Just Another Day

  I awoke to the sound of a storm pounding the Little Bayou House.  This was the first of a day long siege that the Bayou would see.  It was not too bad and, personally, I usually like a good storm.  Today, however, I wanted to be outside!  I did not want to be pent up like a chicken in a coop!  I wanted to be like the free birds that flit around in the treetops and take flight at whim.  Well, there was nothing to do about it other than don a jacket and escape the confines of the house.  I did.

  Once outside, the drizzly rain ran down my face and soaked me to the bone!  After just a half hour hike, I was shaking like a leaf in a windstorm so it was back to the house for me.  First, however, I needed to make one last run to the pier to check the small skiff.  It was on that path that I found the perfect description of the day.  A solitary bird sat fluffed against the rain and wind.  The bird had sought a meal from the seeds of the popcorn tree (Chinese Tallow Tree).  The few dead leaves, fat seed pods and sweet bird were set against the dreary, grey sky making it the perfect photo of the day.  Both the little bird and I needed to seek shelter so I bid it goodbye and hoped it found a safe place to spend the night.  I told it that there was plenty of room in the greenhouse if it wished to dry out and sleep safely.  How lucky I am to have the Little Bayou House to protect me even though there are times that I wish to escape.  Tonight, the storms are still raging. I am sitting snug thinking of my little bird friend. Hopefully, it found the greenhouse's protection and is warm and cozy.  Life is good.

Seen In A New Light

  Down here on the Bayou, we are told to watch out for many "invasive" critters and plants.  It seems that waterways are an easy way for invasive species to get a foothold.  While I have not found but two invasive critters (a Cuban frog and a Brown Anole), plants are a different story.  Often, these plants are washed in on the tides.  The plants are usually discards from someones gardens and goldfish ponds.  Plenty of folks use no commonsense when it comes to properly disposing of plants.  "Throw them in the Bay" seems to be the brilliant idea of many folks.  Hey now!!!  Those pretty water plants can soon clog waterways and create all sorts of problems for wildlife.  They also deplete oxygen from the water and literally suffocate a lot of critters.  I try my best to fish out the offending plants and either find them homes in another landscaped pond or destroy them.  That is usually easier said than done, however, as I have no way of scavenging the entire shoreline for misplaced plants.

  Along the shoreline, there are dozens and dozens of one particular invasive species.  The popcorn tree or tallow tree has strewn enough seeds about the marsh to make a regular nuisance of itself.  This fast growing tree blooms and then bears thousands upon thousands of seeds each summer.  By late fall, birds, squirrels, rats and coons are all feasting on those seeds.  Well...what goes in must come out and the seeds have been transported to a new growing spot via poop.  There seems to be no easy way to eradicate such a prolific species.  So...quickly spreading and fast growing has me pondering something.  Does tallow tree wood burn nicely in the fireplace?   If suitable, I would have a ready source of wood for the wood burning stoves!  Not a bad idea, if I do say so myself!  A bit of research is called for here.

  This morning, the rising sun was beaming across the Bayou and onto the tallow trees across the way.  The trees were putting on quite the extravagant show with their long, golden tassels.  My goodness!  I was now seeing the tree in a new light..literally!  The golden sunlight on the golden tassels was a sight to behold!  Maybe...just maybe, tallow trees have a place here on the Bayou...at least, a couple of them, anyway.

The Unintentional Helper

  At least the seeds of the popcorn tree (also known as the tallow tree) are good for something other than making a billion new trees.  The invasive tree is notorious for filling up woods with seedlings that sap the nutrients from the soil and soon push out all other trees.  The same thing happens with the tree around the Bayou.  It is one of those plants that does not mind having its feet in the brackish waters so it will grow just about anywhere.  One has sprouted near the pier and has grown to be quite a good size.  I am told that I should pick the billion seeds so the tree does not spread like wildfire but that is literally impossible.  Now, however, a local resident has decided to do the job for me...and without pay!  This resident is happy with just harvesting the seeds.

