug and warm.

  As for pets, Ms. Ez, the old Bayou Dog, has always had her cozy bed in the corner of the living room.   The Bayou Queen, better known as Ms. Put, the cat, laid claim to the dining room, kitchen, two downstairs bedrooms and two upstairs bedrooms (and any other nook that she could squeeze into!).  This left little area for the Bayou Princess, Ms. Nycto, (also known as the "new" cat).  I could close her into the entryway but since that is not heated, she would still be cold.  Ponder, ponder.  Something just had to be done.  Since the critters all have their quirky ways and do not see eye-to-eye on anything, I was afraid to leave them all to their own methods of civility...of which there would be none.

  I was just about to have the need to evict the Bayou Queen from some of her realm when the Princess solved the whole situation.  Since she normally refuses to enter the house, I felt quite honored when she chose to bed down right next to me.  I know this was merely due to the fact that I could play referee if any confrontations occurred but it did tickle me just a bit.  Perhaps this cat did like me a bit....maybe? Actually, she is a sweetie and loves to be petted....constantly.  That said, I may not get a lot of sleep since she does demand that the hand keep stroking her long fur.  Ahh, well, at least I know she is warm and safe from the harshness of a wintry night.  Good night, Ms.Nycto, sleep warm.

Taking it in my own hands!

  Word is around here that a cold spell will be hitting us tomorrow night. This is supposed to drop our temperature to near twenty degrees.  That is cold enough for me but add in that wind chill and it will be far less. We are to experience twenty to twenty-five mph winds.  That should drop our temperatures down into single digits.  Some folks would laugh at my saying this is cold but for this Southern gal, it is COLD!  I do, indeed, like winter and I am far from complaining but, still, I figure that I needed to do a bit of preparing for this bit of icy air.

  With Mark on the road and Michael ill with an earache, I took it upon myself to cut some firewood. My brother-in-law and sister had cut some small trees from their property a few weeks back and they were kind enough to drop a load of the wood here since they do not have a fireplace.  The wood, however, was in far too long of lengths for our little wood stoves so a bit of cutting was in order.  No problem!  Son did feel well enough to set up the saw for me but could not tolerate the noise.  My work was a bit unconventional but quite successful.  I used Mark's electric chop saw!  It worked delightfully well and was far easier than using the chainsaw for pieces already cut in two to three feet lengths.  It did not take me long to have the wood bins filled and enough left to fill the wheelbarrow as extra.  Tomorrow, I will find any that needs splitting and give that a whack!  (hehehe...notice the pun?  Clever!)  

  None of this is new to me.  I am no stranger to using saws and axes.  I grew up working with these tools so have the experience.   It has just been a few years since the need has arisen.  Mark and Michael usually keep us well stocked with firewood and kindling.  It just happened that neither were able to meet the need at the moment and weather refuses to wait until convenient times.  So...chop away saw!  I am ready and able!  The wood is now cut and stacked and the Little Bayou House shall stay warm during this bout of frigid weather.

Old Dogs and New Tricks!

  Who says that you can't teach old dogs new tricks?  I think that is probably the most ridiculous thing that Ms. Ez has ever heard!  She may not be the brightest dog ever to roam this earth but every now and again she surprises me and sometimes even herself.  First off, the dog is purely spoiled.  Never before have we had an "indoors" dog except for one tiny mixed breed fluffball that would have made a tasty tidbit for the owls or coyotes.  All of the large dogs stayed outside.  They wanted to be out.  If we tried to bring them inside, the crazy things would howl to be outdoors.  Once outside, they would gallop around the yard like crazy!  I can remember trying to bring the dogs inside during hurricanes and that was even difficult.  Each dog was going bananas to be out and would try to sneak out each time the door was cracked open.  Nope, outdoor dogs love being outdoors and there is no changing that.  We provided them with cozy houses with snug beds and they were happy to sleep on the cold ground. (Except for one who insisted on sleeping on top of the doghouse! But that all changed one Ms. Ez came to stay with us at a ripe old age of five weeks.  Her first family allowed their dog to have numerous litters of pups.  With one litter, they decided that the "runt" of the bunch needed to be discarded. Their method of disposing unwanted pups was to "knock them in the head".  Cruel, indeed.  Darling Daughter, Elizabeth, would have no part of that and snatched the little one from the hands of the big, ole meanies that wanted to kill her!  Yay!  Elizabeth to the rescue!  Anyway, Esmeralda became a part of the family before she was even old enough to eat on her own.  (Yes, Elizabeth named her Esmeralda.  Could you imagine trying to yell out the door for the dog with that name?  Not happening. I shortened it to Ez.  With time, it became Ms. Ez.)  Anyway, long story made short.  Ms. Ez is here to stay even though she is a spoiled indoors dog.

