Busy After The Peace

   It was a day of getting gardening chores done in preparation of a spring planting.  This meant I was up before dawn to pick peas, cut cauliflower heads and cabbages and pull beets.  Then, for the next 3 hours I mulched oak leaves to put in new rows once the winter garden fades.  (Word of advice...if you do not have a market for cauliflower and cabbage, never....NEVER...plant a hundred of each.  After the first few offerings, you cannot give them away to anyone.  These are not unlike the proverbial zucchini giveaways.)  After all of that, I headed to the greenhouse to check the seedling tomatoes and peppers.

  This was not before I had made my rounds like every other morning.  The water called so I heeded.  The Bayou sometimes has a pull like no other.  This morning, as the moon was setting and the sun was peeping over the pines on the opposite shore of the Bayou, I was mesmerized by the golden hue set upon the water.  The last lingering pair of hooded mergansers were awash in the shimmery glow of the rising sun.  This...this is what draws me each morning and holds my heart during the day.  It was hard to break loose and attend those chores but it had to be done.  Tomorrow will be much the same as I am trying to work around the storms that hit us each spring.  At least, I have the golden morns to start the day even after the mergansers migrate.

Serenity at its best

   My favorite time on the pier is just before daybreak.  Then, the air is still cool and crisp.  The night sounds are settling and the day is bursting forth with new music.   This is my time, my space and my peace.  The morning starts with a hot mug of black coffee, a regimen of stretching exercises and a bit of meditation.  After that, I am rearing to go meet the day.

  This morning, I was a bit surprised to see several large flocks of cormorants coming in to the Bay.  The birds are early this year as normally, they come in October or even November.  Perhaps this is the sign of an early fall and winter for us.  That sure would be nice!  Very few of the cormorants stopped near the pier.  Most hesitated in flight but then went further west.  Most flocks had nigh on fifty birds which is not nearly what will be here by late November.

  With one straggling group of only about ten birds, I was confused to see a single bird drop from the group and alight in the water near the Bayou.  As soon as it changed course, I realized that this was no cormorant causing even more confusion.  Why was a duck traveling with the migrating cormorants?  The little duck has been around the pier for most of the day now and seems to be in no hurry to rejoin its odd flock.  As I was watching the lone duck, a golden glow from the sunrise softly settled about the creature.  I wonder if it was how the Bayou was welcoming its new friend.  The whole scene made me feel a bit warm and fuzzy!

Going for the Gold

  If you are lucky enough to be on a pier at sunrise (or sometimes sunset), the view is remarkable.  Not only is the the horizon lit with a kaleidoscope of colors, the water is shimmering with a billion lights.  Occasionally, the sun will set a glow about the entire area and leave a person in awe of the golden wonder.  It is times like this that make me never want to live any place except the Bayou. This morning was just such a glorious start of the day.  Otters were playing near the marsh, ospreys were diving for mullet and a dozen or so brown pelicans dive-bombed in the menhaden.  If folks cannot find peace in such an environment, they really do not wish to do so.  

  For the past six months or so, things have been flip-flopped around so much in this old world that I have decided to reevaluate my life. I have become bogged down trying to please everyone but myself so it was time to do something about it. Several things came  to mind. 

1.  I am getting old!  That does not bother me in the least when faced with the alternative of NOT getting old.  I am fine with it but it does make me realize that I  have got to stop fretting over things that do not amount to a hill of beans.  Answer...Deal with it or let it go.  

2.  I find myself pondering over things from the past or things of the future. This is not good as it is time consuming.  Answer...Live more in the moment.

3.  Life seems to be filled with people and their drama.  For the longest time, I felt it necessary to commiserate with anyone who felt the need to unload their problems on my shoulders.  Answer...Drop those who seek out turmoil and surround myself with happy folks and folks who want me to be happy.  (I have already begun this one!)

4.  After many years, life begins to seem drab and lackluster.  Answer..Fill life with color. Find beauty in EVERYTHING.  Look for those golden moments!  Enjoy the golden glow that comes at sunrise and carry it with me all day.  

  After the golden glow left the Bayou for the morning, Mark and I fished for a while and just enjoyed the relaxing time before the busy day started.  Life is good but it is also good to change the outlook sometimes.  Seek those golden moments, folks.  They are fleeting so enjoy them while you can.




 

Golden Moments

  It may seem to be a strange habit to some folks, but I search for all of the golden moments that I can find.  There are precious times in each day.  It is my goal to find and savor the golden moments that occur. Here lately, it seems that we are all too wound up in our lives to even sit back and reflect on just how good things are.  Not me.  I try to open my day each morning being thankful that I am alive and doing well.  Likewise, the day's end is met appreciating what I was given during the day.  This is a way of understanding that good times/bad times are all fleeting and to find a bit of happiness anywhere is a true blessing.  I find mine here on the Bayou.  Moments that make you appreciate life are what I call the golden moments.  I find a good many of these occurrences at sunrise.  It seems that there is a certain serenity at that time of day.  

  We have had very few days in the past month that I was able to get out to the pier to watch the sun rise above the pines or, for that matter, make an appearance at all.  Rainy days seemed to have been the norm so far for this winter.  Yet, there was one morning that was deemed most perfect.  It was full of those golden moments.  As matter of fact, the entire morning was golden.

  I arose before dawn and headed out to the pier. Without Ms. Ez, the old Bayou Dog, there to guide me, I had to tread carefully.  She would always nudge me away from slippery slopes so I would not fall.  Boy, I miss that dog!  Still, I did make it to the pier in time to watch the sun peep out of a bit of fog.  As it did, the entire Bayou and Bay were filled with a golden wash.  It was gorgeous!

  As I sat there staring out at the different waterfowl as they tried to find breakfast, I thought how that old dog would have loved this.  My golden moment was not just the sunrise and beauty around me but thoughts of my departed friend.  Ms. Ez was a golden moment.  Boy, I miss her.

The Sunbeams Settled Like a Cloak Around his Shoulders

  Have you ever thought of the colors of fall?  The reds, oranges, golds and browns all blend so harmoniously together.  Since my decorating for the clue hunt and Halloween is in full swing (and has been for nigh on a month now!), these colors seem to be on my mind a lot. Add a good bit of black and I am quite gleeful, to say the least.  While most folks are saying that I am pushing this fall thing a bit, here lately the weather has been agreeing with me, so I am good.  This morning, even the sunrise shot forth a golden glow to inspire me.

  I was up before sunrise and out the door trying to make the most of the cooler weather.  While Ms. Ez, the old Bayou Dog, headed down the hill to do her morning business, I slipped out to take a single photograph.  Partially hidden in the marsh, an egret waited patiently for a little mullet to venture too close.  The bird, no doubt, was hungry and was oblivious to my presence.  I have photographed hundreds of such birds.  The Bayou is always full of them but this morning, it was not the brilliant white bird that caught my attention. It was the way the golden rays of sunshine cloaked the bird in its warmth.  

  Wishing to not disturb the bird any more than I had already, I slipped back up the hillside.  I was pleased with my efforts in capturing this perfect moment.  I was pleased with the colors of fall.