  Early this morning, I heard the call of a pileated woodpecker echoing through the woods.  I was on the pier and could tell that the bird was coming my way so I sat waiting for it.  Its first stop was a tall pine at the end of the pier but it did not take long before the bird found the tallow tree seeds.  For a good ten minutes, I watched as the bird plucked seed after seed from the branches.  All I could think was, "You go, Bird!!!  Keep eating those seeds!"  Hopefully, the woodpecker will be back tomorrow and bring its entire family!

  Pileated woodpeckers are rather interesting birds.  Even though the bird can cause major damage to a tree, it is usually one that has already been compromised by insects, The woodpecker seeks out the insects by pecking rectangular holes in the tree's bark.  The holes can be so deep that the tree may topple if it was already weakened by the bugs.  When nesting, the bird makes sure to have plenty escape tunnels so predators have a hard time catching the baby birds.   Pileated woodpeckers will go so far as to choose a live tree and peck the bark around the entrance holes so sap will ooze around the opening.  This deters predators especially snakes.  Pileated woodpeckers...not only smart, they are helpful!

 

Grey Skies of December

  Today was forecast to be our first sunny day in a while.  Sunny and warm!  Nope.  Dreary and chilly.  Which was ok by me but the old dog's arthritis did not care for it at all.  This turned our hike into a hobbling walk just far enough to do his morning deed.  I promised him that once the sun popped out, we would do the same and "pop out" for another try at a hike.  It never did so we never did.  Poor old pup. He was miserable.

  The greyness of the day did make for an interesting sky.  The sun should have been far above the horizon by the time we exited the Little Bayou House but, by the looks of it, one would have thought it was before dawn.   Mr. PJ was edgy as he could still pick up the scent of several deer that had meandered about the yard during the night and a few wild pigs that had visited earlier.  He was trying his best to "protect" me but I so wanted to venture out and do a bit of photography.  My only subject within range was the tallow tree better known as a popcorn tree.  The seed pods made an interesting effect against the grey, grey sky.

  The opportunity of more pictures came to a halt when the dog decided it was time to get back inside.  Perhaps I should have let him get settled on his bed and gone back out but I knew that would make him antsy.  My time for exploring, photographing and simply enjoying the early morn Bayou has come to a halt.  The old dog's needs come first. 

Its pretty.....but....

  The fact that Ben Franklin was noted for his brilliance has little impact on me here on the Bayou.  His blunder in landscaping does have a huge impact on the place.  Legend has it that he imported the Tallow Tree from China.  That Tallow Tree that is overrunning the place is supposedly descendents of his trees.  Maybe?  Maybe not.  Who knows?  That tree however is extremely invasive and will take over a place in a heartbeat.  Local horticulturalist have asked people to report if they see a tree and they will come to remove it.  The peels of laughter you hear at this point are me responding to the ridiculousness of their request.  There is no way that they are going to ever remove all of the "Popcorn Trees" that are growing in the woods surrounding the creek that runs behind the Bayou. The place is literally dotted with the trees and little else at this point.  

  When Hurricane Katrina smacked us head-on, she took out nigh on every tree in the creek area. We counted over two hundred large trees felled by the storm.  These trees had taken decades to grow and were wiped out in less than twenty-four hours.  About sixteen hours of the relentless winds and waves pounding us ravaged the land.  With that many trees down in an inaccessible area, there was little hope that the creek bed would ever be the same.  While some hardwoods and pines are trying to make a comeback, it is the quick-growing Tallow Tree that has pushed out all others.  Granted, the trees are not bad looking but since they beget bazillions of little Tallow Trees each year, things are getting pretty bad.  Still, those folks who wish to "remove" these trees are facing a dauntless task and will never succeed.  My property would have to be clear cut....something that I refuse to have done.  An invasive tree seems to be better than no trees at the moment.

  Down by the pier, there is a single Popcorn Tree that has sprung up and grown to quite some size.  It is actually out in the marsh a bit and cannot be reached by shore.  The tree is laden with the "popcorn" or seeds. (The seeds are what give the tree its common name.)  Probably by next spring, I will find thousands of baby Tallow Trees springing up all over the place.  Not good.  Not surprisingly,  there are some herbalists that make fantastic claims about the tree.  The medicinal claim attached to the Chinese Tallow Tree is that the leaves (when processed and made into a balm) can be useful in curing shingles.  Can't say (thankfully) that I have had to experiment with this yet and, hopefully, never will.  However, I am pondering just what use these trees will provide for us.  Firewood..maybe?

