Things Are Better With A Hug!

   Back last month, I seriously thought my garden had met its demise.  A foot of snow covered everything...cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots.  It saddened me to think that all of the hard work put into getting a winter garden in would be killed by...what else...winter.  Snow and 14 degree temperatures are not a normal occurrence down this far south. Personally, I am glad it is not.  After the snow melted, I was surprised to see that most (not all but most) of the plants had survived.  Especially healthy looking were the carrots!  That blanket of snow did not seem to damper their ability to flourish.  What a difference in just barely a month!

  Today, being chilly, was a good day for a pot of soup.  I had made cheese bread yesterday so that just begged for a big pot of potato/broccoli/carrot soup only there were no carrots on hand and I sure was not making the trip to the store for one item.  So...potato/broccoli soup was started.  It still sounded wonderfully warming and delicious!  Midway into soup-making, I thought of my carrots in the garden!  On a whim, I dashed out the door and, sure enough, found carrots large enough to harvest.  I grabbed about a dozen and hurried back to add them to my pot of soup.

  While I was washing the carrots, I noticed that two of the carrots had literally "hugged" each other while growing.  They had twisted around on another in a tight spiral.  Sweet!  A thought occurred to me as I stirred the huge pot of soup.  Perhaps those two carrots were befuddled by the drastic temperature change last month and held onto each other for support!  Probably not except in my imagination.  I have a tendency to look for niceties whenever possible.  After all, all things are better with a hug!

  

Lucky, Little Blooms!

   Back in December, we had winter.  Yep!  Old Man Winter made his way this far south and dropped the temperature down well below freezing for four days.  While I do not mind cold, the garden was not too happy.  I had planted (over planted because people forgot to come get plants) cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, green peas, beets, mustard greens and collard greens.  Knowing the cold for that many days was going to wreak havoc on the plants, I spent two days piling leaves in the gardens.  I figured that covering the plants with a foot of leaves may help.  Well, it did...it did not.  Several hundred of the plants perished.  Others survived and are now doing well.  I did have to replant the entirety of the peas but they are growing extremely fast so, hopefully, peas will be on the menu soon.  

  Since the beets took a beating, I decided to plant spinach between the few survivors.  Checking the spinach seedlings caused me to find my smile for the day.  Since the nice weather has returned, the oxalis have emerged and are blooming!  I love these tiny plants so much that I allow them to grow wherever they wish...including in the beet/spinach rows.  It matters not.  

  Back years ago, Mark's grandma (Momie) showed me her lovely pot of oxalis and it was during our conversation that I learned how she adored the purple blooms.  She and I shared a good many times together and I grew to love the plants as much as she did.  Oxalis are also known as wood sorrel and bloom in some lovely colors including purples, pinks, whites and yellows.  Their leaves are what a lot of folks call "clover" when they find that "lucky" four leafed one.  Most of the time, the leaf stalk is topped with three leaves but occasionally a fourth leaf shows up!  I suppose it can be lucky if you wish since I feel lucky just seeing the pretty flowers as they tell me that spring is on its way soon.

Coming Cold

   Earlier I had to just take a break from cleaning out the greenhouse.  Exhaustion demands such, at times.  When the roof and windows blew out due to hurricane winds, it left all sorts of stuff inside that did not need to be there.  It was time to take a break from clearing the yard and clear the building. I started at daybreak and worked on through lunch before emptying it.  With it being, more or less, open to the elements, critters have taken a liking to the space.  That meant that I had to "decritter" it, as well.  It was during that break that I strolled down to the marsh edge.  I needed the peace that only the Bayou waters can bring.  While there, I noticed a flock of geese flying over the Bay.  They were headed west.  While a lot of folks look for the geese to be migrating before winter sets in, these geese were not foretelling the onset of cold weather.  They were merely heading to supper provided by my cousin, Michelle.  These fine feathered friends will not leave the area for parts unknown.  They stay here year round.  Those fat bellies give them no reason to go anywhere!

