Marsh Mat Mulch

   So far, this has been a strange February.  The weather has not been particularly cold but has been somewhat wet and windy.  Normally, one thinks of "winter" winds being from the north and cool.  Not here.  Our wind has mainly been blowing from the southeast which makes for an unusual occurrence.  While the north winds blow the tide far from the shore and we have a lot of mudflats exposed, the southeast winds do just the opposite.  We have unusually high tides.  In fact, those wind-blown tides have rivaled any small tropical system.  This is very wearing on the marshes.

  This morning, my walk to the pier showed me just how rough the weather has been.  Neatly laid across the tops of the marsh grass were what I call "marsh mats". These mats are created by the high tide and large waves pulling dead marsh grass from around the roots and stacking it atop the living grasses.  The mats are about a foot deep in places and tightly woven.  A person could easily walk across the mats without ever worrying about the mud beneath.  This usually happens during the late summer and fall when tropical storms whip across the Gulf and enter the area.  

  While the mats do make great hiding places and eventually snug dens for many of the critters of the Bayou, I wish the stuff would wash into the yard.  Yeah, strange wish but I have my reasons.  These marsh mats, once cleaned of any trash, can be mulched.  That mulch has proven to be ideal for the gardens and I am in dire need of it around the cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli plants!  It involves a bit of work but the gardens would benefit greatly from the nutrients found in the ground up marsh.  (This brilliant idea of grinding and using the marsh as mulch came after Hurricane Zeta when we were inundated with debris.  I was using an old lawnmower to grind the debris line when a friend had the grand idea of using it as mulch.  It is amazing!  Nothing goes to waste!)  So...perhaps one of these "winter" storms could push this stuff a wee bit further in the yard...not far...just a wee bit??  Maybe?

The "Disappearing Pier"!

   For about the last 16 hours, the weather has decided to pummel the Bayou with some messy stuff.  So far, our neighbors to the west have caught the brunt of it but as I write this, we are starting to receive their leftovers.  The good folks of Louisiana and Texas just cannot seem to catch a break.  Hopefully, the system will weaken before wreaking much more havoc.  

  I was on the pier early this afternoon during a break in the weather, then again, just before dark.  Our pier is the only one within view that is still "within view".  The others are all underwater.  The tide (pushed by the strong winds since early this morning) is well up in the yards of anyone living on the waterfront.  It always strikes me as a bit disconcerting to see the piers underwater.  The posts lead to nowhere.   Just before nightfall, Son and I had to go salvage our small skiff.  He had gone down earlier to secure it better but the winds and waves proved that the storm was stronger than rope.  The front tie-rope had broken leaving the skiff askew.  It was being battered by the winds and was wedged under the pier.  While he shimmied the boat from under the pier, I was in the front trying to shove it out of the marsh.  I am getting far too old for this!  Once we freed the skiff from its precarious situation, we pulled it far up in the cut to calmer waters.  There it should be able to ride out this squally junk.

  Folks, if you are inclined, the folks in the path of this system could use all the prayers you can muster.  There are going to be some pretty ugly damages come morning light.  Tornadoes are ripping whole towns.  People are going to be hurting and will need our support.  Stay safe.  Be kind.  Lend a helping hand.

Windy Days, High Tides and Silly Birds!

   For the past few days, there has been some sort of weather system in the Gulf that has been pounding us with strong easterly winds that pushed the water way up higher than usual.  This high tide presented its share of problems with securing the skiff and with knocking loose a few of the pier boards.  Thankfully, none of the boards were lost as they were simply washed over to my brother's yard.  Once the tide recedes, they will be hauled back and another attempt at finishing the repairs will take place.  This was damage from Hurricane Zeta last fall and here we are looking at another system already.  The hurricane season was started a month early to compensate for what the forecasters are calling a "busy" year.  Great.  Just great.

