Neighborhood Geese?

   According to all range maps, the Canada Goose lives primarily in the northern regions of the United States and Canada.  They migrate southward during the late fall but then return north to breed and raise their young.  These range maps may need to be updated as the geese are now regular, year-round residents of the Deep South.  They do not migrate as the weather warms but rather stay and nest here.  On any given day, you can hear them honking as they fly overhead.  They fly low and often stop in to visit the Bayou after they visit my cousin's place just west of us along the shore. Dozens go to her place to feed and eventually bring their young with them.  The flock is growing! The geese are here to stay, obviously.

  This morning as I was throwing the net for mullet, I heard that familiar honking as the geese flew over the pier.  They, as always, headed to get breakfast but then, instead of flying back eastward, they swam down the shoreline.  Several times, they would stop to investigate small clearings in the marsh.  The group started out quite large but I noticed as they made their way toward our pier, the number was dwindling.  Several pairs were staying behind in the marshes.  Soon there were only five left.  Those five lingered a bit before taking flight eastward.  Where were the others?  Perhaps they stayed behind to check possible nesting sights?  It would be nice if the geese did nest nearby!  While a lot of people complain about the noise and mess the geese make, I feel they are just about the same as any other critter and, yes, I like the critters a lot better than I do most people.  Give me the geese any day!

"Throwback Lilies"

   It is always nice to walk smack into a surprise!  A couple of weeks ago, I pulled all of the plants out of the greenhouse, started repotting some of them but simply got overwhelmed and left the rest to fend for themselves for a bit.  Good intentions...and all that.  Well, today, I found that plants can get along quite well without my help.  I decided it was time to start the repotting task again.  The amaryllis bulbs (that were hastily potted last year when gardens were smashed by hurricanes) were in full bloom!  What a happy surprise!

  Although Pop raised the prettiest amaryllises, these bulbs were actually given to me by Mom's cousin.  I went to help her weed her gardens one year and she had me dig some of the bulbs to bring home.  She called them "Throwback Lilies".  "Just throw them out back and they will do fine."  I guess they are living up to their name!  Throwback Lilies!  

  Some of the common names of plants are amusing and the one tacked to the amaryllis will probably stick with me for the rest of my life.  The plants and the funny stories bring back happy memories of time spent with people from my past.  Hopefully, whimsical stories about me will be passed along by youngsters that spend time here on the Bayou.  I sure don't want to be remembered as a stodgy old woman!

The Bayou Geese!

   Early this afternoon, a stroll in the gardens was in order.  Work had come to a cease simply because of the heat.  Strolling, however, is always a good thing as there is plenty of shade from the old oak trees.  Just as I was entering the shady nook near the back of the greenhouse, I heard an odd sound in the Bayou. Hmm, one hears tales of banshees, will-o-the-wisps and hobgoblins but this sounded like none of those.   It was a far sweeter sound!  Geese!  For others, this may be an everyday thing but, for me, it is a happy occasion to find the geese swimming about the shallow waters of the Bayou.  I decided to ease my way down near the marsh to see just how many were there.

  Oh, my!  There were dozens of the fine looking critters taking baths in one bend of the winding waterways.  Such splashing! Such honking!  The geese were having a grand old time this afternoon.  They knew how to beat the heat!  I watched the antics of the flock for about twenty minutes and noticed that there were lots of juveniles in the bunch.  That gives me hope that this flock is flourishing.  Eventually, they all congregated in one open spot.  After much conversing, they took flight and headed west of here.  I knew exactly where they were going.  My cousin lives about a quarter of a mile to the west and she puts out a fine buffet for the ducks and geese.  My fine feathered friends were heading to dinner. 

  While the visit with the geese was short lived, it thrilled me to see them here.  Perhaps they will take a liking to the Bayou and return each day.  They are welcome to stay for a spell.  

Our Geese Fly West

  You often hear of the migration of Canadian Geese.  Come winter months, the geese will fly south seeking a warmer climate where food is plentiful.  Then, come spring, they make the long flight back northward to nest and raise their broods.  It has been this way forever but, then, people got in the way and caused a bit of confusion, to say the least.  Canadian Geese were once a prime source of food for a lot of folks.  Because of their size and the sheer numbers (at the time), the geese were hunted to near extinction.  Alas!  People figured out a little late that their over-hunting was causing them a lack of hunting targets...the geese.  That said...something HAD to be done to remedy the situation.  The bright idea of captive hatching of goose eggs was the solution.  Yes.  It did solve the problem of the missing geese but the people doing the hatching merely released the young geese wherever they were hatched.   That was the beginning a problem for the geese and people who do not like geese pooping on their pristine lawns.