  Being used to the cushy life she is, Ms. Ez has a certain intolerance to the cold.  The Little Bayou House rarely gets up to a toasty 60 degrees in the winter and the night's temperatures hover about 40 degrees.  I have no problem with this as I will just toss another log on the fire, pull up my blanket and snooze soundly.  The old dog does have a problem with it, though,  She shivers and shakes all night.  I have tried throwing a blanket on her and that works until she gets up to shift positions. After about a gazillion circles, the cover winds up on the floor and the dog starts her shaking anew.  I refuse to get up a dozen times during the night to tuck a dog into bed!

  For the past few nights, the old dog has learned a new trick.  She gets her mat from by the door, drops it on her bed and manages to slip between it and the large bed.  All I see in the morning are her little toes poking out!  Now that seems to be an ideal situation for both the dog and me!  She is warm and snug and I do not have to worry about blankets on the floor!  Good job, Ms. Ez!  This just proves that you are never too old to learn!

Mother Nature's Pranks

  Every now and again, you just have to shake your head at Mother Nature.  She has decided to pound the nation with a blast of frigid air this weekend.  Yep, this cold has reached all the way down here to the Deep South.  The Bayou is a tad chilly, Folks!  It is early to have this cold of air here.  We are not used to freezing temperatures in November.  Our coldest times are usually in January and February. This wintry weather has put a kink in the "fall" gardening.  We did not have a fall.  We went directly from summer to winter!  Not good!   All of this fickle weather is confusing to plants as well.  My day was spent moving what plants I could into the greenhouse and tucking the rest snugly under blankets.  Hopefully, this will protect them enough. 

  While covering the plants, I came across one goofy thing that is far out of season.  A Guernsey Lily decided that it was summer.  The bulb was one that I had dug this spring and just never got around to replanting. The bare bulb sat dormant in a wooden box.  Today of all days, it bloomed.  Why?  Why now with the Arctic blast bearing down upon us? And how?  How with no soil around its roots did this thing ever even have enough energy to shoot out a bud?  Who knows but it is pretty.  

  Since the lily did its best to provide me with a bit of beauty, I thought it at least deserved to be planted.  I stuck it in an empty pot and poked a bit of soil around the bulb.  Now it sits snugly in the greenhouse with a variety of other plants.  Once I can get shelves built, these will be a bit better arranged.  At least for now, they won't freeze.  Mother Nature! Stop playing pranks on us!  It is too early for this!   Nah...actually, I sort of like it.

Sunshiny Yellow on a Grey Day!

  Winter has returned to the Bayou in full force.  At one point this morning, it was sleeting but now that has turned to rain.  The cold, cold rain and a brisk wind makes it a chore to get to the woodpile. Still that trek to the rack for extra logs is necessary so I don the jacket and face the chill.  A lot of folks here are complaining about the weather but I have to just be thankful that we are not facing what most others are.  I can deal with a few days of icy air compared to the frigid cold and heavy blizzard conditions some family members are enduring further north.  My Bayou suits me just fine.

