Gone for another year...

   It is a rare thing to find a lovely, "fall-colored" tree during the first few months of autumn around here.  We have to wait until late November before getting much color on our leaves.  Then, the hickory trees are in their full glory.  The bright orange leaves glow like embers in a winter fire when the setting sun hits them.  Folks stand in awe of the 60+ ft trees with their golden leaves wafting in the bay breeze.  This lets us know that summer has ended...for certain...and winter (or at least a semblance of the season) is nigh.  These glorious trees are our "fall colors" as we pretty much do not have any others that are native to the area.

  I was fortunate to notice that the hickory tree in the front yard was putting on quite a show with its fall attire.  Two days ago, I took the time to photograph the tree as the setting sun filtered through the leaves.  Ahh, beautiful!  Satisfied that I had my pictures for the season, I turned the thoughts elsewhere.  Now, two days later, I am happy that I took the time to admire the tree.  

  Severe weather set in last night complete with torrential rains and high winds.  While it made for good sleeping weather for me, the tree did not fare so well.  This morning, all of those lovely leaves are on the ground and in Puddle Pond.  Nary a one hangs on the twigs of the tree.  The hickory tree now looks barren such as one would find during the bleak days of winter.  The ground, on the other hand, is golden...and what a mess!  The next few days will find me cleaning the pond and grinding the leaves for mulch.  My beautiful fall tree is gone until next year.

Caterpillar Tendrils!

   It occurred to me today that this old world is filled with some of the most marvelous creatures ever.  Sure, most of us can recognize thousands of critters even if it is from only picture books but, sometimes, ones plop down upon us and cause us to scratch our heads in wonderment.  

  Literally, that happened today. Kerplop!  A critter landed on the wicker chair next to me.  Son happened to see it and then questioned if I had any idea what it was.  Nope.  Never saw one before in my life...even in those picture books.  So, we did what we always do.  We took photographs.  I took some.  Son took some...just in case the others were not clear enough for an identification. Then the magic of the internet came into play!  Instead of browsing millions of photos online, I merely type in a vague description and, BAM!, there you go!  Good old Google has an answer.  My search line was "orangish brown caterpillar with tendrils".  

    This is a horned spanworm and those little twirly things are called tendrils!  This critter obviously fell from either the hickory tree or the oak tree that shaded the chairs.  The caterpillar chews on the leaves of hardwood trees so that makes the most sense.  (At least, it is not a cabbage worm!)  When the caterpillar ages, it will turn into a rather nondescript brownish gray moth. 

  While this is all interesting, it was those tendrils that captivated my attention.  Most of the time, the tendrils are small and mostly unnoticeable but when the critter is disturbed, that all changes.  It can puff those things up until they are quite scary looking.  The most noted theory is that tendrils are supposed to be a disguise and make the critter look like some odd flower with long stamens.  To my way of thinking, it looks a lot more like a spider than a flower.  Also, to my way of thinking, that makes more sense as appearing to be a scary predator is a probably a better defense that looking pretty.  Also, if you look really close at the last photograph, you can see what appears to be claws!  SCARY!  (Aren't we glad this thing is about an inch long and not some dinosaur sized creature!)

  Either way, Son and I finished our photo session with said critter and then I gently put it back on a hickory branch where it immediately started munching more leaves.  (Like I said, at least, it is not a cabbage worm!)  That ended our encounter with a very unusual and unknown (at the moment) critter that literally dropped in to visit us.

Just do it

   After Hurricane Zeta hit us with full force, we had more work than we could shake a stick at.  It was overwhelming especially since I was still recovering from the stroke and heart problems.  I was told to "take it easy", "do not overwork" and "let others help".  Well, that is all fine and dandy except, there was no time to take it easy and was virtually impossible not to overwork.  That part about "let others help"...well, no one did.  Son and I had to do it.  We struggled and are still neck deep in debris and repairs.  We will get there.  Today, however, was spent more in helping others.  Why?  Because that is what we do.  Bayou people help others. It is the neighborly thing to do.

  Several large trees were downed on my brother's place.  He is not in the physical condition to clean up the mess so, since Mark was home, he decided to cut the downed trees.  We would just clean up the place.  No problems.  Mark cut the huge tree and Son split the logs with the axe.  I tried to help load the smaller ones but, once again, am under orders not to do much.  While cutting, Mark had the idea that my other brother could use some of the firewood.  So...he cut, Son split and loaded wood for that brother.  After several hours, the place was cleared, the firewood was all cut, loaded, hauled and stacked and we were exhausted, yet again.  