  Geese, like other migratory birds, do not automatically have it ingrained in their heads that they need to start a migration.  Migration is a learned deed and not instinctual.  Young birds follow what their parents do.  So when the elder birds take flight to avoid spending winter where food may become scarce, the juveniles follow.  The captive bred and released birds have no parents to follow so they stay where they were "planted".  No problem...except the birds are prolific when not faced with hunters shooting them.  Now people are complaining that there are too many geese when it is actually that the geese are just staying put in the only homes they have ever known.  No one taught them to migrate!  Yep, they do congregate in large flocks.  They do poop on the pretty, green grass.  They are loud, bossy and hungry all of the time.  In spite of all of that, they are pretty and rather interesting to watch.

  Here, we have resident geese.  Occasionally, a pair will attempt to nest in the marshes of the Bayou but, usually, their attempts are met with disaster as there are far too many predators roaming those same marshes.  The geese choose a slightly more inland nesting grounds around the many ponds, lakes and rivers.  Each year, the flocks grow in size and the birds appear to be healthy.  To answer the question as to why our geese fly west, we only have to understand just what is west of the Bayou.  Not far down the shoreline, there is a haven for wildlife better known as my cousin's yard.  Michelle feeds hundreds of geese and ducks that flock there twice each day.  She puts out enough grain for them, deer, raccoons and any other critters that might be hungry.  So, you see, our geese fly west to feast upon free food...I don't blame them!  Just because the geese do not have the instinctual habit of migrating north does not mean that they are stupid!  They just migrate where the food is!   Now you know!

The Right Tools!

  When you have a bushel of green beans on the kitchen table just waiting to be snapped and canned, you sure need the right tools for the job.  Canning green beans is not as simple as making jelly or pickles or even ketchup.   Since the beans are low-acidic, you need a pressure canner to get the job done correctly.  I have three.  Yep, I have three pressure canners and do not plan on parting with a one of them any time soon.  Eventually, one will probably go to each of my kids since they have all learned to do home-canning.  Once the kids are ready for a canner, each can pick a favorite but, for the time being, the pressure canners can stay where they are.  They are being used quite often. This week alone, over two hundred jars of goodies have been canned and are lining the shelves nicely.  Of course, a good many filled jars will find their way to my daughter's house.  She is in the healthcare profession and, right now, has no time to even think of doing domestic things.  I shall do them for her.  Canning for two households is not a big deal especially with Son's help!  He can do this with the best of them!  Those green beans are in the jars and ready to eat whenever needed.  

  The pressure canner that I used was given to me by my cousin.  When my aunt passed away, Michelle had no use for the thing but knew that I did.  She generously offered the equipment to me and I readily accepted.  I was excited about this particular canner simply because it is a lot larger than my others.  Both of the other canners are from the 1940s making it hard to find replacement parts.  I had just found a place to order new gaskets and pressure valves when my cousin made me the gift of the gold canner.  My new "pride and joy" is a "newer" model being made in the 1970s!  (See, I am not so far behind the times as folks think!  Well, yeah, I am but as long as the equipment works, it shall be used.)  

  With all the work happening in the kitchen, as of late, I have to make mention that it sure looks fine to have the pantry shelves filled.  The garden is producing crazily so the "happy canners" will be in use for a while yet this season.  (Note...even though the canner is the correct color, my kitchen is not pink as it appears in the photo.  I am not a "pink" person!)

Witch's Butter or just another Tall Tale?

  Just when I think I cannot come across anything new here on the Bayou, the place surprises me with something I have never seen before.  Folks often ask if I ever get bored here but, to be honest, I have yet to find the time.  There is too much to do...too much to see...too much to experience to be bored.  