  The clearing of the greenhouse does foretell of a cold snap.  I had today (and today only) to get the place somewhat repaired for the plants.  The rains have settled over the Bayou and will be here for the next four days.  Then, we are looking at the first frost of the season.  That frost, while not bad on the vegetable garden, will be harsh on the few tropical, potted plants that survived the hurricane.  The Night Blooming Cereus plants will need special care for the next few months.  

  The greenhouse is as best that I can get it due to the amount of work that would involve to totally repair it.  My attempts will have to suffice.  A tarp roof may not be the best option but it will keep the plants from suffering frost burn.  Perhaps, this will buy me a little time before any hard freezes hit us.  Work...always work.  

Pink Accessories For Lady Spring!

  As rain pelts the rooftop of the Little Bayou House, one has to wonder if spring is already here.  The temperature sits right at 70 degrees and does not seem to want to make any slid downward tonight.  Perhaps later in the week, a cooler night or two may make an appearance but, for now, the weather is screaming "Spring!"  Not only are the temperatures higher than usual for February, our fruit trees have also decided that winter is over.  In fact, Old Man Winter never made it this far south and now Lady Spring is popping in for a visit.  Let's hope she brings a sweater or two just in case Old Man Winter is not through with us yet!

  This afternoon, a stroll about the gardens left me in awe that so many blossoms were on the fruit trees.  One in particular bothers me, however, as I was in hopes that the tree would have a nice crop this year.  In the east garden, a small peach tree is dotted with the dark, rich pink blossoms.  This tree produces the sweetest peaches that I have ever eaten.  Years ago, my uncle brought me a bag of peaches from Georgia and on a whim, I poked a seed in a flower pot.  (Now, I wish I had done the same with the whole dozen of seeds.)  The seed sprouted the next spring and grew quickly into a lovely tree.  After planting the sapling in the ground, it promptly made dozens of peaches that spring.  Last year, the tree was loaded but the squirrels and raccoons ate most of them so Son has promised to devise some system to keep the critters from raiding the tree if it makes this spring.  Now, I am not so sure that is going to happen.  If we get our late freeze that Mom used to call the "Easter Freeze", the tiny peaches will be ruined before they fully develop.  Mom always use to warn Pop about planting his crops too early because of this very reason.  He still planted and we wound up covering about sixty acres of small plants before nightfall.  At least, I am only worried about this one peach tree!  Yes, the rest of the fruit trees are blooming, as well, and, yes, they will freeze, too, but the pantry shelves have no peach jam.  I was in hopes that this tree would give me enough to remedy that situation!

  Even with the worries of losing the fruit, it was a pleasant surprise to see so many blooms on my walk today.  Usually, February is our grey month.  Grey skies, grey clouds, grey gardens...nothing has color but pink was the color today!  Lovely pink peach blossoms ruled the day!  The lovely Lady Spring chose to accessorize with pink blossoms!

Poor, Sad Flowers

  Fall was here!  Fall came.  Fall went.  Winter pushed it away.  That is ok.  I am good with winter but I do not like the idea of Old Man Winter killing my plants!  He just has no right to do that, if you ask me.  Actually, I was tickled to see that my struggling marigolds took off into a wild growth spurt in October.  The gardens look at least somewhat presentable for the clue hunt teams that trotted themselves about the yard.  Each plant shot out dozens and dozens of blossoms giving that perfect "Halloween" orange to brighten the otherwise drab garden.  Splotches of orange dotted not only the gardens but wherever the seeds decided to grow.  It made me happy.  Then winter happened in just one night.  ONE NIGHT!!!

 Now the pretty blossoms have bowed their heads and look dismal.  The marigolds, along with my once thriving bell peppers, are wilted and dying.  I knew this was inevitable but had high hopes that fall would be prolonged into more than a week!  Oh, fall, where did you go?  