 Folks, while we are an independent sort and will get our work done without the "let others help" crew that never shows, there are those who occasionally need a helping hand.  They do not ask.  They, too, try to fend for themselves.  This is where kindness and generosity come into play.  Just do it.  Do not wait to be asked.  Just do it.  Do not expect anything in return.  Just do it.

Now, They've Done It!

  Well, I normally claim that animals are far smarter than humans.  Critters have a natural survival instinct that does not leave them time to meddle in other's affairs.  They do their thing and let others do theirs.  That is the way things should be but humans always have to be nosy....and bossy....and greedy.  Critters have got it down pat...at least, some do.

  Along about mid-morning, I thought it wise to bring Son a cooling drink as he had been working on the pier again.  It is hot work and I can no longer help him.  He was appreciative and as I was waiting to fetch his glass back up the hillside, I noticed something amiss.  Thousands of hickory nuts were strewn across the lower section of the yard.  Odd! Hickory nuts should not be falling for a few months yet and we had no storms to knock them from the trees.  This was a mystery that required investigating.  I assured Son that I would not venture too far and set off on my mystery-solving party.

  As near as I can tell, the nuts were knocked down by hungry critters whether raccoons or squirrels (or both)!  It appeared that some of the nuts had the green outer shell gnawed a bit before being discarded. Obviously, the green nuts were not as tasty as the critters had thought but they were determined to find a "good" one so they kept trying and discarding.  Now, they have done it!  With the nuts knocked to the ground, they will not be fully matured.  The meat inside will wither and dry.  The critters' winter supply is going to be short.   In fact, even the nuts on the ground will be gone by then.  Tomorrow, I shall gather them and store these fine things for winter.  They will not be used as food but as fuel for the old cast iron stove.  Once hot, the hickory nuts last a long time and put out good heat.  Sorry, critters...your loss is my gain!

Sweet Little Tassels!

  People are funny.  It seems that most folks are never satisfied with the way life treats them.  They are always looking for other things and the present situation is not to their liking.  This is especially noticeable with the weather.  Either it is too rainy, too dry, too windy, too cold or too hot.  Complaints run amok  with "I hate winter!"  "Oh, my word!  It is too hot!"  "This humidity is killing me!'  I sort of get tickled since all the complaining in the world has never changed the weather.  What the environment throws at us is the way it is going to be regardless of how much we whine.  

  In the dead of winter, most folks "cannot wait until spring" but, once spring comes and the blooms start to pop out, their love of the season changes.  "I hate pollen!"  Well, sorry folks.  If you are going to have spring, you are going to have pollen.  That is just life renewing itself.  Come on...get a grip and a box of allergy meds.  

  This afternoon, I decided a walk was due to work off a bit of that Easter dinner overload.  As I was wandering the hillside, the hickory trees caught my attention.  They were all heavy with "tassels" or blooms.  Yep, those allergy makers are out again!  For the past month or so, the trees have taken turns at making folks miserable.  Not me.  I find the trees' efforts to reproduce fascinatingly beautiful.  In my thoughts, the tassels are a lot better than the nuts that follow.   Until you have been whacked in the head by a wayward flying hickory nut, you have not felt one of Mother Nature's weirdest pains.  There is the instant of severe pain that comes with impact.  Then, afterward, there is that slow-healing bruised feeling that is aggravated with each touch.  Forget washing the hair with vigor, brushing deeply or styling the hair in any manner....for weeks!  Yes, indeed, the tassels are a lot sweeter!

  For the next few weeks, folks will be whining, sniffling and sneezing once again.  Keep tissues on hand, have a supply of allergy meds and dole them out dutifully while listening to lots of complaints about spring and how folks cannot wait until summer gets here.  (Until it is here along with the good, ole Deep South heat and humidity!)

The Golden Tree

  The rain gauge is overflowing so there is no telling just how much precipitation we received in the past few days but it was a lot.  The gauge holds six inches and was filled far before the last round of thunderstorms rolled through the area.  All of this rain has left the place a soggy mess.  It even smells soggy if there is such a thing.  The odor emanates from the mounds of now downed leaves that fill every nook and cranny of the yard.  The high winds even plastered them to the sides of the Little Bayou House giving it a rather "woodsy" appearance. Hopefully, when those dry and fall to the ground, they will not have stained the siding.  As it sits, the house looks camouflaged.