  This morning, the old dog and I took our morning hike in the mistiness of the Bayou.  I have yet to decide if it was a heavy fog or drizzly rain but Mr. PJ did not appreciate getting his fur wet.  Since he had been feeling poorly during the night, I kept the walk short, let him do his business then let him retreat to his warm, comfy bed.  This was not before I had eyed something curious, however, and my hike did not end with his.  I just had to go back to the marsh edge to investigate a rather lovely fungi growing there.  It was perhaps the brightest orange mushroom (or fungus) I have ever seen!  The lovely, tidbit of a thing was growing on a fallen pine branch which is why I noticed it in the first place.  I gather small twigs to be used as fire starter as I hike about the hillside.  When I went to grab the pine branch, I noticed the mushrooms.  

  Not knowing the type had me curious.  While I could spend hours searching for the correct orange mushroom, I chose to ask several of my "go-to" folks for an answer.  I figured that would be quicker.  They did give answers but I got several different answers!  One was the intellectual identification that is probably correct but since I could not pronounce it, I could not spell it to check.  One of the other identifications intrigued me to the point that I want my fungus to be that one...Witches' Butter!  Who names a fungus Witches' Butter?  I dared to ask about the story behind the name.

  "Well, first, Witches' Butter only grows on dead pine wood.  Story has it that back in the day before all of this treated lumber, folks made their houses out of whatever wood was available and pine was the choice of many.  That pine would eventually start to rot and mushrooms would grow on it.  If the Witch's Butter grew on some one's house, it meant that that family was put under a spell by a local witch.  This was a terrible thing so folks would check their houses regularly for any sign of the mushroom. All was not in vain, though, because the spell could be broken quite easily.  The head of the family had to poke at that mushroom with a sharp knife until it died then the spell would be gone." 

  Hmmm, now.  That is quite the fanciful tale and I am still not sure if my cousin was making this up as he told it or if there really is something called Witches' Butter.  I guess I really will be spending some time researching.  Personally, I think it looks more like some type or orange coral than butter but it was growing on pine wood so maybe?  (I really liked the tale, however, and will probably always refer to the bright orange mushrooms as Witches' Butter!  It makes for an interesting tale!

How Do They Know??

  Just down the shoreline a bit from the Little Bayou House is my cousin's house.  She has an impeccable yard with some of the finest grass around.  All of the beautiful lawn is one of the drawing factors of some friends of hers....that an a hefty helping of corn.  Michelle has been feeding the geese for a few years now.  Twice a day, geese will fly over the Bayou on their way to her house.  There, they feast on whatever she puts out for them, drink from the small wading pool of fresh water, munch a bit of that green, green grass and generally just hang out a bit.  After their refreshments, the geese take off for parts unknown.  The group divides and heads in different directions but one group of about thirty fly over our place as they head northeast.

  When she first started putting out food, just a couple of geese stopped in to visit. The numbers grew over the years until now she has well over sixty of her fine feathered friends to feed.  My pondering is how?  How do geese put out the word that there is free food at her house?  These geese come in from all over the place.  They do not live near here.  Some even fly all the way across the Bay to dine in her back yard.  So...do the geese honk loud enough that the neighboring geese get the idea and come?  Then, do those let others know?  There has to be some method of communication going on here for the geese to get the word of free food and come flying from all directions at the same time each day.  I am confused.

  Michelle is one of those folks who can befriend just about any critter alive.  She feeds them all from alligators to deer...from coons to birds...every critter is welcome at her place.  Still...how in the world do the critters know??

Interesting Twists

  Call me an old fogey if you wish but, for the life of me, I cannot understand a lot of the language used these days.  When writing, folks use a lot of acronyms in place of words and even those have changed since I was a kid trying to be cool.  About half of a written paragraph is made up of a bunch of random letters smashed together to supposedly make a phrase.  It is stupid, when you think of it.  No one is going to be able to write a decent book at this rate.  It will be filled with things like BTW, LOL, IMO, OMG and THX.  That last one is a bit confusing as it means thanks...understood...I guess...but then TQ means thank you.  How?  Simply how?  How does that Q translate to you?  Yep, I am getting old.  But it is not just acronyms that get my feathers ruffled.  There are a ton of new words or old words that have new meanings that are merely out there to befuddle old folks like me.  Take for instance "Twitter" that used to be something that birds did.  "Tweet", again...birds.  Now, those have totally different meanings and if you use them in the original sense, folks look at you like you are weird.  Perhaps, I am.  Some of the new meanings to old words are not so nice so you have to be careful what you say!