  Nah, I am ok with it.  The gardens will be cleared and readied for a winter garden.   I was just pondering the planting of broccoli, cabbage and mustard greens.  I suppose this plan will be put into effect a lot sooner than I had expected.  Oh, well...broccoli is good...cabbage and mustard greens...good.  So long peppers and marigolds!

They are confused

  Things can get in a turmoil when get they get toppled.  A bit of discombobulation throws everything into a tizzy.  Our one day of winter, has the trees so confused that some are starting to bud.  Yep.  One day of winter is all it took.  The temperatures dipped to freezing overnight but by this afternoon, the bright sunshine made the trees think spring has sprung.  

  I was out clearing the garden space and pruning back some of the fruit trees but when I came to the peach trees, I was flabbergasted!  Those goofy things were setting buds and a few blooms had already opened.  Well, I have news for them!  According to the weather people, it is going to get cold here again in a couple of days.  I sure hope those peach blossoms have winter coats otherwise there will be no peaches come summertime.

  Weather here on the Bayou can go from one extreme to the other in a matter of hours.  While we do not have the frigid temperatures nor the mountains of snow, we do get "cold spells".  These, however, never last long and we go back to nigh on summertime.  I get confused so it is no wonder that the plants do the same.  Hang on there, peach trees!  Winter ain't over yet!  You are going to be shaking in your boots and there is nothing I can do to help you!

There is no water!

  My goodness!   When one thinks of a bayou, usually a bit of water winding through marsh comes to mind.  When one thinks of a bay, usually a large inlet of water comes to mind.  Not today.  Today, there was no water.  Nope.  The Bayou and the Back Bay were almost devoid of the wet stuff.  The water was gone...nowhere to be seen...vamoosed.  Overnight, the water had disappeared almost into thin air.  Where has all of the water gone?

  While there is definitely a lack of water here, it is no mystery.  Overnight, a cold front made its way southward until the north wind visited the Bayou.  It blew and blew.  Limbs crashed to the ground, outdoor furniture toppled and the water disappeared.  The north wind blew the water far out into the Gulf of Mexico and left mudflats nigh on as far as you could see.  Mud!  Lovely, mushy, quicksand-like mud now was laid bare by the winds.

The red arrow shows how far out the water was from the end of the pier this morning.  Mud flats!

  It always amazes me when this happens.  It is interesting to see what hides beneath the murky waters of the Bayou and Back Bay.  Exposed were all of the logs, derelict crab traps that (irresponsible) people leave behind and garbage that (stupid) people dump into the water.  Also to be seen was the myriad of critter tracks left behind by those in search of an easy meal.  Raccoons, fox, otters, herons, egrets and any other hungry critter could dine upon small fish and crustaceans trapped in the small puddles.  

  By late afternoon, the winds died down and the water returned to normal.  The temperatures started plummeting as soon as the sun set behind the pines and we will be witnesses to a tad bit of winter...albeit a short lived bit of winter.   With the cold tonight, the critters will surely appreciate the feast they found on the mudflats.  With their bellies full, they can hunker down in some snug spot and wait for the chill to pass.  I plan on doing the same. 

Soaking Up The Sunshine!

  So winter in the Deep South is doing its fickle best to keep us confused.  For the past few days, it has been feeling a lot more like summer than winter.  Two days of sunshine and temperatures in the high 70s makes me feel like doing yard work!  I pulled all of the plants out of the greenhouse and let them feel "spring" only to shove them back inside so they would not have to feel "winter" again tonight.  I am not the only one dealing with the moody Old Man Winter.  The critters of the Bayou are baffled, as well.  