  Not all is bad with the wind and high tides.  At least, there are no gnats as those rascals have been blown to parts unknown.  That is fine by me.  Now if the wind could possibly do something about the mosquitoes and deer flies, I would be one happy camper.  Speaking of happy campers, the egrets are taking full advantage of the tide being pushed well into the yard.  With the high tide, small fish and minnows are also up well into the yard.  The egrets and herons are "wade-fishing" on the grass!  While Son and I watched several egrets were snapping up minnows and, Moe, the Great Blue Heron awkwardly chased a mullet that had somehow found its way onto the grass. The birds were getting plenty to eat today!

  The tide will be up until the storm goes inland then, hopefully, things will settle down a bit.  It has been a windy week and I am ready for a change.  I have a lot of chores needing to be done that just cannot be safely tended with tropical storm force winds whipping about the place all day.  Until then, I will sit back, enjoy the gnatless days and the show put on by the birds.  

Enough Board Hunting!

   It seems that 2021 took lessons from 2020 in what weather to throw at us.  Just two days ago, Son struggled to haul the massive pier joists up out of the marsh where a storm tossed them.  These things are a couple of hundred pounds bone dry but let them become waterlogged and they are easily twice that.  The lifting was bad enough but to do that lifting in sloppy mud and sinking up to your knees in the muck and the job becomes an ordeal.  He managed to retrieve the planks and even toted a few more to the pier thinking surely there would be a few days of clear.  There was...a few days...but other duties called and the pier boards sat in place without being nailed.  Now, another storm is on the horizon.  This one will, once again, push the tide high enough to float the joists off the stringers.  

  Thinking ahead this time, Son went down and temporarily bolted the joists to the stringers.  They are not in the exact places but, hopefully, will stay in place.  He does not need to be tromping about in the marsh to retrieve them for the eighth time within as many months.  Our poor, little Bayou has been pummeled recently.  

  The storm that is to hit tonight and tomorrow is predicted to come in on high tide just as the last one did. That means the pier will be underwater and anything on top will be gone.  Thankfully, we had a bit of warning this time.  Everything is secure.

  To top it off, just last night, I heard that the 2021 Hurricane Season is expected to be another busy one.  In fact, some meteorologists are calling for a more severe season than last.  Not good...not good at all.  We do not need it.  No one on the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida needs it.  The good folks in Louisiana are still reeling from the damage done there.  Mississippi is much the same.  We need a break.

  The storm tonight is not going to be near the strength of a tropical system but will bounce things around a bit.  It just gets a bit frustrating to keep having to find our pier!  After Hurricane Zeta, we salvaged over 3000 boards...ours, our neighbors' and some from parts unknown.  That was enough salvaging!  Time now to finish the rebuilding without mucking in the marsh!  Stay safe, folks, stay safe.

Strange Things In Strange Places

    One never knows what may wash in with the tide around here.  We are accustomed to finding all sorts of "treasures" after a hurricane but having things come in during the winter months is a tad unusual.  The north wind has a way of pushing the tide far out from the pier leaving no water to float anything much less a bunch of oddities.  An oddity did make its way to a small inlet on the other side of my brother's pier (just to the west of us).  A freak storm from the south pushed the tide far enough up into the Bay that it left gifts behind for us.  By gifts, I mean debris that needed clearing.

  At first, I had no idea why a buoy was sitting almost on shore.  It then occurred to me that this thing was yet another "treasure" left behind by the high tide.  At least, it is not MY treasure and I do not have to discard that huge thing.  According to the "Regulatory Buoy Markers" list, the marker seems to be either a "no swimming" marker or a "swimming" marker as both have a huge red diamond mark in the middle with an + in the middle.  I find it odd that both have the same emblem but, hey, no one should be swimming in this area anyway.  First, there are alligators that do not like to be disturbed.  The gators stick to the small inlets where they will not be harassed by people but will defend their territory if necessary.  People are the intruders...not the gators.  Second, the bottom here is mud...soft, mushy mud that makes it easy to sink up to your waist in no time flat.  In a matter of minutes, you can become hopelessly mired!  The mud has been compared to the "quicksand of the Deep South".  Third, under that mud lies anything that previous tides, reckless people and numerous storms have dumped into the area.  This means everything from broken glass to boards with barnacles or other pointy, sharp things hide just out of sight. 