Thoughts....Reflections....

  Although we must always move forward in life, our true understanding comes from reflecting back.  We learn through not only our experiences but also through our mistakes.  Son has a favorite saying that "Foresight is blind but hindsight has perfect vision."  Makes sense to me.  I don't know how many times I have wished something undone merely because my hindsight is far better than my foresight.  Reflecting back on the way things once were gives us the pleasure of a job well-done or the satisfaction of a lesson learned...the hard way.  Either way, while life has to be lived forward...we can only understand it when looking back.

  I was on the pier the other day and noticed that the little sapling of a Popcorn Tree had grown quite a bit.  The seed had been planted by a bird and sprouted right in the marsh edge.  I started to cut the tiny seedling down with the lawnmower but then had second thoughts. While these thoughts were leaning more toward "free firewood", I knew the tree would give us a bit of brightness come fall.  Now I am glad that I skipped over the tree when cutting the grass.  It, indeed, has given the Bayou a bit of much needed cheer.  This is one time that the foresight of not cutting the sapling was the best move.  Granted, some day the tree might very well be found warming the Little Bayou House by way of the old woodstove but for now it is just a happy thing to see while on the pier.

  At the very moment I was viewing the tree, I noticed the reflection in the still waters of the Bayou.  The colors were vivid...the image crisp...the reflection perfect.  It is funny but seeing the reflection in the water brought thoughts of the pond back on the farm.  During the fall, the Red Maple trees cast just such reflections on that water.  Mom always used to watch for the wood ducks to fly in for the winter as soon as she noticed the leaves changing their colors.  It was sort of a tradition for her to announce their arrival.  She loved those ducks!  While I found no ducks in the image on the water, I found Mom in my reflections of the past.  

Thank you, Ben Franklin!

Thank you, Mr. Benjamin Franklin. You did a lot of amazing things during your lifetime. You were quite the Statesman, Inventor, Author and Politician. In each realm, you accomplished a lot..you did a lot of good for mankind and the Country...but..could you have just left it at that? Did you really have to start playing around in landscaping?

I was out weeding the rose garden today and was getting quite frustrated at Ole Ben. The more I would pull..the more I wondered if he knew the legacy that he left behind..for all of us gardeners. It seems that Dear Mr. Franklin was the one that introduced the Chinese Tallow Tree to the United States. Chinese Tallow Tree, Chicken Tree, Florida Aspen or Popcorn Tree..all one and the same..all a nuisance. Yes, I agree that they are a rather pretty little tree..even more so in Fall and Winter. These trees can rival Maples for foliage coloration. Still..they are not a favorite. Their habit of producing masses upon masses of seeds..the habit of these seeds always being fertile and sprouting..the habit of said seeds always seeming to find a way into my rose garden..makes the tree undesirable!

I made a big mistake back several years ago when I saw the first tree pop up. "What harm can one small tree do...Besides, the birds love the seeds!...And it is way down by the marsh. No problem!" Big mistake! The Popcorn Tree as it is usually called here on the Mississippi Coast produces both male and female flowers on the same tree. So one tree turned into many! Many, many small Popcorn Trees are now popping up all over the hill. Not only are they in the rose garden, but they are also in the lawn, in the squash garden, in the flower pots and are even sprouting in the Puddlepond! Now that is invasive! I have pulled approximately five zillion of these things out of the gardens! Thanks, Mr. Franklin..thanks a bunch! Son and I have decided that we are going to start planting all of the saplings that I trash. We will make a grove of Popcorn Trees..a Tallow Tree Grove! This grove can be a renewable resource! A never-ending source of firewood! I sure hope that the wood is a good burning fuel!

By the way, the tree gets its name, Tallow Tree, from a waxy coating on its seeds. This coating is removed from the seeds by the use of hot water. The wax is then skimmed off and used in make candles and soap. At least the tree is good for something! Perhaps if I keep finding small trees, a grove would not be a bad idea! I could start making Tallow Tree Candles! I wonder just how many of those seeds I would need to collect???? The next zillion that I remove from the rose garden should be plenty..don't you think?