Cookpot or Cat Bed?

   I have been working at a fast pace to get the winter garden in the ground and redo most of the Little Bayou House.  It makes me feel good that the garden is at that point where it needs to just do its garden thing and the house is almost ready for holiday company then decorating for Christmas.  Whew!  Doing all of that left me weary, to say the least.  So, a new chore came to mind. 

  Hurricane Katrina (years ago) left me with all sorts of stuff.  Being one who hates to waste anything, I tried to repurpose or reuse my "finds".  There were treasures to be found in all that destruction!  The mountains of debris held so many things that just needed to be reworked to be perfectly good again.  It did surprise me to find so many cast iron pots among the debris.  How in the world did they float across that Bay (which is the only place they could have come from).  Cast iron is heavy!  It does not float!  Still, I dug out several nice pots and matching lids.  Some were cleaned and refurbished and given to those in need. Some I kept.  One nice sized dutch oven with lid was plopped in the back of the greenhouse and forgotten.  It was waiting for an opportune moment to be refurbished. Well, that was to be today!...at least, I thought.

  Since bringing the heavy pot up to the front steps, the thing has been claimed!  No, the original owners did not stop by and say "Hey, that is my pot that I lost during the hurricane!" (If that had been the case, I would have gladly returned the fine cookpot!)  No, Bat, the Bayou Prince Cat, claimed the dutch oven.  

  I guess placing the pot in the bright sunshine warmed it enough to be the perfect (purrfect) napping place for a chilly cat.  Bat climbed in and promptly took a snooze. Well, you know how that goes.  You cannot move a napping cat for any reason so the pot sat for another day.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be the day that I buff the rust off and then oil and bake the pot and lid.  Since we are having a bit of a cool spell, it is the exact time to do that as the heating can be done on the old woodburning stove.  Soon, another fine cooking vessel shall be put to use.  That is the wondrous thing about cast iron...it lasts forever with the proper care!  Now to find that cat another bed.  I have to admit that he did look mighty comfy in the pot!

Hold it!

  After a day of drizzling, our weather took a turn for the worse and the tornado sirens, once again, sounded on all sides of us.  At 4pm, the sky was pitch black, winds whipped the treetops and thunder rolled.  Then...the rains started.  At first, there was a nice shower but then, as Pop would have said, "The bottom fell out!"  Raindrops pelted the rooftop with such vengeance that it was difficult to hear conversation with the person next to you.  It was perfect!

  The only thing I can see bad about a nice stormy day is that the old dog, Mr. PJ, refuses to go outside.  If forced, he immediately turns and tries to bolt back in the door.  While I do not mind him being on his comfy bed, I am sure bodily functions should be attended.  Nope.  It is not happening.  Three times, I tried to get him out and down the hill.  Three times, he stalled at the door, reluctantly took a few steps out and then tried to return.  Twice, I managed to coerce him halfway down the hillside by going with him.  This worked somewhat but still no deed was done.  I found the dog sneaking back up the hill.  He was sitting at the door by the time I came through the gate.   Later in the afternoon, Son attempted to get the dog out.  He was smart and brought the leash.  Yep, Mr. PJ dutifully followed but did not "doo-tifully" do anything.  So, it is now dark, pouring rain and he is curled up on his bed as if he does not have a care in the world.  Hope he can hold it!

  As I said, hard rains are pelting the rooftop and thunder sounds in the distance.  It looks as if we are in this for the long haul and the weather forecast calls for much the same tomorrow.  This, my friends, is the start of "Winter in the Deep South".  The weather pattern will be much the same...warm, fog, rain, cold (well, our version of cold..."cool" to my northern friends).  Then the cycle starts over again.  I sure hope Mr. PJ gets over this determination to stay dry or else he will be doing a lot of "holding it".

Be Quiet! I Am Trying To Nap!

  Normally, I would say that blue jays are not my favorite birds.  They are raucous, eat my fruit and do not play well with the smaller songbirds.  I prefer those who can get along with other critters and let things stay happy on the Bayou. I will say, however, that occasionally the birds are good to have around the place.  In their defense, they do eat a lot of bugs, chase off the crows that feast on other birds eggs and make lots of noise.  Yep, that same cacophony that is often irritating, can also be a lifesaver of sorts.  The blue jays are the alarm system of the avian world.  Let one snake slither into sight and the alarms can be heard for miles.  Let a hawk, fly overhead and every bird and small critter knows to take cover because of the shrill yells.  Let a sleepy owl be discovered and it has to find a new snoozing spot because the jays scream bloody murder.  They do their part of protecting critters from a possible predator.

  This morning, I was sitting in the rocking chair looking out over the calm waters of the Bay.  The morning air was cool coming through the screen doors and I had a mug of hot coffee in hand.  All was right with the world or at least with my little spot of paradise.  Then, one jay started yelling breaking the silence of the morn.  Within fifteen seconds another blue jay joined the fun.  Then another and another and yet another.  Soon a dozen or more jays were in the top of a nearby pine tree.  They were joined by a bevy of other birds.  Woodpeckers, thrashers, wrens, cardinals...all were there to see what the trouble was and to help scare it from the area.

  Ok, so curiosity got the best of me and I left my comfy spot to go investigate what was causing all of the commotion.  It took me a few moments to find the jays' target but, just as I thought, it was a potential predator.  A beautiful owl was perched on a high limb in the same pine tree.  With my presence, the jays soon decided to depart which encouraged the other songbirds to go about their business as well.  The owl, on the other hand, stared at me groggily as if to say "May I please get some sleep?"  Yep, Mr, Owl! Take a nap!

Just how??