  I am not sure what the writing says on the buoy but lets hope no one takes it to heart that this is a "swimming" area.  Once in, a swimmer may become stuck and, as that person sloshes around trying to free himself, all of the gators in the inlets will be alerted to his presence.  The gators will come to investigate causing panic in the swimmer.  Said swimmer will slosh even more to get to safety and may just happen to stir up some shard that causes a wound.  Things will go drastically downhill from there.  Again, people are the intruders...the gators live here.  But...sadly, if an alligator ever does defend it territory, it will be the one dispatched.  

  The buoy sits right against the shoreline in about a foot of water.  Hopefully, another storm will come in and either wash it further ashore or back out to where it originated.  Also, hopefully, people use some commonsense when it comes to being around the bayous and not need some marker to inform them one way or the other.

Stranger Things...

  There are times that the Bayou presents me with things.  These items come from parts unknown and are washed in on high tides.  Let a tropical storm or hurricane whip in here and the trove is quite unbelievable.  One never knows what will be found in the yard.  These "treasures" are often mostly trash that needs to be discarded but occasionally a true "treasure" is found.  After hurricanes, I have found furniture, household items and tools strewn about the property.  A lot of it is beyond repair but there are pieces that can be restored to be useful. Trust me when I say, I am not so high and mighty that I will not use the stuff.  I have.  We were always taught that it is purely wasteful to not at least try to repair and reuse items.  

  The past week has brought some odd weather to the Bayou.  A tropical storm hurried through only to meet up with a cold front coming down.  Mother Nature's whims sent things into a bit of a turmoil.  Not much was hurt in the wake of this but a few things were tossed around.  No biggy.  Then, we were bombarded by the system that sits on top of us now.  This one is "no biggy" either but it gave a bit of wind and copious amounts of rain...and is still giving us rain.  Last night, one squall gave up a "treasure".

  Early this morning, I carried the old dog out to do his business.  While I was headed to his favorite spot, I noticed something strange.  A beach ball had obviously flown in on the wind.  While this is not overly unusual, the spot where it landed and became lodged was.  Son built a "brig" or jail (of sorts) for the clue hunt.  Since the hunt takes place on an uninhabited (almost) spot, the pirates that were shipwrecked supposedly had to use what material was on hand.  The brig is created out of reed fencing and canes from our huge canebrake.  Somehow, that beach ball was tossed inside of the brig!  Now, the only thing that remains locked in our jail is a faded beach ball that came in on a storm.  

  Strange tides bring strange things.  The treasure trove of oddities continues to grow with each storm that surges across the Bay.  For now, the ball will remain in the brig.  There is one team left to compete in the annual hunt so we shall see their reaction to something so out of place it is hilarious.  Will they think this is some odd clue?  Or will they realize that Mother Nature played yet another trick on us all?

 

It Came...It Went

  It had been the perfect night for sleeping.  The old dog was snoring on his bed, the cat was snoozing near my feet and it was raining.  The soft thunder in the distance and the pelting of raindrops on the rooftop helped me to drift off into a deep slumber.  A good storm can always relax me so I got some much needed rest.

  Then along about 4am, a loud crash woke me.  Something had smacked the side of the house!  It was then that I realized that the wind was literally howling at the french doors.  Whoa!  The tropical system that was stirring about in the Gulf had decided to move ashore.  Even though, Olga went in to our west, we got a bit of the high tides and strong winds. 

  The storm did some slight damage to the pier but, other than the limb hitting the house, everything is good.  This one just sort of caught us off guard.  Son and I had pulled up the small skiff and had hauled the fishing gear up from the pier so there were no worries.  At daybreak, he and I headed down to retrieve the pier boards that were being ripped off.  Some we found.  Others floated off to parts unknown.  

  Storms like these keep us on our toes and make us realize just how small and insignificant we really are.  Things can change in a heartbeat with no warning,  It is best to use time wisely.

Not a Cottonmouth!