  On one such trip to the woodpile, I had to start smiling when I spied a bit of brilliant yellow!  The woodpile is at the end of the vegetable garden plot and as I passed the turnip greens and mustard greens, I was greeted by the sunshiny yellow blooms on the mustards.  The greens are all bolting (blooming) this week in preparation of setting seeds.  These seeds will be harvested and saved for planting in the fall garden.  At first, I hated to see the tall stalks starting to shoot up on the greens as I will, indeed, miss my daily serving of the nutritious greens.  They have supplied us well for the entire winter in spite of the ice.

   In a sense, I suppose the mustard greens are "supplying" me well again today.  I was missing my sunshiny days and was perhaps a bit glum with the idea of winter's return.  The bright yellow blooms almost brought the same warm feeling that a sunny day offers.  Spring can be found in so many ways!

Is it spring yet?

  Working in the yard every day allows me to see things that might otherwise go unnoticed.  Today, the peach trees caught my attention.  I was transplanting Boysenberry vines into some ground I just cleared in hopes to create another producing row.  This will be the fourth row of the berries and should supply everybody in the family with jelly, cobblers and pies.  As I dug one large clump of vines, a bit of pink made me turn toward the north.  Ahhh, the peach trees were doing their thing!  Pink blooms filled the orchard!  Well, at least half of the trees were blooming.  The other half still looked dormant.  Still, if these trees bear and nothing raids the orchard, we should have plenty.  I stopped my happy thoughts and pondered.  The inevitable downer was to occur tonight.  A freeze is predicted to slam us once again.

  I understand that our "light" freeze is nothing compared to the rest of the nation's deep freeze conditions but here it is bad news.  We have had just enough warm, spring-like weather to make things bud and now the possible frigid weather might throw a kink in the formation of fruit.  Perhaps the other half of the orchard is a bit smarter than the back half where the trees are in full bloom.  Perhaps we planted a different type of peach tree in the front of the orchard and perhaps we should try to remember just what type we did.  If all the trees were "late bloomers", we would not have to worry about the "Easter Freeze" that earned Mom's well-deserved warning.  She would tell Pop that he was planting too early.  That "Easter Freeze" would damage his seedlings.  Usually, she was right and come late afternoon before the predicted cold weather, Pop would decide to cover his plants.  This meant that all of us would be out placing flowerpots, buckets, newspapers and anything else handy over the several hundred tomato plants and pepper plants.  Sometimes this was a futile effort.  If the temperatures dipped too low, the tiny plants would freeze anyway and our trouble was for naught.  

   My planting has been delayed this year since cleaning has taken up my time.  Maybe this is a good thing!  My instincts tell me that this is not the last cold spell of the season.  We have more winter in store for us.  This bit of warmer temperatures was just a taunt, a test of our patience, so to speak.  I will continue to clear the gardens and transplant berry vines.  Those do not seem to be harmed by a bit of chill!  Good things come to those who wait and, in my case, patience is the key.  Winter just won't leave!

Warm Sunshine and Bright Blooms

  It seems as if the weather is the topic of choice in most conversations these days.  This is evidently true nationwide since friends from all over are telling me stories of this harsh winter.  I count my blessings each day since we have been spared the worst of the storms.  A few icy days do not compare with the mountains of snow and ice north of us.  Here, the weather is fine (for the moment!).  Michael and I worked outside the entire day. He started building my long awaited greenhouse.  It should be ready in plenty of time for me to start my seedlings for the garden.  For now, I dream of row after row of tiny pepper, tomato and herb plants poking their little green leaves out of the dark potting soil. My other kids have all informed me that they are out of the homemade tomato sauce so the garden will be filled with all of the ingredients!  Hopefully, we will have a good growing year and I can replenish the sauce in their cupboards!  While he worked on the greenhouse,  I cleaned the deck attached to the shed and raked pile after pile of leaves.  The poor trees are bare!  This is the result of the two ice storms that coated each leaf and caused them to drop to the ground. Most of the leaves are still soggy from all of the rain we have been having in between freezes.  This made for difficult raking but I managed to get all around the shed cleaned.