  I realize that critters are a bit different than we are but not in so many ways that it should be hard to understand their actions.  To be honest here, I do understand critters far better that I do humans so perhaps this misunderstanding is a human thing and not a critter thing at all.  I am referring to Mr. PJ the old dog that has come to live here on the Bayou for a while.  He needed a home so I provided it.  He is welcome to stay here for the rest of his life (or mine, if he outlives me).  My previous doggy friend was easy to understand.  She and I could communicate with each other on a more personal basis.  Perhaps it was because Ms. Ez, the Bayou Dog came here at a mere five weeks of age and stayed until her passing.  But we understood each other and could anticipate what the other was doing even without words.  Mr. PJ, on the other hand, came here late in his life and, while we are making extreme progress acclimating to each other, I still ponder a few things.  

  One of the most unusual things that the old dog does is fall in a deep sleep in the most unusual positions.  Yesterday, Mr. PJ fell asleep on the pier.  I do not blame him.  The warm sunshine, the sound of the waves gently rolling under the pier and the knowledge that both of us were there together, made the place comfortable.  It was his position that made his slumber confusing.  The dog was on the pier with his front feet extended and his head upright yet he was in a deep sleep.  How do I know?  He was snoring, for goodness sake!!!  Just how/???  My head bobbles all over the place if I dose while sitting upright!  Not him! He was quite magestic looking sitting there in the bright sunshine!

  Mr. PJ and I have adjusted well into our new friendship.  In fact, we have become best buddies and feel lost without each other nearby.  I am glad he is here and I think he is just as glad to have come to the Bayou.  This is going to work out just fine.  I might remain a bit confused with his antics but it is going to be just fine.

Nap Time!

  It was gorgeous today!  The sun was shining, the temperatures were warmer and I was able to get outside to work in the garden.  Here it is mid-January and I am planting cabbages.  In November, I planted nigh on 150 cabbage plants in the garden but, as luck would have it, one frost killed a good many.  I have learned a lesson.  Do not trust a weather report!  Go out and cover your plants if your gut instinct tells you that it is going to get colder than what the forecast says.  I did not. The plants that were out in the open, met with problems.  They might still have pulled through their stunting by frost but with nearly a hundred little seedling plants still waiting to be transplanted, I opted not to wait and see.  Today, I pulled out all of the frost-burned plants and replaced them with fresh ones.  The gardens, once again, look happy!

  While I was out digging in the dirt, I kept hearing a bird call off in the distance.  It sounded as if it was in one of the pines near the edge of the Bayou.  The call was not one of distress nor of urgency but rather a calming, soft call.  Hmmm?  Well, there was just one thing to do....investigate!  I figured that this was either a hawk or an osprey but usually their calls are a bit more screeching and high-pitched.  This was more like cooing if a bird of prey could coo.  Grabbing the camera, I headed down behind the greenhouse.  My curiosity got the best of me, I guess!

  Sure enough, an osprey sat in a pine tree across the Bayou.  This tree had been struck by lightning last summer and was quite dead.  Nary a needle could be found on the branches.  The bird did not seem to be hunting,   It appeared to be more like....sleeping.  I do suppose that birds (even ospreys) need to nap now and again.  I watched as the bird's head nodded occasionally.  Perhaps it was basking in the sunshine and the warmth made it groggy!  Since the bird was not doing anything exciting like catching a fish, I decided to let it doze in peace.  

  Chores called.  I pushed the wheelbarrow down to where Michael was splitting firewood.  It was my job to load the thing with the nicely cut logs.  From here, I could keep an eye on the osprey.  I wanted to make sure that the bird was indeed napping and not ill nor hurt.  Toting the wood to the woodpile took a while and just when I was doing the last haul, I saw the osprey leave its perch.  Out over the water, it flew.  The bird was fine.  The hunt for supper was in full swing.  I guess the bird was refreshed and hungry once again!

Crazy Ezzy!

Ms. Ez spends the majority of her day standing guard over the bird feeders.  She feels it is her duty to keep any and all squirrels from ever taking a single bite.  If any of these furry rodents ever decide to make a meal of the plentiful sunflower seeds in the feeders, she chases them far away.  If she trees one, Ezzy sits right there watching that tree for the rest of the afternoon...or until she falls asleep!  Naps are highly important in a dog's life!  Today was no different.  The watch began at dawn when I filled the five feeders.  She planted herself underneath the feeders and waited.  Sure enough, in ran the first squirrel.  Ezzy bolted after the squirrel chasing him all the way to my brother's house.  She returned in a few moments to continue her guard.  Squirrel number two was chased around back of the house to the grapefruit tree.  She returned.  Ms. Ez knows that she is not to go gallivanting about the hillside without my approval.  The third squirrel made haste to the tall oak tree just down the board path from the feeders.  She had this one treed!  Plop! Down she sat to wait!  That squirrel would have a hard time to ever leave the tree.  This tree was a mighty unfortunate choice as a refuge.  Ez was not likely to leave her guard..if she could stay awake.

Late afternoon saw Ms. Ez in a most unusual position.  I pondered if she was hurt or ill.  I had gone to check on PJ, (aka "poopy puppy") only to find Ezzy upside-down!  Her feet were straight up in the air!  Oh, no!  She looked a good bit like "roadkill"!  Hmmm?  Perhaps the squirrel had gotten the best of her or maybe she was just looking at things from a different view?  I called.  She flipped upright and ran to the tree!  She had been caught napping on the job!  Sure enough, the squirrel had made its escape and sat in a nearby mimosa tree!  He was chattering up a storm at the bewildered dog.  Poor old Ez, she looked a bit humiliated!  It did not take her long to take up her place under the feeders again.  She was more bound and determined to catch that squirrel now!  I blame it on the sun!  That warm sunshine beamed down on her and she did not stand a chance!  Yawn...hmmmmm...nap.