  I am first to admit that my vision is far from what it used to be even with the glasses that are always with me.  Not that it is terrible but sometimes, I do have trouble.  Couple that declining vision with a bunch of shadows and things can get downright befuddled.  Take this morning, for instance.  I was out at dawn with the old dog.  He had another rough night so I wanted to get him fed, out and back to his bed as quickly as possible. He needed his rest.  So, as we were slowly meandering down to his "spot", I had time to scan the marsh line for critters.  The tide was high and there was a bit of a south wind.  Suddenly, I spied something in the shallows where the water had come above the marsh line and was puddling in the underbrush.  A undulating movement of something...long, round, dark and wiggly.  Uh, oh.  Perhaps this was that large cottonmouth that I had seen earlier in the spring.  I was sure glad the old dog was not nearby.

  After I got him back safely inside, I ventured out to find my "snake".  I wanted to make sure the thing did not decide to make itself at home on the path to Mr. PJ's loo.  By now, the sun was starting to brighten things a bit which gave me a much better view.  To my surprise, that "snake" was still in the same spot...still undulating. 

  Whew!  I breathed a sigh of relief.  That "snake" was no snake, at all!  Some storm must have washed an old bike inner tube into the marsh and the high tide of this morning pushed it further ashore.  My "snake" was completely harmless.  There was no need to worry about Mr. PJ this morning.  Still, I will scan the path each time he walks.  With his vision and sense of smell going the wayside, I have to be extra vigilant....even to the point of watching for those "dangerous" bike tubes!

Marsh Mats and Critters!

  When the southeast wind blows hard, it cleans the marshy areas quite nicely on the Bay side.  The shore side, however, usually receives all the trash that was hidden in the grass.  I try to scoop up most of the trash that is within reach but I am sure not going to traipse about the mud to get stuff.   There are too many hidden dangers that lurk beneath the tall, waving reeds.  In the past few weeks alone, I have found two cottonmouths sunning themselves so there is no telling how many others go unseen.  The same tides and wind that clean the trash from the marsh also rolls dead reeds into huge marsh mats.  These mats house many critters.  They provide shelter for the snakes.  They make perfect thatched roofs for the otter and nutria dens.  They give escape routes for the rabbits and rice rats.  They, also, provide a nice "table" for other critters.

  A few weeks ago, Moe the heron took a large mullet to the marsh mats.  Here, the bird was assured that the fish would not "get away" if he dropped it.  Moe finished off the mullet with no eventful struggles.  These same mats now serve as a dining spot for the small otter pups.  For the past few nights, the otters have been feasting on the mussels that anchor themselves in the marsh roots along the shoreline.  The otters rip the mussels free and carry them to a mat.  The mussels are opened and the pups feast on the soft meats.  It is obvious by the number of shells left behind that the otters find the mussels rather tasty!

  While I find the marsh mats interesting and they do serve a lot of different purposes for the critter life of the Bayou, I can only imagine the mess if we get a hurricane.  All of this will wind up in the yard.  The marsh mats and the critters within will become one huge mess in the yard.  Hopefully, that will not happen and the mats will have time to rot before coming shore bound.

Deep South Winter?

  The weather on the Bayou sometimes is not as agreeable as we wish.  With family here for the holidays, it would have been nice to have sunny days so the kiddos could play outside.  Instead, we are having storms.  Not winter storms by other folks' means but Deep South Bayou winter storms.  Storms with rain and strong, gale force winds....and warm temperatures.  While I love a good storm, this mess could have waited until I could sit back and enjoy it.  Silly storm, what were you thinking?

  The good side of this is that Old Santa brought enough toys to entertain the kiddos for months.  They are fine.  They are squealing, running, jumping and playing until they drop.  The adults are mostly wishing they could nap the days away...except for me.  I am going stir crazy and this is only the first day of many of predicted storms.  A week!!  Yep, a week of storms should be pounding the Little Bayou House so I guess I will have to slip out in the rain if I want to keep my sanity.

 

High Tides Bring All Sorts of Things

  It never ceases to amaze me just how many things wash into the Bayou on a good high tide.  Besides the usual driftwood pieces, we receive every piece of trash folks toss overboard.  Some trash confuses me a bit, however.  There was the time that Mark pulled "Santa" out of the marsh.  Why Santa was ever in the marsh befuddled me.  Another time, a doghouse washed ashore and, albeit unusual, at least it was sans the dog.  We have found antique bottles, boat seats, rods and reels, stuffed toys, soccer balls and a poodle. (The poodle was sans the doghouse.  It swam all the way across the Bay before making its way ashore by the pier.)  Finding other folks' belongings makes you wonder about the how and why behind each one.

