Nice To View From Afar

   I can remember that as a kid, it was sort of a special thing when a Canada Goose would visit the Bay.  It was a rare sighting as the birds were migratory and seldom stayed here long.  Now, however, it seems we have a bunch of the critters that somehow, somewhere became confused or exhausted by all that travel.  These decided to stay and become "Southern Geese".  Perhaps they liked the warm weather here and said "Nope.  That trip is long.  How about we just stay?"  And they did.  Geese are everywhere/  What once was a rare occurrence is now an everyday thing.  No longer can we sit on a screened porch or lawn chair and marvel at the sound of geese overhead and then say "Winter is coming for sure!  I hear the geese!"  That, my friends, is a thing of the past.

  Sitting on the pier, I watch the geese in the open spaces along the shoreline.  Along with the building of new houses has come the clearing of property.  Those once wooded areas are now grassy lawns or vast, empty spaces of future lawns.  The geese love these areas!  Grass is the mainstay of their diets and a single mature bird can eat up to 4lbs a day!  Eating that much also makes them poop a lot which soon becomes an undesirable feature of so many geese in the yard.  This is exactly why I keep our place filled with plants, shrubs and wooded areas.  Geese are not fond of any place that has possible hiding spots of predators.  Yep, I love geese.  Nope, I do not love the mess.  I will continue to watch them across the way.

Low Tide Disappointment

   After a more or less sleepless night of worry about family members being in the midst of Hurricane Ian, I grabbed a mug of coffee and headed to the pier.  That is where I can soothe the mind of all its anxiety and find peace in the soul again.  The wind was chilly this morning so I did not even stay to watch the sunrise.  Later, however, I headed back to help Son do some repairs on the small skiff.  Once I figured out that I was more in the way than anything, I meandered back to the end of the pier.  The north wind had blown the water far from the marsh and left mudflats for some thirty feet.  That was not surprising but the next thirty or so was.  Maybe surprising is not the word.  Maybe disappointing is more appropriate.  

  With the water only a mere six to eight inches deep, I could see everything that is normally hidden.  While I knew what was there, I had no idea the extent of it.  As far as I could see there was a mass of weird green, growth.  Never before have we had "grass" under the pier.  This is not truly grass but is a pond plant that was sneakily dumped in the Bay by someone.  It took hold and now has spread like wildfire.  It is clogging all the bayous and now has begun its spread outward from the shoreline.  The stuff makes it almost impossible to throw a net or cast a line.  It also winds around boat propellers rendering them quite useless if not untangled.  It is just a mess.  I am torn between calling it Coontail (which is what a biologist told me) and Hydrilla (which is what Google told me).  Either way, it is highly invasive.

  Like I said, it was disappointing to see that this growth has spread so rapidly.  It is also disappointing that, although reported to the proper authorities, nothing has been done.  The usual "run-around" was given and nothing...NOTHING...has or will be done.  The bay and bayous will continue to become more and more clogged until nothing can survive. It is saddening...disappointing...to say the least.  Rant over...I am tired.

  For any who may be interested, my family members all made it through the hurricane with little to no damage.  I am just so thankful they are all safe and sound.  Hurricane Ian...go away now.

Just Thinking!

   The recent bouts of small storms that have hit the Bayou have left a good deal of work behind.  After each, we have to repair any damage to the place or pier and cleanup a debris line from the storm surge.  This is nothing compared to what the good folks in Louisiana are dealing with but is still a chore to tend.  While Son is making repairs to the storm ravaged pier, I am on cleanup detail.  I get to deal with that debris line and any downed limbs.  

  This morning, I pondered the "marsh mats" that are left behind by the storms.  Dead marsh grass is toss and turned by the waves until it becomes almost woven.   A strong storm makes thick mats.  The recent gale to hit the Bayou picked up the leftover mats from the previous blows and  added to the mass.  Now, the current mats are nigh on two feet thick.  The tumbling of the dead reeds weaves the mats and the tidal surge lifts them and carries them to the shoreline or beyond.  Often, trash becomes entangled in or floats atop of the mats.  Once on shore, this becomes a thick mess that has to be hauled away or burned.

 My ponderings were to the point that something could be done with these mats.  There has to be some use for such things!  Surely, some creative person can figure out a useful purpose!  Then, I can "donate" my marsh mats and be free from the work of removing them!  (Genius at work here!)  If I can only get someone to "want" those mats!  

