The Great Cricket Search!

   In many cultures, crickets are thought to be harbingers of good luck, future prosperity and protection.  It seems that much lore has been attached to the chirpy critters since the beginning of time.  It was considered to be a happy day when a cricket was found in the home but...it would bring much misfortune if the cricket was killed.  This thought led to many folks protecting their crickets against any danger even to the point of having cricket cages in their homes.  Well, living on the Bayou sees many critters wanting to invade the house...crickets included.  I am not squeamish about the critters that call the Bayou their home and can happily live side-by-side with the lot of them.  Then came the invasion.

  Early on Christmas morn, my oldest son and I were in the kitchen.  I had fixed him a cup of coffee when I heard a strange sound.  Uh, oh...that sounded like the batteries were dying in our smoke alarm.  I tried to remember when we last changed them and continued talking with my son.  Then...about 15 minutes later...another series of beeps...errr....chirps.  The alarm was in the laundry room which is just off the kitchen. I peeped in there but the thing was quiet.  Nary a sound came from the confernal thing so I headed back through the doorway to the kitchen to continue the conversation with my son while we waited on the others to rouse from bed or arrive from their homes.  Soon...the goofy thing chimed again!  Alrighty then...out to the back deck it went.  It was driving me crazy!   We would have to depend on the other alarms that were playing nicely until I could find the proper batteries for this one.  After a bit...I heard the same sounds in other rooms.  Geez!  Those batteries must all be dying!  I spent a good bit of Christmas morning on the search for fire alarms and batteries!  I was thankful once everyone was ready to open gifts!  Yay!  Let Christmas fun begin!

  After all the gifts were opened, My son, Mark, handed out three "special" gifts!  One to each sibling and one to me!  Eeek!  I was excited...short lived glee but...excited!  I opened the package to find a puzzle box...you know...one of those nigh on impossible things to open??  Yep...one of those.  I fiddled with the box, all the while, complaining of those dratted "alarms" that were still screaming.  Aha!  Step one was completed!  I was quite proud of myself!  There, scrunched in the tiny compartment, was a packet of herb seeds!  But...there was more to open...so I continued to push, pull, twist and turn portions of the box until....another compartment and another packet of seeds!  Alrighty, then!  Mom is getting good at this!  Beep..beep...shut-up, alarms!!!  Mark informed me that there was one last compartment and reassured me that I was doing well.   Another few twists of parts of the box and a few shoves revealed the last compartment...completed with a tiny portrait of Jiminy Cricket...you know...that "moral guide" from Pinocchio?  Yeah, him...and he had a message..."Find Me!"  Huh?  I did!  I just found you!  Nope...the search had only begun.

  Well...now it came to light that my smoke alarms were not so confernal after all.  Their batteries were fine...the beeps were not coming from them.  Mark had hidden some sort of noisemakers all over my house!  The beeps (chirps) were Jiminy Crickets and I had to find them to make the noise stop. Arghh!  What had my son done???  Beep..beep.  The search was on while he sat at the kitchen table chopping vegetables for our Christmas dinner that I was supposed to help him make...and to top it off, he had a big smirk on his face.  Ugh!  Crickets!  Why did they have to be electronic things that, as he informed me, would keep chirping for approximately 3 years...THREE YEARS!  I searched, he smirked as the morning slipped by.  Soon this became a family effort and everyone who was not involved in his sneaky scheme chipped in to help rid the house of Jiminy!  Oh, was I happy when my son-in-law announced that he found a cricket on top of the huge china cabinet!  Whew!  One down....beep...beep.  Ugh!  About a half hour later, my sweet granddaughter squealed that she found one!  I could do nothing but hug her! Oh, happy day!  Beep..beep.  Not another!  Yep...another.   About this time, both grandkids decided it was time to play with their Christmas gifts and several other of my "team" decided it was time to help their sibling who was now in the midst of preparing the dinner by himself.  (Ha!  Payback for sending his mom on this wild goose chase!)  They cooked...I searched with my only ally...Darling Daughter, Elizabeth.  Beep...beep.  We were back in that laundry room!  Now anyone who has ever been in the Little Bayou House can attest that searching any room would be a difficult task but that laundry room also doubles as a storage area for home canned goods, dehydrated herbs and most of my canning supplies.  It also houses three large freezers so searching there would prove to be challenging but Elizabeth stuck with me and we found the elusive Jiminy!  Wow!  What an unexpected gift!  It was so much fun to have the whole family involved and the search will be talked about for years to come.  Not to mention...I am glad the fire alarms are still in good working order and were not chunked too far out the back door!  Thanks, Mark!...Now, son...no more shirts for you for Christmas...it is payback time!  Beep!