  This afternoon as the Mr. PJ (the old dog) and I were meandering around the hillside and marsh line, I came across another "find" that made me ponder.  A fire extinguisher had washed ashore under the old oak tree on the east side of the property.  The extinguisher was obviously from a boat and obviously, from the looks of it, had been pretty battered at some point.  Since I make this hike several times a day, I pondered why I had never seen the extinguisher before.  Perhaps this had come in on the high tides associated with Hurricane Nate earlier this year but was covered with other debris until now.  Winter tides are, as a rule, low due to the north wind so it could not have ridden the waves recently.  Who lost their extinguisher?  Had a boat sunk during that recent storm which was not much more than a good squall?  Did someone just toss the thing overboard as pathetic people tend to do?  Was it a working extinguisher when it was lost?  How long had it been in the marsh?  So many questions with no ready answers.  My find for the day is just another piece of trash at this point.  It will be fished out of the mud and disposed of properly along with the several dozen beer cans and drink bottles that I also retrieved today.  I sure wish folks would stop dumping their trash in my front yard (also known as the Bayou!).

East Winds Bring High Tides

  The weather has been a bit unsettled for the past twenty-four hours or so.  A stiff easterly wind has pushed the tide far up into the Bay.  Most of our neighbors' piers are under water.  Their boats sit moored unreachable.  A weather system has moved across the Gulf and is bringing rain, wind and high tides.  This is nothing to cause worry other than for those who have to travel flooded roads. Since I pretty much stay on the Bayou, I can purely marvel at the Bayou at is fullest.  The only threat we have is that critters from the marsh are now seeking higher ground.  It pays to be watchful when traipsing about the hillside.  Any number of snakes may be out and about but the only worrisome ones are the cottonmouths.  Others may give you a fright but the moccasin may give more than you bargained for.  I also have to keep close watch on PJ, the newcomer dog, as he may not be aware of the dangers of said snakes.  

  Pop always used to say that an east wind never brought anything good.  He was referring to fishing, of course, and claimed that "good" fish did not bite during an east wing.  I figured that since fishing was out other things should be done.  The inclement weather gave me the opportunity to work more on props for the upcoming clue hunt.  Our debut run is this Friday whether we are ready or not.  Mark has to go back to work so we rallied together a group of his brothers and sisters.  They will be our "trial" team.  Hopefully, things will run smoothly for them.  I have not been able to work as much on the props as I would have liked due to an injured leg but Son and one of his buddies have taken up the slack.  They have the "working" parts ready but the decorations are still not complete.  Today's work put me closer to finishing my parts but there is still a lot lacking.  Three more days to get things completed is pushing it.  Wish me well!

  The storms that roll in off the Gulf always inspire me and get the wheels in the brain turning.  There is just something about the excitement of a good storm to shake up things a bit and I definitely need a good shaking!  

A Wee Bit of a Storm!

  Living on the Bayou, we get our share of hurricanes and tropical storms.  This is not unusual in the least.  What is unusual is the storm that whipped in here yesterday evening and spent the night with us. This thing was crazy!  Today was a bit calmer in the afternoon but the morning was just about as severe as last night.  Our tide still has not subsided and occasionally gusts of wind rattle the windows.  The strangeness of the storm is that none of us were expecting it to amount to a hill of beans!  This is the remnants of that huge storm that slammed Mexico a couple of days ago.  It moved across Texas and then ventured our way.  Still nothing unusual except that it pulled copious amounts of moisture in from the Gulf of Mexico and dumped it on top of us.  Rain is good, though, as we were nearing drought conditions.  Folks here can deal with a bit of a storm if it brings the moisture needed to help our gardens survive.  Although, the winds whipped about the place, other than a few small limbs being blown down, nothing was damaged.  Even our clue hunt "Fortune Teller's" tent held tight and did not even leak! This was one of my main worries as we have two runnings of the hunt this weekend.  It would have been ruinous had the tent been capsized! Erecting a new tent would meant a bit of scrambling for Son and me. We did have the foresight to secure the tent with ropes prior the storm's approach.  