  While every leaf has fallen from most deciduous trees in the yard, one stands proudly as it clings to its glorious color.  A tall hickory tree that stands next to the lane is filled with the brightest gold leaves and almost looks gaudy compared to the bare twigs to those next to it.  This hickory must have turned late to have held onto its leaves through the nigh on tropical storm force winds, torrential rains and even hail that have been wreaking havoc on the Bayou.  

  While the days have been gray and gloomy, this hickory tree seems bound and determined to brighten the day.  It has succeeded....it brightened mine when I looked up to see it gorgeous color!

Wooden Lace

  Lace is an openwork fabric.  Silk or cotton (usually) thread, is looped or woven into intricate designs making a delicate cloth..(again..usually). Wooden Lace is an openwork design cut into wood and used in making fine furniture.  It is called fretwork.  Sometimes my definitions are a bit skewed.  I can find the oddest things here on the Bayou.  This time, Mark and Son were cutting down a dead hickory tree to be used as firewood. The tree stood right next to the lane making me a bit antsy that it might fall atop some visitor's vehicle so it just had to go.  After the initial felling of the tree, I was able to examine the old stump.  Where I occasionally find critters, I found lace...wooden lace!  This "lace" was the remains of the inner core of the tree that had been riddled by some sort of bugs. The insects, themselves, were long gone much like the heart of the tree.  

  A lot of our trees are still showing damage brought on by hurricanes of the past..specifically Hurricane Katrina.  The winds twisted and turned the trees until enough damage was done to allow wood borers to enter.  Now, years and years later, a tree will suddenly die from no apparent reason.  If the tree is cut, like this one, the evidence of the borers and their larvae becomes obvious.  The entire heart of the tree is gnawed into a lacy pulp as the larvae create galleries or tunnels.  Sad to say, this kills the tree.  We are losing more trees each year.  

  Equally sad to say, there is not a lot we can do about the damage occurring to our trees.  The borers go unnoticed until the damage is done and then it is too late.  Spraying with a chemical insecticide could possibly kill the adults that live on the outside of the tree but the larvae are working on the inside. Plus, spraying an the entire acreage of woods is not feasible and could possibly do more damage than good.  Not only would the chemicals kill the borers but any animal or insect that happens to be in the way of the spray.  An occasional tree is the debt we pay to allow our critter friends to live.  As much as I hate seeing dying trees, wiping out all the critters in the woods is not the answer.  I do not know what is.....

 

 

Our claim to fame!

  It is a tad late for folks to fully enjoy the colors of fall.  Most other states had their peak of leaf color at least a month ago.  However!  Here on the Bayou, one tree is a showstopper! It is sort of our claim to fame when it comes to fall colors...at least for a couple of days. Until the next rain (which is predicted either tomorrow or Saturday), the hickory tree in the front yard is in its full glory!  This tree never fails to provide us with our "fix" of fall color albeit a tad later than most other spectacular colorings.  In the late afternoon, the setting sun lights this tree with a glorious bit of golden orange.  At times, the tree almost seems to be on fire with brilliance! With the first hard rainfall and first brisk breeze after it reaches this stage, the leaves will all be on the ground.  There they will not be so pretty as it means I have to do some raking.  Leaves are pretty on the trees not on the ground!

  This particular tree has be "through the mill" with problems over the past decade.  Hurricane Katrina actually split the tree asunder and left it mangled beyond belief. The damage left open wounds that were soon besieged by wood-boring beetles.  Their gnawing about in the inner part of the tree nearly caused its death.  At the time, there were more important things for us to be doing (like repairing a hurricane damaged home).  I figured the tree would go the wayside and we would be sawing it up for firewood.  Instead, the tree somehow survived.  The borers left on their own or due to the rampage of woodpeckers.  Either way, the tree seems to be much healthier nowadays.  It is growing at a good rate and bearing tons of hickory nuts.  (Those I gather for firewood instead of using my tree!)

  Now this tree stands in its beauty and reminds us to never give in to adversity.  Misfortune can befall any of us but with a little resilience and spirit we can survive.  Hopefully, we can all be a bit like this tree and share a bit of beauty with the world.  The tree with its gorgeous show of color...us with loving hearts and kind smiles.