This Is Just NOT Working!

  I am sorry, my friend, but your good intentions are just not working.  I hate to be the one to break it to you but to make full use of your camouflage, you must try to blend in with the background...NOT stand out!  It does not work that way!  Someone as tiny as you has to hide from predators!  Oh, sweet thing!  You have a lot of learning to do if you are going to survive here on the Bayou.

  Early this morning, I headed out the back door to the berry patch.  The boysenberries were long overdue for a good cleaning and the fences were in dire need of repair.  After clipping, cleaning, putting in posts and stringing up new rabbit wire, I was ready for a water break!  But first...I had to give the plants water.  A dozen new boysenberry plants had just found new homes along the fence!  Since I was planning to do a bit of cleaning in the Frog Pond this week, as well, I grabbed a bucket and scooped several gallons of the murky water.  This water was rich in nutrients for plants so I was sure not going to waste it by just draining the pond.  I turned and came face to face with a green tree frog!  The little guy sat motionless in hopes that its "camouflage" was working.  These are arboreal frogs that depend on their "resting shape" and bright green coloring to hide them among the leaves.  This is all fine and dandy when you are resting in a tree that has LEAVES!  The little froggy had chosen to climb up the corkscrew willow for the day.  This is a tree that loses its leaves during the winter months and sprouts new during the spring.  Bad part...it had nary a leaf.  The bright green frog stood out like a sore thumb!  Poor buddy!  He seemed to realize his mistake but was at the point of no return.  There was no getting away from the fact that he could be easily seen.  

  After talking with Froggy for a few moments to ease his fears, I stepped aside and went to the canebrake.  There, I broke about six or seven fronds of cane leaves to provide an "umbrella" of sorts for my sweet friend.  Back at the Frog Pond, I found my buddy still in the same spot so I carefully slipped the handful of cane branches down inside the mass of limbs of the willow.  Once I let go, the leaves billowed out and surrounded the little frog.  "There you go, Little Buddy!"  Instant camo!  

  Later this afternoon, I checked on the frog and he was still in the same spot but had been protected not only from predators (birds, snakes, etc) but from the hot sun that would have surely blistered his skin.  For today, the frog was safe.  If it comes back to the same branch tomorrow, I will provide yet more cane leaves as a shelter.  Yes...I do actually take care of my Bayou Friends.  They are the best friends ever and deserve to be treated as such.

Staying Hydrated

  Pondering the weather's desire to douse us with lots of rain over the past week and its continued wishes to keep doing so for at least another week, I am counting my blessings.  So far, July has not been overly hot (by my standards, at least).  The daily rains and extensive cloud cover have kept things at least down in the low 90s.  That, my friends, is nice and cool here in the Deep South.  Some folks do find the mugginess intolerable but locals are so accustomed to it, that we barely notice.

  The constant rains have had their downsides, however.  One being I forget to stay hydrated.  Drinking water seems to be a moot point when it is pouring from the sky and I am getting drenched with each hike.  Still, it is necessary and I literally have to remind myself.  Another irksome side effect of the nonstop showers is that my yard now closely resembles a rain forest of some sort.  There is no mowing, trimming or straightening in weather like this.  The rose bushes have a mind of their own and their long canes are drooping to the ground on either side of the arbor.  Where these touch the ground, they are sprouting roots.  The jasmine vines and wisteria vines are covering the house, trees and fences.  We managed to rip out one wisteria but the others are acting akin to the dreaded kudzu that has engulfed entire cities in the South!  Then, there are the gardenias and willows that are sprouting roots inches above the ground! 

  One willow is a rooted cutting from a friend. The young lady brought the cutting all the way from her folks' home some fifty miles to the north.  This sapling is still in the pot where I first stuck it.  The young tree rooted well but has not flourished...until now.  A Corkscrew Willow pretty much  loves to have its feet in the water.  As long as the rain keeps filling the pot to several inches above the dirt line, the willow is slap happy.  New roots are sprouting up the small trunk which will give it great stability if I add a bit more soil to the pot.  These willows are notorious about being a bit flimsy during rough weather so any extra roots could come in handy.  

  So, the rains will continue, the plants will grow by leaps and bounds and soon you may not be able to find the Little Bayou House!  I promise it is there...somewhere hidden beneath all of those leaves and vines!  Its a good thing I love rainy days!  This is my kind of weather.