The Littlest Frog

   During the recent tropical storm, I had to escape the confines of the Little Bayou House.  While it is not normally my nature to traipse about in hurricanes, tropical storms are a different story.  They sort of beg to be explored.  The winds were whipping pretty heavily on the east and south sides of the house but the north side was blocked and relatively calm.  Occasionally, a huge gust would find its way between the shed and house and wobble things about a bit but those gusts were scarce.  I did have to watch for torrential downpours that came unannounced and suddenly.  My short hikes were interesting with lots of "finds". 

  At one point, I hunkered down under the orange trees to escape the rain.  The thick leaves served well as a makeshift umbrella for a few moments.  It was there that I had a perfect view of the Frog Pond and its inhabitants.  It was also there that I got the gut-wrenching feeling that a cottonmouth might be lurking in the same thicket.  That ended that!  Once the rain stopped, I eased closer to the little pond to watch the frogs.  It was morphing time for the tadpoles!  Dozens of tiny green tree frogs were gaining the legs and were learning to swim using them instead of a tail.  One tiny froglet was having the most fun scooting itself across the water.  It got adventurous and decided to swim all the way across the pond to the lily pads.  With just inches to go, it tired.  Poor tiny tot was exhausted!

  Just in the nick of time, a wispy, hair-thin fiber floated out from the lilies and offered assistance.  Yeah, I made that up.  The fiber just happened to be in the right spot at the right time.  The little froglet grasp hold to the fiber and held tight. It had a resting spot!  The thread was sturdy enough to hold the frog and allow it to regain its strength.  Soon, the tiny froglet was able to climb up in the lily pads and hide from any predators.  Hopefully, the ribbon snake that was in the garden will not venture into the pond.  Last spring, that rascal ate dozens upon dozens of the baby tree frogs.  My little guy sure better watch its step!  It is far too tiny to do much exploring at this stage.

I've Got A Good Feeling....

  This morning's hike put me in one of those "right place at the right time" situations.  The sun was just popping up over the pines on the far side of the Bayou when I rounded the first bend in the path.  The old dog was busy sniffing a rabbit trail when a sudden shower of raindrops sprinkled down on my head.  Uh, oh!  My first thought was to hightail it to the Little Bayou House but then I realized that Mr. PJ was not budging from his rabbit scent.  Strange, since the old dog hates rain and will usually beat me to the house.  Ok, so my raindrops were not from clouds but from a tree limb not far above my head.  

  A beautiful osprey had settled in on a pine branch about twenty feet above me sending all the rain from the last shower down upon me.  Thanks, Osprey!  Well, I should be grateful as it could have been something else showering down upon me!  With the bird in clear view and the dog preoccupied, it was the perfect opportunity to get a few photographs.  I started snapping pictures thinking my movements would startle the bird into flight.  Nope.  In fact, it became interested in what I was doing and kept an eye on my every movement.  The bird sat as I photographed it until a real thunderstorm threatened.

  We have a good number of ospreys that call the Bayou their home now.  Years ago, the birds became threatened by the widespread use of the pesticide, DDT.  The chemical settled into the food sources and caused the shells of birds' eggs to become too thin to support the chicks.  Once DDT was banned, the birds made a comeback all over the country.  About twenty years ago, a lone pair moved into the area and, since then, they have multiplied greatly.  Dozens upon dozens of the birds now nest in our area and you can hear their high-pitched calls as they soar above the property.  It makes you feel good to watch them dive for fish knowing the Bayou is healthy enough for life...it makes you feel good.

 

As A Rule....

  I have rules that go along with being on the pier.  I figure that some folks need a bit of "guidance" when it comes to being on the water even if that water is only about 5 feet deep most times.  There are rules that pertain to fishing such as..."You do not kill anything that you are not going to use.  Either eat it or use it as bait or let it go free." And there are rules about taking care of the Bayou..."Never leave behind any trash."  Then, there are the rules of common courtesy..."Do not harass any of my critter friends."  Of course, there are the general rules of respect and care of the pier and fishing gear but one rule is just commonsense..."Never be on the pier during inclement weather."   That last one is far more important than all the rest because, here, weather can change in a heartbeat.

Rainstorm coming across the Bay!

  This afternoon, Mark and I headed to the pier on three different occasions.  The first time, as soon as we stepped out the door, a loud crack of thunder roared just to the east.  Nope.  Not happening. We turned and headed back into the house.  Second time, the rain started just as we got on the board path. Well, that was not good!  We turned to go back inside.  The third time, we finally made it to the end of the pier, caught bait and then we noticed the raindrops starting.  Time to head back up the hillside.  

  One reason I am so adamant about enforcing the weather rule is that several years ago,  I watched out the window as one of our pier posts was shattered by lightning.  The weather was not even particularly threatening that day but it only took a few seconds to turn into something that could have been devastating.  Had I been on the pier ignoring the upcoming storm, that pier post might have been me!  So even though there are other rules applying to the pier,  I thoroughly enforce the weather rule!  

