Whew! What a job!

  Our son-in-law is an incredible ballroom dance instructor and, once each year, he hosts an event that showcases dancers.  Students, instructors and professional dancers all strut their stuff for several hours at the catered event.  It is always a sold out gala and everyone seems to enjoy themselves.  While I cannot dance, I am involved!  Mark and I head over to the venue to help decorate.  Darling Daughter always has a vision of what the place should look like and works tirelessly to create that look.  It is my job to be her helper and Mark's to usually go get things we forgot.  We spend about 7 hours on 14ft ladders putting up lights and buntings, do tablescapes and decorate the front of the stage.  Trust me, folks.  It is not an easy job but somehow, we manage to pull it all together.

  This year, I admit that I was a bit out of sorts.  The stress of things here made me almost back out of helping this year.  I am glad that I went, however, as I see now, that Elizabeth could never achieve the finished product without the "hired (unpaid) help". Even though she would give it a try and would most likely get most of it done, there just would not be the time to complete everything.  An extra set of hands is needed.  She would simply collapse from sheer exhaustion before finishing.  This evening, we are both deliriously tired but satisfied with our efforts to help Robbie pull off another successful event.  His talents, her talents and a handful of helpers' assistance really come together to be something special.

The Waltz

Late this evening, Ms. Ez and I headed to the pier.  It had been a most warmish day and since there was a hefty breeze coming off the water, we decided to cool off a bit.  The old dog and I were in no hurry to get anywhere so we meandered about the hillside before actually getting to the pier.  We kept hearing the "squeaky wheel" calls of the ospreys somewhere out over the Bay.  It should be an interesting evening if they were out hunting.  I always enjoy watching these large birds hunt.

Sure enough when we got to the pier, an adult pair of ospreys were not only hunting but doing a bit of acrobatics as well.  The pair have raised their young for this season.  Two chicks left the nest in early July and are fully on their own now.  It was interesting to watch how the male bird would soar to great heights only to plummet downward.  The female would fly upwards to meet him then turn at a right angle and fly away.  The male would then swoop upwards once again.  If one happened to catch a fish, they shared while in flight. One would pass the fish to the other while in flight!

Ms. Ez and I watched the birds' dance until they decided that it was time to roost in a nearby pine tree. They did one last loop around the Bayou before choosing the perfect tree.  The sun was quickly setting in the west and turning the sky a wonderland of colors!  The old dog and I decided to take a hint from the birds and head back to our "roosting" spot.  The board path was becoming quite dark and without a flashlight on hand, we had to hurry on our way.  We lingered long enough while watching the ospreys and their intricate waltz!  Time to get back to the Little Bayou House!

The Dance

This afternoon, I had the privilege to be in the audience of perhaps one of the most beautiful dance recitals in the world. Sometimes breathtaking things happen right in front of our eyes and if we are wise enough, we realize that we are seeing something extraordinary. Today's dance was just that.. extraordinary! The tide was out..way out..leaving the Bayou relatively devoid of water. The tidepools that were remaining were simply alive with trapped fish and minnows. This made for a perfect feeding opportunity for the shore birds. I was watching as the herons, gulls, kingfishers and egrets caught their fill. Happy birds! Or were they so happy. Two of them bobbed and weaved around each other like two performers on a stage. The graceful leaps and wing flapping caused quite a stir in the marshes. At first, I thought there was a squabble over a mullet or shrimp, but then it occurred to me that this was not fight. This was a dance..a lovely dance. These two were doing a ritualistic dance..a mating dance. Then I started thinking .."It is not the season for this!" But they continued to dance until suddenly the entire group became startled and in unison vaulted into the air. After making a large circle around the Bayou, they settled back down but this time just out of my range of view. Curious as to why this dance took place in the Fall instead of the nesting season of early Spring, I came in to do a bit of research. I found that the Snowy Egret is monogamous. They tend to choose a mate and stay together with both raising the young. I did not know this but it does explain the dance of the egrets. These were young egrets, perhaps just a bit over a year old, so next Spring, I will have to look for an nest of blue eggs in a tree over the Bayou. I also learned that years ago these beautiful birds were almost hunted to extinction for their plumage. Now since laws were passed to protect them, they have made a comeback. Also..one cool, little fact about the Snowy Egret is that it has jet black legs that end in bright yellow feet!