  While I was out raking I noticed that despite of the frigid weather, the Camellia bushes were in full bloom.  Both the Purple Dawn and Faith Camellia bushes were covered with the glorious saucer-sized flowers.  This called for a break in chores!  I just had to go marvel over the lovely blooms.  From a distance, the blooms looked perfect but once I neared, I could see that even these "cold-weather" flowers had suffered a bit.  The edges of the bright pink petals all showed the brown of ice burn.  Only the blossoms that were tucked far under the heavy leaves had no damage.

  The Camellia blooms added to the brightness of the day.  Sunshine and flowers can always bring a smile to my face and when they occur on the same day, everything is perfect.  Those blooms give me hope that all is well with my fruit trees. Although the peach trees seem unscathed, the citrus trees and Hibiscus trees look rather bad. The loss of any food-bearing tree is a hard blow when you depend upon them as we do.  The citrus trees provide us with fresh fruit and canned jelly, marmalade, juice and dried zest.  The Hibiscus flowers are dried and added to the homegrown herbal teas. Hopefully soon I will see signs of life in these trees as well.

A Southern Girl Experiences Ice!

Day three of the mess of ice.  I say "mess of ice" because that is what it is now.  No more pretty white, snowlike stuff blankets the yard.  Now there are patches of slick, brickhard stuff that will make you fall in a moment.  I have learned quickly that it is far safer to step in the slush than to ever worry about keeping the moccasins dry.  Of course, that does have the downside of making the feet like little chunks of ice but at least I have held my balance throughout the course of this storm.  Today's much warmer temperature did indeed melt a bit of the ice but still much is to be found about the yard and on the board path.  I did not realize that in the backyard, the ground beneath the fruit trees is a good three inches thick still.  Mark and I ventured out back to check the trees only to be met with some good old fashioned slipping and sliding!  It was sort of fun! (Perhaps I would not say that had I fallen but a few hasty grips on low limbs helped tremendously!)

To show just how deep the sleet built up on the north side of the house, I took a picture of a small garden sign that one of the kids stuck in the ground years ago.  The thing is supposed to read "Secret Garden" underneath the pretty embossed flowers.  The letters are about two inches tall with a nice border going around that part.  From the picture, you can see that the "Secret Garden" must be quite secret!  Even the bottom six inches of the sign has become hidden!

 

And then there is my prized sapling!  Poor baby is covered with icicles almost as large as the tree itself!  I have had folks tell me in the past that coating a tree with ice intentionally will protect it from being damaged by the frigid temperature.  Well, I did not do this to my poor tree but Mother Nature must have thought it would be a fine thing to do.  The tiny tree bravely stands supporting the weight of icicles with a circumference the same size as its trunk!  I sure hope this little one survives.  I sure hope all of the fruit trees survive.  It definitely has been hard on them this year.

 

One of the things that struck me as being a tad weird was just how green the tiny mosses were even when subjected to temperatures down in the teens.  With everything else in the yard either coated in ice or burned by the cold, the moss stands out as a bit of loveliness.  Perhaps mosses have a built in antifreeze system or something but none were the least bit damaged by the cold.  I am now fully considering carpeting the yard with moss instead of grass!

By tomorrow, the ice should be gone and we can gather more firewood for the next winterlike weather to hit the Bayou.  Some kind folks are saying that this should be as soon as midweek.  Well, I will take it as it comes and remind myself to make sure to check the persimmon seeds this next fall. This years examination of the seeds is holding true.  The spoon shape inside predicted cold, snowy, icy weather and I must say the seven seeds are dead on track.  Persimmon seeds do not lie!

Remember our feathered friends!