  So, when my cousin wrote that she was out "twigging", it took me aback a bit.  I was not sure just what she was doing or even if I wanted to know.  You can imagine my relief when I found out that she was actually using the word in a way that made sense.  She was twigging, indeed.  Truth be known, she was gathering twigs for her wood-burning stoves.  Makes sense and is something that we share.  I have long used the word for the very same thing.  On my hikes around the hillside, I gather twigs.  It is a two-fold task as it cleans the yard at the same time gives me firewood.  A old cast iron wood-burning stove can burn for about an hour on a handful of hefty twigs.

  This morning, I gathered my usual bundle of twigs and dumped them down in the old tub that sits by the wood-burning stove in the living room.  As I did, I pondered if my grandmother would approve.  This tub was her old soap-making pot and never held a dirty twig in its whole time on this earth until I came in possession of it.  Now instead of making soap out of lye which is made from potash, it holds the twigs that make the potash to make lye for soap-making.  Interesting twist on things when you think of it. So I guess folks who twist words around to suit their needs are not that far removed from my twisting the use of a pot around to suit mine. 

What a Cutie!

  Have you ever noticed how stores seem to prey on folks at any "gift-giving" time?  Most of us have those days when going somewhere empty handed is just not at all acceptable.  We were taught long ago that it is just proper to bring some small gift.  While it does not have to be expensive or large, it is highly important that it is a perfectly well-thought gift.  Department stores are no help.  They shove stuff at us in wild abandon in hopes that, in desperation, we will grab whatever is glitzy and shiny and pass it off as a personally selected gift.  Those boxed gift sets are horrible!  They are useless!  I hope to never see one darken my doorway again!  Who needs another coffee mug with a single serving of instant fruit flavored coffee or a plastic "loofah" and cucumber scented body wash that causes a major rash with the first use or even a tiny photo album that holds six pictures and comes complete with a non-working pen?  Not me...and probably not you but the stores still have all of these displayed in prominent places and they will sell thousands to folks who need that last minute present.  

  I have this sweetheart of a cousin who always finds the most unique gifts.  Not that they are necessarily expensive or flashy, but the gifts are just perfect because she really "thinks" about the recipient. She thinks about what they like, what they do and what makes them smile.  With that it mind, she finds things that she knows that person will appreciate.  I admit that it is probably hard to find a gift for me.  While I appreciate all gifts, I would rather have something that I can use.  So....that said....Helen bought me a rat!  Yep,  A rat!  I love it!  The rat was one of several Halloween things that she came across while shopping and she just knew that I would appreciate it (and each of the other items!)  That says a lot about me, doesn't it!  I get thrilled over a rat!

  The thing that stands out about this rat is that it shows that Helen really knows me.  While she may not understand me (who does?), she knows that the little rat with beady eyes will come in handy.  She knows that I will pull the little critter out of the closet each year and smile.  The rat will be put out in a special place or may be moved here or there as an unexpected "surprise" for visitors to the Little Bayou House during the month of October...and may not be stowed away at all for the rest of the months.  Helen knows that I love quirky little things and always manages to come up with the most perfect of gifts.  I love this lady!  What a special part of my life she is!  Thank you, Helen! The bag of goodies is perfectly glorious and I really do adore this little critter!

The Water Bell

  After our brief spell of normal summertime temperatures, the heat has returned with a vengeance.  My poor garden is taking a beating. Without the daily afternoon thunderstorms that give the cooling waters, the ground is scorching during the midday.  I know.  I made the mistake of rushing barefoot out to gather a handful of basil.  It was not fun on the feet so I know it is torment to the poor roots of the plants.  The tomatoes have all withered as have the green beans.  The okra is struggling to even keep leaves.  Only the herbs and peppers are standing strong.  Even inside the greenhouse (which has entire sides open), the plants have taken an direct hit.  My lovely begonia might be beyond hope.  

  While in the greenhouse watering the few tropical plants that I do have, I had to ponder over the method I was using.  While I could drag the hose from the vegetable garden, cross the fence, through the door to water the indoor plants, I have a much easier way.  Years ago, my cousin gave me the most adorable water bell.  This thing is incredibly handy!  I tote a bucket of water into the greenhouse, dip the bell beneath the water, poke my thumb over the hole in the top and then draw the bell out of the water.  The bell is held over the wilted plant while I lift my thumb.  Once the hole is uncovered, water showers down over the plant.  It works a lot like a watering can but I only have to carry one bucket of water.  The bell is so easy to fill and use.  I love this thing!