Our pier just after the tide and winds subsided a bit.

Looking west I could see that my brother's pier was completely underwater. 

  All night long the wind blew and made the windows rattle and also made the old cat, Ms. Put, nervous.  The Bayou Queen slept inside for the first time in many nights.  Her presence was welcome on this blustery night. Ms. Nycto, the Bayou Princess, insisted on sleeping on the porch rail regardless of the rain.  I have never seen such a thing as a cat that doesn't mind a pouring rain!  Several times, I tried to coax her inside but she was not having any part of that idea.  This morning, the goofy cat was soaking wet but a happy camper.  She was none the worse for wear and seemed a bit smug that she had succeeded in getting her way.   Whatever.

  Lets hope that this peculiar bit of squally weather is the last we shall see of "Patricia" and of the weird weather that comes with El Nino.  Go away.  I am not fond of you.

Beneath the waters...

With all of the crazy weather we have had here on the Bayou this past week, critters are starting to act a mite confused.  Rain and wind have pelted us for most of every day.  This wind has made the tides run a bit above normal so land critters that dwell in the marshes have retreated to higher ground.  Water critters have taken to exploring their new domain of marshes and beyond.  Minnows, fish and crabs all have wandered sometimes a bit too far into the marsh and then have struggled to return to the Bay.  We have to watch our footsteps as to not step on a Cottonmouth Moccasin as they too are seeking a bit of dry land.  Once this bit of tropical-like weather passes and things get back to normal, the critters, too, will do the same.

Near the shoreline, there has always been a stack of wide boards that were left by the crew that put in our pier posts.  They had a large pile-driver that was sitting on wooden "skidders".  The tractor unit slipped upside-down into the water leaving the boards to be shoved deep into the mud.  The workers left them right there!  I have news for you...I sure am not going to get down in the marsh to pull out these huge planks!  There are too many critters that might just take a liking to me and have me for supper!  Anyway, now the boards are becoming a sort of habitat in their own right.  Bull minnows, fiddler crabs, garter snakes and, yes, moccasins all love to hide among the cracks and crevasses of the wood pile.   With the unusually high tides, the pile was completely covered with water making the perfect hiding spot for even more critters.  Yesterday, I sat watching the minnow trap.  Mark wanted to go fishing between rainstorms and needed bait. Since a goodly amount of bull minnows were darting in and out of the planks, I figured that would be a handy-dandy place to put the trap.  Sure enough, within minutes, I had caught a trap full of the tiny fishes.  Mark set off on his fishing trip and I sat watching the wildlife beneath the pier.  It was fascinating!

Bull minnows darted in and out of dark corners of the wood pile while fiddler crabs climbed about on the few remaining tips that were not covered by water.  It appeared as if they were playing that old game "King of the Mountain" since they would try to push each other off into the clear water.  Then a flash of red caught my eye!  Ooooh!  What was that!  Camera in hand, I stared hard into the depths of the water.  It was only about two feet deep at best but under the dappled shade of several trees, it was difficult to see.  My vision of red was a crab! Its shell was about four inches in length and it had thick claws.  This struck me as odd since we have Blue Crabs in the Bay and this was definitely NOT a Blue Crab!  I sat still hoping the critter would venture further out into the clearer water. I did not have to wait long!  There was just enough time to snap on picture before the crab scooted back down beneath the lower boards.  At least I had a picture to help me identify the crustacean!  My son's friend (my fish and sea critter expert), Taylor, was called upon to put a name to this crab.  My suspicions were confirmed when he sent me word that the crab.."Looks like a small Stone Crab."  Just the coloring alone made me suspect this to be a Stone Crab but I figured that I needed to check with someone a bit more knowledgeable.  To be honest, I did not know that Stone Crabs made their way this far inland.  I had never seen one in the Bayou before!  I wonder if my poor little friend is lost!  Well, he always has a home here!  I welcome all critters to dwell in peace here on the Bayou.