  This afternoon's walk to the pier brought me face to face with a lovely, little lizard.  The little critter was sunning itself on the warm pier boards and had no intentions of vacating its comfy spot because I wanted to pass.  This lizard seems to live on the pier and has done little to protect itself from winter save going beneath the boards and down into the marsh.  There, it can burrow under some of the dead reeds and be quite snug.  Unlike its "landlubber" cousins up the hill, this little lizard can take full advantage of the warm sunshine.  The open area around the pier allows the sun to warm the place much faster than the mulch-filled areas of the shady woods.  There, the ground is still rather cold and the lizards are all still snug in their dens.  Several times, I have been cleaning the yard only to uncover a poor, cold lizard.  Whatever I moved is gently returned to its resting spot on top of the lizard that chose that place as its overwintering spot.  In contrast, my friend on the pier has been active almost all winter.

  One has to wonder if the pier-dwelling lizard had any idea how brilliant it was to choose the marsh as its habitat.  Other than an occasional high tide, this smart, little guy can live the good life.  There is plenty to eat, nice snug places to sleep and its on "tanning bed" also known as the pier.  Smart critter!

So No Snow...

  Our big winter event of the year was supposed to be a "dusting" of snow here on the Bayou.  For those who do not know, this would be a big event, indeed!  It rarely ever snows this far south and when it does, folks stop what they are doing to play.  Even the stodgiest of adults will marvel at the tiny white flakes falling from the sky.  Snow is just something we do not see.  That said...the snow was a no go.  Nope, nary a flake floated down from the sky.  No fluffy white snowman makings could be found adorning the yard.  Not a single snowflake managed to sneak its way to the Deep South.  

Ice coating the back steps going off the deck.  Think I will refrain from using these steps for a while!

  We did, however, have ice.  Just about dark, it started sleeting and, of course, there were the numerous rumors that this was snow.  Nope...just ice.  The type ice that makes your back steps treacherous.  The type ice that makes roads just slick enough to cause problems because folks do not use commonsense.  The type ice that one can do without.  This sleeting continued for several hours before finally ceasing after midnight.  This morning, with temperatures pushing the mid-teens, I ventured out alone.  I did not want the old dog to slip and slide down the ice-covered steps.  Needing an armload of firewood, I found that task a bit more than I bargained for as the wind had uncovered the woodpile and the sleet froze all of the wood together!  Oops!  Problem solved as the second woodpile was nice and dry.  

Icicle covered cedar tree caused by the hours of sleet last night.

  As I rounded the house to make my way back inside, I noticed my poor cedar tree looked like something from a winter wonderland.  Icicles dangled from every branch!  The little tree was bent over from its extra weight causing the icicles to dangle like a heavy, bejeweled fringe.  How lovely!  But how cold for the tree!  

  So our big winter event saw no snow....but lots of ice!....and icicles!....I headed back inside to stoke the fire and get another mug of hot coffee.  Whew!

If only for a Garden Party!

  Right at the moment, I am thinking (like most folks) that Old Man Winter has a tight grip on the nation and is refusing to let go.  This bit of winter storm after winter storm is putting the nation in a deep freeze or at least a definite icy chill.  Even the South is getting its share of wintry mix of snow and sleet.  Well, most of the South is seeing some such precipitation..on the Bayou, it is rain.  Cold rain but rain nonetheless.  This bit of weather is in stark contrast to just a few days ago when I was out taking pictures of a few flowers that dared to bloom. It was in the mid-eighties and quite sunny.  Now, I am afraid that my blooms might have met their demise in the coldest way possible.

  One of the early blooms is that of the Periwinkle or Vinca. My Periwinkle is a tiny sprig of a plant that insists on surviving even through the harshest of times.  It is one that I actually pulled up from my great-aunt's garden.  This had originally been my great-grandmother's place but later became Great-aunt Ruth's.  My great-grandmother had a nice size concrete koi pond in the back yard.  There the fish entertained and impressed the many who came to garden parties of the day. Guests would come dressed in their finest and munch dainty sandwiches, drink tea and watch the fish. Once the fad of such parties ended,the koi strangely disappeared, the pond was filled with dirt and planted with flowers...Periwinkles being one of many. These fine plants grew well and spilled over into the yard.  They were literally taking over the place. 

