For the past, oh, year or so, the Bayou has seen more than its share of rain. We are lucky, though, since we live high up on a hill overlooking the water. Other folks' places are pretty much soggy. Take a stroll through their yards and you better be wearing waders. Your shoes are guaranteed to be sloppy wet otherwise. Here, however, the rain simply runs down the hillside and into the Bayou. It is not uncommon for a dark cloud to push up on the horizon in a moment's notice. More than once, I have been caught off guard and had to make a mad dash back to the Little Bayou House to escape the torrential downpour.
Earlier today, the clouds on the western horizon were particularly black and threatening. I had gone down to the pier to check the crab traps (which, by the way, are no more thanks to the alligator!) and noticed that a storm was quickly forming. There was only time to grab one photograph before thunder started booming overhead. Time for me to scoot myself back up that hill!
Later, I realized that I had inadvertently photographed a swallow at the same time as the cloud. These little birds were zipping about just above the water's surface as they snapped up all sorts of insects. The midges and mosquitoes did not stand a chance! There is a whole colony of the birds nesting in a cupola of my neighbor's house. The family does not seem to mind or are not aware of their house guests which makes it nice for both me and the birds! They have a nice cozy home to raise their young and I get free insect control. (Although....I would hate to be the one that cleans the cupola!)
The rest of the day was spent watching similar squalls roll in off the Gulf. All I could do was admire the photograph and my friendly, little photo-bomber!
I enjoy taking photographs of nature. There is so much beauty among the flora and fauna of this Good Ole Earth. During wintertime, I particularly love to photograph the waterfowl and this is for no other reason than the Bayou abounds with these birds. Sometimes the pictures are perfect while others, for one reason or another, are less so. Critters of all types have a tendency to move at the most inopportune times! It seems that I have not perfected the command of "pose". Once I have the birds in focus, they either take flight or dive under the water before the shutter does its thing. Wild critters are such fickle things!
The Hooded Mergansers are starting to filter into the area with the cooling weather. I noticed a few of the ducks paddling about under the pier and thought I might slip down to get a few pictures. Those little rascals saw me coming and scooted themselves out a bit but at least did not fly off into parts unknown. Ahhh, yes! A photo shoot in the making! I snapped pictures one after another without taking the time to check the clarity. I had to hurry since this was done in between rainstorms while Michael was checking the small skiff. I must say that it is difficult to get clear pictures in drizzling rain...in poor lighting...while shivering. Back inside the Little Bayou House, I checked my pictures to see if any were of decent quality. My ducks had been photo-bombed!
Not that it needs explanation to most folks but being photo-bombed means that someone (or something) had been inadvertently included in the photograph. The three ducks that were intended to be in the picture were joined by a fourth that I had not even seen. There in the picture was the fourth duck flying in front of the others. Aww, what a neat deal! Granted this is not a "magazine-worthy" photograph but it is at least interesting and does make me happy.
