Bundled Up Against The Cold!

   Any fisherman worth his salt will tell you that you need to "get out there early".  Not only are you more apt to catch bait but you will be the "first to get the good spot" since we all know that everyone wants to fish in exactly the same place.  Personally, I stick to fishing from the pier.  Just as many fish can be caught from there and, if I tire of fishing, I can simply walk up the hill to find something else to do.   Still, that firm idea of getting out there before the crack of dawn is a hard trend to break.  Everyone knows that I rise early and head to the pier to start my day.  Not everyone knows that Mark will occasionally rise early and head out in the little skiff.  Different methods but can be a comparable idea.

  Yesterday morning, we did just that.  Rose early, went to the pier, he jumped in the skiff to get that best spot and I headed back up the hillside to plant mustard greens.  As I meandered the slope, I turned just in time to catch a glimpse of him between the trees.  He was throwing the net to catch menhaden or little mullet for bait but I had to ponder just how in the world he managed.  He was so bundled up against the "cold" that it had to be quite the feat.  I am not sure I would have been able to move much less throw the net.  Yes, it was chilly and, yes, I did pull on a sweatshirt but it was not THAT cold!  It made me giggle!

Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

  With another cool spell descending upon the Bayou, it was quite pertinent that I gather a bit of kindling for the old cast iron stove.  There are, in fact, two wood-burning stoves in the Little Bayou House that need to be fed when the weather takes a turn on the cooler side.  These early stages of winter just beg for a bit of warmth and the stoves provide just that.  The cat, old dog and I will huddle near the crackling embers and while away the evening hours.  Ms. Nycto will be on my lap and Mr. PJ will rest near my feet.  All in all, it makes for a perfect evening but only if I gather enough sticks to stoke the fire a bit.

  I took the long way around the property to gather an armload of "fire sticks" as my sweet granddaughter calls them.  The old stoves do not need large logs to put out a nice heat.  An armload or two of small branches will burn for hours.  The path took me around back to the canebrake.  This path heads due north and is, more or less, a tunnel like feature with large trees making a canopy overhead and thick underbrush lining the sides.  Sometimes, it can seem quite dark even during the bright of day.  This afternoon, the "tunnel' was cast in gloom from the overcast skies and a brisk north wind made it feel icy cold.  I was ever so thankful to feel my canvas log tote weighted as it meant my hike was about complete. At this same time, the sun shone through just enough to give me that "light at the end of the tunnel" feeling.   It was time to head back to the Little Bayou House and get warm.  A mug of hot ginger tea and some warm pumpkin bread fresh from the oven awaited my return!  All is well.

Fickle Mother Nature!

  Our spurt of springlike weather has taken a turn toward winter again.  Not that it can compare to the weather of our neighbors to the north but this is a tad worrisome.  A freeze just might damage the citrus blossoms enough to make them not set the fruit.  Not to mention the peach trees, pear trees and plum trees that are in full bloom.  A late freeze is rough on the gardens.  At least, I am late in getting the tomatoes and such set in the garden boxes.  There are no worries there.  

  However, while meandering in the gardens this morning before the rain chased me inside, I came across one sleepy, little fellow who had better take heed of the warnings.  It is going to be a tad chilly for the little toad to be out and about tonight!  This morning, the little one had ventured out from its cozy bed beneath the herb boxes.  It was enjoying a bit of fresh air and the fleeting sunshine.  Within the hour, though, clouds darkened and the rains came.  

  With the coming chill, I thought about that little toad and all of my critter friends that normally hide away during the cold.  With our thermometers jumping from heat waves to cold spells, you have to wonder just how confusing it must be.  Along with the emerging toads, lots of the birds have already had a first nest of eggs hatching.  Those little ones with no feathers better hide under Mama for warmth for the next few nights and I better get on the ball and haul the plants back into the greenhouse!  Mother Nature always has a few surprises up her sleeve.

It has changed once again...

  While most of the year, my greenhouse is just that....a greenhouse.  It is a place that houses plants from tiny seedling to sprawling tropicals and anything in between.  But, come late September, the greenhouse suddenly transforms into a magical place.  This past month, the place was stripped of everything greenhouse related and filled with an odd assortment of things that one (using one's imagination) might find in a blacksmith's shop,  Anything iron or metal was hauled into the tiny building and proudly put on display.  Chains, pulleys, tools, buckets, anvils and old farm equipment were all lugged out of sheds, attics and from any place that I could find that had unusual chunks of metal.  Why would I go to all this trouble to turn my perfectly good greenhouse into a shabby, wannabe blacksmith shop?  All of this transformation was for the Fifth Annual Clue Hunt on the Bayou, of course!

  With the theme being Medieval Times, a blacksmith just had to be included in the hunt.  Well, that and I needed a forge....or at least a place for our teams to melt candles.  So, I figured that we may as well go all out and pop for an entire blacksmith's shop as well as a forge. No problem...except if you ask my tropical plants.  The weather has taken a jaunt to the cooler side and the plants are shivering in their boots! I guess that forge is just not putting out enough heat!  Stoke that fire!  Fan those flames!  Brrr...it is chilly!  The plants will probably be real thankful come this weekend and the hunt is over for another year!