  My plant, however, remains puny compared to hers.  Perhaps I am doing something wrong or, depending on how you view it, perhaps I am doing something right.  At least my Periwinkle is not an invasive plant planning on taking over the yard. I cannot imagine that my single plant would do much to decorate the yard for a garden party but I do hope Old Man Winter will allow this one to continue growing!

Old Man Winter, meet Lady Spring!

  While most of the country is being bombarded with yet another bout of frigid weather complete with ice and snow, here on the Bayou, we are experiencing a different type of weather.  One day will be warm and foggy, then comes the almost hot and rainy followed by more cold. Today was that drippy, warm day.  Although the rain held off until nighttime, it was still humid enough to feel downright muggy at times. A strong south wind warded off any idea that it was summer since any wind coming across cold water can chill to the bone.  So, we know winter is still capable of pulling a fast one on us and freezing any plants that have dared to poke out buds.

  The cold hardy camellias are in full bloom.  These blooms seem to thrive in thirty degree weather.  Anything below that will mar the gorgeous five inch blossoms but they do, indeed, love cool weather. Old Man Winter holds the lovely pinks, reds and whites of camellias. Old Man Winter, meet Lady Spring!  She gently caresses the sunny daffodils...those harbingers of springtime!  A few brave souls have dared to show the pretty, bright blooms around the hillside.  The buttercup-yellow heads nod gently in the winds and bring a smile to all who chance upon them.  Sadly, they will surely perish in the coming cold.  

  It  bothers me a bit to see so many springtime flowers already popping out.  Our peach trees have decided that it is warm enough to burst forth with their pink blossoms.  Two nights from now, we are due for some more harsh cold and that will put a damper on any peach crops for this year.  Daffodils and peach blossoms should wait for a bit!  Lady Spring, I hate to tell you this but Old Man Winter may still have a few more tricks up his sleeve!

Old Man Winter

Old Man Winter has come to visit the Bayou early this year. I suppose the post I wrote earlier might actually have been a omen of what was to come. The squirrels and woodpeckers were busy all Fall stocking up on nuts and seeds and padding their nest extra warm. Now, there is frost on the pier boards making my early morning trek a bit treacherous. The dog, Ezzy, is not real sure she even wants to get out of bed before sunrise any more. She would much rather stay put next to the wood-burning stove than go out for a romp on the frosty grass. Still, I head out determine to enjoy as many peaceful sunrises as I can. This morning was no different..I was up and about at 5AM. The coffee pot was sending up the most delightful aroma as I slipped on my boots. I grabbed the heavy jacket and a mug of coffee and down the hill I went. The pier boards sparkled with the beads of frost as the morning light broke through but try as I might, no photograph seemed to capture the beauty. I sat there a bit longer. The sun was up now and to the south I could see a large V-shape in the sky! Geese! Already? It seemed a bit early in the winter for them but we are experiencing some really cold nights. I watched as they came closer and closer. No..not geese but pelicans. Bunches of pelicans! I watched them fly in formation and then swirl about changing positions. It almost seemed like they were trying to decide who was to lead them wherever they were heading. For a good ten minutes or so, I watched as the ever changing pattern of pelicans swooped around over the Bayou. At one point they seemed to collide with each other as they changed formation. I fully expected them to land but eventually they got it together and off they went..eastward. Eastward? Umm..oh, pelicans? Did you choose the wrong leader?

As I headed back to the house to chop some more kumquats for marmalade, a bright flash caught my eye. There in the Black Gum tree was the most beautiful cardinal I have seen in quite a while. Perhaps he is no different than the many others that visit the yard, except this one looked like a picture post card! A beautiful Christmas card! He sat there long enough for the camera to do its job then started fussing at me for not having the feeders filled. Each morning, I fill the feeders..each day the birds eat their fill..each night the raccoons wreck the feeders. This cycle goes on and on. I don't mind though. As long as it brings little bright spots such as this cardinal to my yard, I will continue to dole out the sunflower seeds!