When Oak Trees Get Mad?

   After a quite windy day here on the Bayou, the winds even got stiffer overnight.  Since this was not supposed to be anything near the strength of a tropical system, I went to bed, slept soundly and never thought about what was raging outside.  At daybreak, I ventured outside to find that the weather had not played nicely.  A huge oak limb had been ripped from the tree and flung downwards.  The 30ft long, nigh on 1ft in diameter limb was flung about 20ft from the tree and....smack dab on the top of Son's car.  Not good.  Not good at all!  His poor little car had been trounced!  The hood of the car was smashed inwards from the incredible force of the limb falling.  

  This is the second time that an oak limb has fallen on his car.  Just two years ago during Hurricane Ida, a different oak tree dropped a limb that went through his back window.  It seems the young man just cannot catch a break!  But...he handles these things well.  Both times, he has remained cool, calm and collected.  His only comments were (both times) "It could have been worse.  We are safe.  That is all that matters."  Both times, he has been correct.  Things could have been far worse.

  Thankfully, the insurance company has stepped forward and has agreed to pay for the damage.  Our agents are always so very helpful and try to make things as easy as possible.  They do this with a grand sense of humor, as well!  Son was asked what he did to "make the oak trees mad enough at him that they wanted to start throwing limbs at his car."  

Batten Down The Hatches!

   I am sitting here listening to the windows rattle as yet another storm system blows through the area.  Bat, the cat, and I are snuggled down while the storms shake the Little Bayou House.  So far, we have been fortunate with only straight line winds and lots of thunder and lightning.  Tornadic activity is all around us, however, so it is a bit nerve racking, to say the least.  Hopefully, this will pass soon and without much damage to anyone.  It is highly reminiscent of a tropical storm.

  I was out earlier today taking a few photos of the azaleas and spirea.  Neither of these will fare well through this wind.  We were only able to enjoy them for a few days but we DID get to enjoy them.  Life is funny that way.  Things come and go quickly.  Be safe, friends.  Be safe.

Storms. Oarlocks and Strange Happenings

  This is a telling of how storms can create, not only havoc, but strange happenings.  If you recall, a dear friend brought a very unique garden sign to the Bayou.  I have known this lady since I was a mere tyke so the sign was much appreciated and much loved.  It was immediately hung at the entrance of the gardens where it could be fully enjoyed.  Since the sign was created from a huge piece of driftwood, it only seemed fitting to use oarlocks as the hanging brackets.  Two oarlocks were inserted into pipes and used as handy sign posts.  It worked like a charm and made for an easy removal of the sign for the storm event we just endured.  

  This morning, after a very rough night of wind and torrential rains, Son and I went to observe and take inventory of what needed repairing.  One of the first things he noted was that a huge oak limb had fallen and hit the roof of the house.  Then, he spied that one of my oarlocks had been yanked from the metal pipe.  The oarlock was nowhere to be seen.  Son decided that the tree limb must have bounced off the house and hit the pipe sending the oarlock into flight.  We searched and searched but to no avail.  Of course, debris was everywhere and could have been covering the  9 inch oarlock.  

  Finally, a triumphant "Aha!" sounded and Son held up the wayward oarlock.  It had been flung over 25 feet from its station in the pipe!  Imagine the force taken to sling a heavy, iron oarlock some twenty feet....INTO a 50 mph wind!  It sure made me glad that I was inside when this strange event happened!  First, the falling limb, itself, presented danger but, if I had been hit by the 1 lb iron oarlock being flung with that much force, my head may have been knocked asunder!  

  After storms of this sort, one finds all sorts of odd things.  Some are trash.  Some are treasures.  Some simply are purely strange.  Tomorrow begins cleanup and pier rebuilding.  We will have a busy two weeks of hard work.

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.

 

Enjoying the Windy Day

  A few days ago, I spent the afternoon hiking about the acreage at my daughter and son-in-law's place.  They have such a nice place for hiking! Hills, creeks, woods, bogs...all make for interesting finds.  While out and about, she and I noticed a vulture flying high in the sky above us. Circling, circling...forever circling above our heads.  Hmmm, that did not bode well for something.  Hopefully, that vulture did not have his eye on us!

  Before long, we noticed that instead of one vulture, there were now several.  The number grew until there were dozens of the birds all circling around us.  Sometimes, the vultures would swoop down just above our heads.  This gave us a good idea of just how large the birds were and how gracefully they could soar.  The vultures were actually beautiful!  Yes, I know.  It is not often that you hear "graceful" and "beautiful" describing vultures but the birds actually are when you really start watching them and studying them.  We noticed that there were several Turkey Vultures with their telltale red heads and then dozens of the Black Vultures with dark colored heads.  

  With so many of the vultures flying overhead (we counted at least thirty!),  Elizabeth and I started pondering if some critter had died or was in the process of dying nearby.  We searched the area but did not find a thing.  Perhaps the birds were circling for another reason other than the old "Western" movie theory of a dying cowboy.  After not finding anything that could be "drawing" the vultures, we decided that the birds were merely soaring on the air currents.  It was quite a windy day making it perfect for a bit of high flying!

Storming on the Bayou

  Things look a tad bleak on the Bayou.  Today, like yesterday and the day before, severe storms dominated.  Thunder, lightning, torrential rains and high winds (at times, tropical storm strength) pounded the Little Bayou House and, for that matter, the whole South.  We have been under the gun for days now and all of this has kept me housebound.  Son and I have been running from one spot to the other battling leaks. The wind pushed rain down the chimney and under windows and doors.  One tiny leak in the roof made itself known by the tap, tap, tapping as the water hit the floor.  A pan under it will suffice until the weather permits a climb to the rooftop.  While I am not exactly happy with that, we are blessed. Others in the area had far worse troubles.  Flooding is the word of the day here and the threat of tornadoes kept us all alert and on our toes. Hopefully, tomorrow will see the system move on its merry way and we can have a bit of much needed sunshine.  

  Mark and I did make a quick run to the pier early this morning to check the little skiff.  Heavy clouds shrouded the horizon and gave us the gut feeling that we would not make it back to the house before being soaked. We did manage to sneak to the back to pick some of the navel oranges so I could fill my day making marmalade.  No sooner had we filled our bucket than the rains started once again.  A mad dash to the house led us to discover our mistake!  Instead of going out the backdoor nearest the citrus grove, we had used the front door heading to the pier.  Oops!  Around the house, I dashed.  I darted through the house to unlock the door for Mark who was carrying the heavy bucket of oranges.  Poor guy!  He was patiently waiting at the backdoor while getting soaked!  

  I am ready for this rain to move out of the area and a bit of cooler weather to settle in for a while. I have plenty of citrus fruits occupy my time.  Oranges, satsumas, grapefruit and kumquats all need to be canned, made into marmalade and butters and the peels dehydrated. The Little Bayou House will smell wonderful and the pantry shelves will be stockpiled once again.  With the marmalade made today, biscuits may just have to be on the menu for breakfast in the morning!