  

Quiet Time Among Friends

   The "Critter Neighborhood Watch Program" started their alarms early yesterday morning.  I was still inside canning the last batch of muscadine syrup when I heard the ruckus.  Checking the clock, it was just a little past 6am.  After putting on the last lid, I stepped onto the back porch.  Yep, those blue jays and wrens were cutting a flip about something back behind the pump shed. Time to investigate!  I was sure this had to be a snake!

  Just last week, I bemoaned the fact that nary a snake (other than the two little ribbon snakes that live in Puddle Pond) had been found around the property this year.  While I am fine without finding too many cottonmouths, the absence of rat snakes, racers and water snakes was puzzling.  Perhaps since the area has been receiving almost daily rains, the snakes did not need to search for water allowing them to stay well hidden.  Most snakes would rather lie low and let the prey come to them than to put themselves in the wide open areas.  As I eased my way to where the birds were still causing an uproar, I had to watch my step.  There was no use in putting my feet down on any snake!

  Sure enough, I found my target.  A small rat snake was being harassed by the birds.  My presence caused the birds to back off a bit.  The little snake seemed appreciative and made no effort to flee.  I decided that meant it wanted company of some sort other than the raucous birds.  Oh, what a grand time I had holding this beauty for nigh on a half hour.  My new friend and I got to know one another before I lifted it into the loft of the pump shed.  There, it could hide from the birds and keep the building free of any pesky mice or rats.  My morning was spent most perfectly!

Much More Than Just Pickles

  This morning bright and early, Son and I were slicing up a bunch of vegetables.  It was pickle making day!  These were not ordinary pickles, however.  While the actual recipe was a bit unusual as these were squash pickles that are more of a mixed relish, the pickles are extraordinary in the fact that they are pretty much a bunch of good memories.  Yeah, confusing...yeah, happy.  You see, Mom made the first batch of squash pickles that I had ever tasted.  I thought that there could be no better condiment on the face of the earth.  After that first taste, Mom and I spent many hours of quality time slicing veggies to make our new favorite.  Memories were made.

  That tradition continued with my own kids.  Two out of the three say these are their favorites.  Son does not eat any type condiment so pickles of any kind are a no go.  But memories are being made because he helps me with the creation of the pickles for the other two.  My oldest son insists these are the "best ever" and Darling Daughter feels nigh on the same.  When they are back at the Little Bayou House during spring, they pounce on the opportunity to make (and eat) these delectable treats.  Today, Son and I talked and laughed as we sliced.  Not only did we talk about pickles but just about everything else under the sun.  (It takes a good while to slice up nigh on a half bushel of veggies!) 

  Now that the jars are filled and sealed, our task for the day is finished.  Those squash pickles will be eaten over the next few months but the time spent together will last a lifetime. Son commented "Grandma sure knew what she was doing when she got us all together to do things."....and she did.  She understood that it is times like this that last forever.  Smiles and pickles somehow just go together.

Fog Is Important In Memories!

  Every year just about this time, I have flashbacks of a time long ago.  These are of a span of years between toddler and teens when I would have a special time with my grandmother.  She and I both loved the movie "Brigadoon" and would share a special time watching it together.  The tradition started when I was about 5 years old and lasted until my teens when she passed.  I would spend the night at her house watching the movie and sipping milked down tea in her fine teacups.  It was our own special "togetherness" time...a time that I will never forget.   

  This time of year always reminds me of the bond shared between the two of us and our love for the old movie.  It is nothing more than the weather that starts rattling around amidst the cobwebs in the far corners of my brain until it shakes out the memories, dusts them off and lets me revel in a bit of bittersweet happiness.  This morning, the weather did its part of jogging the memories from their hiding place.  Overnight, a thick fog developed and completely whited out the Bayou and its surrounding areas.  I could not see ten feet in front of me as I headed to the pier.  This always gives me an almost eerie but equally serene feeling.    After about an hour, the fog lifted from our area but was still heavy across the Bay.  A low lying fog stayed above the channel that separates the two lands.  The island to my right was vividly apparent but the shore just beyond was shrouded in the mist.  Only the tops of the buildings and the tall water tower could be seen.  "Brigadoon" (better known around here as Keesler Air Base) was emerging from the mist!  My memories started running wild. 

  It is also times like this that spurs the imagination into gear.  All sorts of fanciful tales were causing a ruckus in the mind.  Tales of disappearing villages, true love and, of course, fog!  Fog is important in all ramblings of the mind!