  In reality, I leave the outer mats as they are.  They do provide shelter for many critters during the winter months and often critters make dens beneath the thick mats.  The woven grass makes an ideal roof to cover the dens and protect the little ones.  Otters love these things! So do the nutria, marsh rabbits and a lot of birds. Anything not up in the yard, can stay for the critters!  (I am just figuring ways to get out of work, in case you have not noticed!)

  

Klepto-Rats!

   I am still battling the rats and raccoons that have invaded the greenhouse.  It appears that they have taken a liking to the place and are not going to give it up easily.  Of course, I am slow as I do not wish to stick my hands where one might take a snap at me.  Plus, given the easy access to an entire colony of rats, it would not be unreasonable to come across a lovely snake under some of this mess.  I am not sure which took up residence first but the raccoons are most likely the ones to have rummaged through everything and made perfect hiding spots for rats.  Whatever the case, they seem to be coexisting right well.   So, in the meantime, I am emptying the entire greenhouse...of EVERYTHING...rats and raccoons included. It is amazing how the critters took over the place in the three months that I was incapacitated.

  I will say this about those rats.  They are not stupid.  They have created many exits by gnawing through window casings and have tunneled from nest to nest.  Each nest (I have found 6 so far) has a stockpile of food, toys (?) and bedding.  Spanish moss is the lining, unopened seed packets are the food and, well, the toys are the odd part.  I am calling them toys because I have no clue what else the critters could be doing with their "collectibles".  Also, it is quite evident that these are true "Bayou Rats"!  The toys are mainly seashells that I had stored in large baskets. These were ones that were used in craft projects but were too bulky to keep inside the house.  Each nest had an assortment of the shells (and one toy bird!). 

  Also stored in the greenhouse was the leftover clue hunt props.  Most were leftovers still in place from when the place was reinvented as a Swamp Witch hut for the pirate themed hunt last year.  Any good Swamp Witch has to have an odd assemblage of concoctions.  Jars and jars of things like swamp water, lizard toes and jellied wasp nests lined the shelves. Mostly, these were not tampered with by the rats.  In fact, only one jar has been found in a nest.  A jar labeled "Sea Nettle Tentacles" and containing hot glue drippings in water was found uncapped in the nest.  The "sea nettle tentacle" glue strings were neatly packed in with the Spanish moss.  Why?  How?  I have "Klepto-Rats"!

  So, tomorrow will find me back in the greenhouse again.  Since the place is now completely void of contents, it is time to do some repair work and figure out how to keep this from happening again.  Then, only important stuff will be returned to its place.  Flower pots, gardening tools and fertilizers seem ok.  Seeds?  NO SEEDS!  Nope, not happening!  All seeds will be placed in the old metal toolbox that can be locked!  Sorry, Critters, the buffet is closed.  

  

The Tangled Mess

  I have always been fascinated by spiders and spider webs.  Not that I particularly wish to find them in the Little Bayou House but I have been known to not kill them.  It is a fact that I will gently catch and move a spider if it is deemed bothersome.  Spiders are good.  They eat other critters that infest homes.  To my way of thinking, it is far better to have a couple of spiders than a house full of roaches, fleas or other creep-crawly critters.  Don't get me wrong here!  I will occasionally kill a spider.  Brown recluses or any of the widows are on the "evil" list.  I was bitten years ago by a black widow and do not wish to repeat that!  To be honest, I get bit by some sort of spider almost weekly but the widow did the most harm.  

  Another facet of the world of spiders that I adore is their webs.  While I admit that (again) I am not fond of them in the house, outside is a different story.  The webs are interesting.  Let a light fog or misty rain fall upon the Bayou and every web is a jewel-encrusted decoration!  The sheer strength of the webs to hold so much water is impressive.  Most of the spider webs are of the orb type.  The spiders will string webs between two trees, in the marsh or even on the side of the house, itself.  Once the fog rolls in, the webs catch the drips and hold them tight.  Occasionally, I will come across a web of one of the "tangle-web" spiders.  These are the ones that build webs with no particular design other than a mass of sticky silks.  Think cobwebs here.  The tangle-web spider family includes the pretty docile house spiders, several species of the yard spiders AND the widows.

 Walking after the rain the other night, I came across a tangle-web.  One of the common yard spiders that created its web between some twigs and grasses.  The spider was not to be found.  The web had been abandoned during the torrential downpour.  With the spider gone, I was able to confidently examine the web without fear of disturbing my little friend.  Yep, it was definitely a tangled mess!  It was easy to see how a hapless bug could become ensnared in this mess!  

  The web was left intact just on the outside chance that Friend Spider was going to return.  Perhaps with the next hike the spider can be identified and photographed but, for now, the web was my interesting find of  the day.