So a bit of frigid weather has descended all the way to the Bayou.  It is definitely a tad chilly out there, Folks!  Bundle up when you venture outside and this comes by way of experience.  Not that I see much cold weather but merely because I did wander out a couple of times too many today.  Other than trips out to the woodpile, I had grand intentions of spending the entire couple of days inside doing nothing but baking.  Those who know me well will attest that this is my way of preparing and enduring most any storm from a hurricane to an ice storm.  Baking always seems to soothe the rattled nerves and has the added benefit of plying the taste buds with delightful tidbits.  But with most good intentions, things go awry.  I braved cold and headed out into the yard several more times.  Yep, unlike my son, Michael, who wandered the hillside in shorts and t-shirt sans shoes, I was wrapped up tight!  No ice was going to find its way down the back of my neck!

My additional trips outside were mercy expeditions.  As I stood staring at the Winter Wonderland that had suddenly replaced my Bayou, I noticed that a myriad of birds were trying to feed on one partially filled suet basket.  Their voices rang out loud and clear as the birds called for me to serve their breakfast.  I bowed to their wishes and braved not only the cold but the slick ice that had coated everything in sight.  Nigh on two inches of sleet had fallen overnight and made walking the hillside a tad treacherous. If not careful, one misstep could cause me to careen down the ice-coated board path and right into the Bayou itself.  I was smart!  I steered clear of the well-beaten path.  I chose the grass.  Even though it was still layered thickly with the frozen stuff, I did have a bit more traction.  My birds called!  I had to go.

Once the feeders were filled, bellies were rounded and all were happy.  Please do not forget to toss a bit of seed out for these hungry friends.  They can better face the cold with their tummies filled with suet and black oil sunflower seeds.  Oh, and while you are about it.  Fill that bird bath with some warm water. The birdbath here was frozen solid!  Nary a bird could take a drink!  Sometimes our feathered friends need a bit of assistance from us, so lend a bird a helping hand!  Then, once back inside, sit at the window and watch the show of birds come to eat.  It is quite entertaining!

This is not supposed to be!

Today has been one for the record books down here on the Bayou.  While most folks would snicker at it, the weather is causing quite a stir around here.  We have ice...lots of ice.  At least, lots of ice for this far south.  We are not used to weather such as this so it is rather a novelty.  I, myself, have lingered near the window to watch the sleet come down in drifts.  This ice has carpeted the front lawn nicely making it at least appear that we have snow.  It has also caused the steps and board path to become quite slippery!  I shall definitely be staying off the pier for the duration of this storm!

This is ice, not snow!  

With the ice, there has been a lot of wind barreling down from the north.  This wind is biting to say least.  Late this evening, Michael and I made a run to the woodpile.  It took several trips back and forth to stock the indoor bins with enough logs to last overnight but we both managed to do so without slipping even once!  The steps were particularly perilous since I have no handrails!  One slip would have taken either of us down six steps to the ice-hard ground! This is one time that my moccasins were really put to the test.  I am happy to say  that they gripped far better than any shoes would have!  Of course, Michael went to the far extreme of going barefoot.  I do not know how in the world he stands it but clad only in shorts, t-shirt and with no shoes, he makes treks outside.  I am bundled like a woolly-bear!  The ice coated steps and that frigid wind made me a tad chilly to say the least!  The warmth of the old wood stove sure felt nice!  Michael's only comment was "It sure is nice to finally have some winterlike weather."

The cold precipitation is supposed to carry on throughout the night and into the morning hours.  Sometime during night, the sleet is predicted to turn to snow which will be another interesting event for the Bayou.  We have not had a decent bit of snow for almost twenty years now.  Perhaps when that fact is brought to light, folks will understand why this is exciting news in the south.  It just doesn't happen often enough for us to ever become accustomed to it!

Fly South!

In preparation of the ice storm that is supposed to descend upon us tomorrow, we gathered in a bit more firewood.  Plenty would be needed to keep the wood stoves chugging out that warmth!  While out and about, I could hear the critters making preparations as well.  The squirrels were busy stowing away all of the sunflower seeds that they could steal from the bird feeders.  This was a hard job considering Ms. Ez was standing guard to make sure that her feathered friends got their share of the seed.  Several times, geese could be heard making a landing in the Bayou.  Their honking drew our attention as they made entry.  This is not an unusual occurrence but what stirred my curiosity a bit was the fact that the geese never stayed more than a few minutes before taking flight southward once again.  Do they know something that we don't?  Is this ice storm going to be a doozy and deal us with more than we expect?  I pondered that fact as I threw a few more logs in the bin.