  Margie (the cousin who so generously gave me the water bell) always finds the neatest items.  Not only is the water bell easy to use, it is a gorgeous accent piece to have in the greenhouse.  It has weathered well and even with a bit of moss growing on the side, it is most attractive.  Yep, water bells are the way to go, folks!  Especially if you can find one as neat as this one.  Of course, you might have to find a cousin as neat as mine to get a bell as special as mine!

The Visitor

I occasionally write about my cousin, Michelle.  I stand in awe of her ability to befriend most any animal. She not only feeds a multitude of ducks and geese but, also, the squirrels, bluebirds, hummingbirds and any other critter that finds itself hungry. Why..she even holds the feeders for the hummers!  Critters just seem to know that she would never harm a one of them. 

A beautiful hawk that came to visit my cousin, Michelle.

Today, she took pictures of a hawk that visited her yard.  The bird flew around her while she was out walking as if begging to be her pal!  The hawk had no fear as it landed on her fence and even on the ground.  Whether this bird actually wanted to become friends or whether it was scouting for a free meal is anybody's guess. Perhaps it realized that with all of the other critters coming in for a meal, its quest for prey would be simple!  I am quite sure that the hawk would make quick work of one of the grey squirrels that raid the bird feeders!

A hawk visiting my cousin, Michelle's yard.  Notice the mockingbird that is sitting next to the hawk!  Such a great picture!

Still..knowing Michelle, it won't be long before she is holding the hawk.  Never one to fear any critter, she will most likely be friends with the bird by the end of the week!  What I want to see is how in the world she will make it understand that the other critters are off limits.  Will it be possible for her to convince a hawk to eat from the feeders side by side with the geese?  With Michelle..I would not put it past her.  If anyone can do it..she can! Keep in mind that she will pick up a copperhead snake or hand feed an alligator!  Yep, she does, indeed, have a way with the critters!

The pictures in this post were taken by Michelle Hengen and belong to her.  She was very kind to let me borrow them for your enjoyment.

Down by the Bay, where the watermelons grow..

Down by the Bay where the watermelons grow..Back to my home, I dare not go..For if I do, My mama will say.."Did you ever see a fly..wearing a tie?"..Down by the Bay........

My kids use to sing this little ditty all the time. They would not stop at the end of the song but instead made up their own rhymes sometimes singing verse after verse until I thought I would go nuts. Now, I wish I could hear them sing it again..not really..it probably would not be the same since they are all grown. But this brings us to the topic of watermelons growing by the Bay or Bayou for that matter! If you recall, there is a watermelon that is taking over the

garden space at an enormous pace. It had started in the tomato patch, made its way over the fence into the bell peppers, passed the green beans and into the pea patch. Well, now this entire area is a watermelon patch. It has encompassed everything including a fig tree..nothing is safe from the Marauding Melon! The small melon that was photographed is now huge..it is about twenty-eight inches long and still growing. Plus, today I noticed many tiny melons everywhere! They are under the peas, hanging on the fence and one is even in the fig tree! If the raccoons do not decide to have a party some night, we shall be eating watermelon quite often from this one plant!

Down by the Bay..there is also a family of ducks that are taking over the Bayou just like the watermelon is taking over the garden. These ducks, if I have identified them correctly, are Mottled Ducks. This is strictly a Southern species of ducks that usually stays put here on the Gulf Coast year round. Last year, I noticed three of them that spent most of the day in the Bayou. They would fly out two or three times during the day..always heading west..then would return an hour or so later. I soon found out that they were heading just a bit west of here to my cousin's house where she laid out a feast for them! Their trips were mealtimes! Each day they would head to her house to dine on the finest meals of corn that she puts out in pans for their convenience! She started with just a few ducks and a pair of Canadian Geese and now has

upwards of fifty! The three that stay in my Bayou nested earlier and as of today's count the three have now multiplied into seventeen! It is good to see the marshland thriving so well considering all it has been through recently..what with hurricanes, home construction in the area and oil spill threats. Dear Cousin..keep feeding those ducks! I enjoy having them in my Bayou and as long as there is plenty of free food they will stay!