Normally, the Canadian Geese will make their appearance in the Bayou around December or January and hang around until late March or early April.  They find all they need in the way of food and shelter.  My cousin, Michelle, graciously sets out a fine meal for the critters. They can get their bellies full of the best eatings around.  Then, after leaving her place, they settle in for the night among the mudflats of the Bayou.  In the depths of the marsh, they are sheltered from the cold winds.  Several times, a few of the birds have hung around the Bayou well into April and even into early May.  I had hopes that those few pairs were considering nesting near the Bayou but as of yet, there has been no luck in this happening.  Maybe someday, but right now, even though some might linger none have stayed.

I am hoping that the geese we observed for the past few days are not trying to tell us something about the coming weather.  What with the "spoons" found inside the persimmon seeds predicting a snowy winter and the geese flying even further south, I wonder if our two bins of split wood will be enough.  Perhaps after this bit of frigid, icy weather, Michael and I had better start our gathering once again.  Mark has already started scoping out some more dead trees that will need to be removed so I imagine I will hear the chainsaw buzzing once again come the first nice day after the storm.  How can a couple of geese throw me in such a tizzy?

That's Cool!

Winters on the Bayou cannot compare with those of our neighbors to the north and by "north", I mean just about everyone else.  Living right down on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, it is rare that we have more than a few chilly nights.  Then came this.  This wonderfully winter like weather that has put us all in a state of "brrr, It sure is cold out there!" mentality.  Personally, I like it!  I probably would not make that claim if I had to endure what most of the nation is suffering but our wintry mix suits me just fine.  I have no qualms about feeding that wood stove enough to make the Little Bayou House warm and snug.  I, also, have no qualms about trudging out to the woodpile while it is sleeting.  It just feels good to be experiencing a bit of winter even if most folks would laugh at our weak attempts of having "cold".  Still, for us, it brings a break in what we normally have and stirs things up a bit.  Today and still tonight, it is sleeting. We seem to get sleet instead of snow even though the weatherman is calling for a couple of inches of the white stuff tonight.  I will be out bright and early to see if that comes true or not.

Late this evening as I went out to retrieve the bird feeders, I noticed something that I have not seen since a kid.  Icicles!  Imagine!  For us, those are the neat things that one might see on a Christmas card  snow scene but surely not hanging from the eaves of the house!  That just does not happen here!  Actually, my icicles were not hanging from the eaves but rather from a shepherd's hook in the rose garden.  When I reached up to rescue the suet feeder from any marauding raccoons that might be hunting a free meal tonight, my hand brushed against something really cold!  Yep, icicles were forming on the hook!  Now granted, all of you folks from a bit north of here will scoff at my pathetic three inch long bits of ice but I think they are beautiful!  The little sparkles caused by my flashlight did indeed make me smile!  As matter of fact, I actually went back inside and announced "We have icicles!" to anybody who might be interested.  Neither Mark nor Michael seemed to think my discovery was that earthshaking.  No one came rushing outside to view my spectacular find.  Hmmph!  I like that!  It is not every day here on the Bayou that things happen like this!

I am sure that if the weather stays as cold (ok, cool) as it is right now, our place might look a bit different by morning.  The sleet continues to fall at a steady rate and is doing a fine job of making the walkways slippery.  I have an inkling that my trek to the pier might best be left off the predawn agenda.  There is no need for me to go slipping and sliding right off into the mud!  Stay warm, folks!  Throw another log on the fire, bundle up in a warm afghan and sip a nice cup of herbal tea!  I will keep you abreast of the "Ice Age" that is hitting the Coast!

A Tad Chilly!

With the nation in the midst of a deep freeze, I worried about the effect of the cold on our little piece of paradise.  Yep, that cold reached all the way down here to the Deep South.  All night, I was up and down checking the water pipes, stoking the fires and drinking coffee.  (Coffee is mandatory if you have to stay awake all night!)  Even though Michael said he would stay awake and take care of things, I still felt the need to hop out of bed every hour to check things.  We watched as the temperature did a steady decline.  By four o'clock in the morning, the thermometer read twenty degrees.  For a lot of folks that have had to endure far worse, our temperatures would have felt almost balmy but for us this was frigid!  It rarely gets this cold down on the Bayou.  A bit later, I told Son to go to bed.  I could take care of things for the next few hours.  Surely this was as cold as it was going to get and I would not have to be vigilant much longer.

Well, that was just wishful thinking!  At six o'clock, the temperature dropped another three degrees.  We now sat at seventeen degrees!  Brrrr!  That was enough!  That was enough to send me to the pier!  I pulled on my flannel-lined jeans and heavy jacket.  Grabbing the camera, I looked at Ms. Ez.  I could tell by those big, sad eyes that she was not going anywhere!  She was not leaving her warm bed to go stare at a sunrise.  I headed out the door.

The board path was slippery with frost.  Each step took determination and some surefooted steps to keep from sliding.  The pier was worse.  A thick layer of frost coated the entire length of the pier.  It would have been sheer stupidity to even attempt that trek so I stayed near the shoreline.  I had to be satisfied with watching the sun rise over the marsh.  The Bayou was naught but a layer of ice.  The north wind had pushed most of the water out into the Gulf leaving behind just a few inches.  The frozen salt water was a rare occurrence.  Very seldom does it get cold enough to freeze the Bayou.  All I could think about was my poor critter friends!

There is something so refreshing, so invigorating about being outside before dawn even if it is freezing!  I know most of you are feeling a lot colder air than that here on the Bayou so my warmest thoughts are with you.  Stay warm, folks, stay warm!

Wishing for Winter...

Just the other day, I was reading where the Farmers' Almanac predicted a cold, wet winter ahead of us.  This, in itself, does not bother me as I like winter.  It is my favorite of all seasons even with the cold and all its trappings.  Of course, that said, I have to concede to my neighbors to the north that have truly cold winters..we do not.  I find myself longing for a good freeze with a hefty bit of sleet or snow!  The most we get here is a few cold days and at best snow flurries.  The humidity here does make our "cold" chill you to the bone but ours is not a true winter in comparison to most.  But..according to the Almanac..it is supposed to be quite frigid about the country.

All of this made me ponder today as I came across evidence that the squirrels have been rather busy. I knew they were making short work of the sunflower seeds and corn that I put out in the bird feeders but never realized the extent of their scavenging.  Every pine tree in the yard is now devoid of cones.  The squirrels have chewed their way to the small seeds inside.  Nary a pine nut has escaped their munching!  Since they have devoured all of the cones near the house, they have moved to the outer edges of the yard.  One pine tree actually sits out in the marsh and sometimes has its roots submerged in the brackish water.  This has not stopped the squirrels from raiding the tree during low tide.  The pier is littered with the petals of the cones.  I have noticed that the females are storing seeds and nuts but the males go right behind and raid their cache.  Those rascals are far too lazy to put away a few nuts for themselves!  Now I am a bit concerned that the critters won't have much to eat come this winter.

So, if the Almanac is correct..(and it usually is)..we are in for a cold winter. It will be time to don the jackets, chop firewood and drink cocoa!  Since those silly squirrels are eating everything in sight now,  I suppose it will also be time to put out more corn and seeds for the critters than I normally do.  Between the coons and squirrels, the birds will not stand a chance at the feeders!  Ms. Ezzy, the old Bayou Dog, had better perk up a bit and do her job! That cozy bed seems to demand a lot more of her attention nowadays and during a cold winter, she might just refuse to chase any pesky squirrels!  Ahh..a cold winter sounds pretty good right now with the temperatures still in the mid-nineties during the daytime hours!  Think cool..think cool!