Katrina....Stop already with the "gifts"!

  Living on a bayou, one expects (or at least should expect) storms to roll in from the Gulf.  Most of these storms are not so severe that the damage is lasting but every so often one will ravage the area. Hurricane Camille was the "benchmark" storm for a long while.   It was the storm that made history.  For years, tales from those surviving the storm were regaled during front porch visits.  Although the farm where I grew up was not right on the water like the Little Bayou House, we did see a good bit of damage from that storm.  Then, along came Hurricane Katrina.  A new benchmark was set.  This was the storm that beat all storms.  It is one that will be in our lore for years to come.  Someone once said that Hurricane Camille killed more folks during Hurricane Katrina than it did when it hit the Coast.  People never expected a storm to be stronger than the one that they survived. I say...never trust a hurricane. (And, for the sake of argument, Katrina did hit here.  We did get the brunt of the winds and surge because we were in the northeast quadrant..the strongest part of any storm.  But we did not get the news coverage that other places did.  So be it.  We survived.)  Hurricane Katrina was one to reckon with and one to deal with even twelve years down the line. 

  Now, dealing with what Katrina left behind is becoming quite evident. The recent rains did not do us any favors.  During the month of June alone, our area received over 24 inches of rain.  Hmmm, that is more than some places see annually.  With the Little Bayou House sitting high on a hill overlooking the Bayou, we had little worries of flooding from these rains.  What did happen was that the torrential downpours washed dirt and sand down into the marsh.  While this is not too bad for the marsh, it is bad for the hillside.  Ruts have been washed wherever there was a lack of good sod.  These ruts now have exposed a previously unseen hazard.  Both of the aforementioned storms dumped tons of debris on our property.  A lot of this debris was covered over with several feet of sand that had been carried on the tidal surge all the way from the beach.  For over a decade now, stuff laid buried beneath the sand and presented no problems.  It would have been great if it had stayed that way.

  This afternoon, I made a quick hike around the hillside.  At one point, I noticed some broken glass in one of the washout places.  As I picked up glass, more became exposed.  Nigh on a gallon bucket of glass shards was in this one area.  I was a bit leery about being sliced by the shards so only those readily reachable were gathered.  Tomorrow, a rake, shovel and bucket will be put to use once again.  One thing that I have learned...it is smart to watch where you step.  Any one of these shards could have easily sliced right through my leather moccasin and punctured my foot.  Above is the first handful of shards that I retrieved on my walk.  I had to go back with a bucket to get more.

  Tomorrow's cleanup (over a decade after the fact) is in preparation of a special visitor to the Little Bayou House.  I will be fostering a dog while my son, daughter-in-law and grandbabies are away for an extended time.  I would hate to think that PJ might cut his foot while he is in my care.  I will have to keep a close watch where he runs....or maybe get him shoes!  Hmmm?  Now that is a thought!  Nah, a good scan of the lower part of the yard on a daily basis will solve the problem.  

You Can't Outrun It

  With the copious amount of rainfall pounding the Little Bayou House, I have become a bit stir crazy.  Had old Ms. Ez, the Bayou Dog, been still here, I might have braved the weather for a few wet hikes about the hillside but without her protection, it did not seem safe.  Back when she was alive, I could rest assured that if anything had happened to me, she would have alerted folks to my predicament.  Instead of gallivanting about the hillside, I busied myself with housework.  Not fun.  So when the sun poked through the clouds this morning, I just had to head to the gardens.  There I found that all of the rain and no attention had led to things looking a tad like a rain forest.  Everything was overgrown....and soggy.  I pulled out a lot of the overgrown plants and replanted the boxes with seeds sent by my sweet daughter-in-law, Joanna.  Hopefully, there will still be enough days before winter to allow the squash to bear.  I just poked the last seed into the ground when I heard a low rumbling.  Uh, oh!  Better get myself back inside!

  Instead  of going directly to the Little Bayou House, I rushed down to check the old skiff. The pump had stuck and was not working properly. Six inches of water had filled the boat and with more rain on the way, I needed to tend to that problem.  A quick check on the horizon made me a bit uneasy.  Would I get the pump going and still have time to get back to the house?  Better hurry! That rain was coming fast!

  Once the pump kicked in and was doing its thing, I scooted myself back up the board path.  Just as I opened the gate to the Rose Garden, the rains started. In the few steps from the gate to the front door, I was soaked.  When these squalls come across the Bay, there is no outrunning them.  Don't try...you will never make it.  

Least Terns

We had the prettiest Least Terns pay us a visit today. They are the smallest of all the American terns and only weigh in at about one ounce! We always have had a few in the Bay but never as many as I saw today. Perhaps they were trying to escape the areas that are oil-soaked because of the spill in the Gulf or maybe they were last year's brood returning to nest here. They usually nest on the sand beaches but since Hurricane Katrina deposited a goodly amount of sand in my front yard (I seem to have acquired my own personal beach), a single pair have nested here. I will check to see if I find a nest and perhaps should fence the area to keep marauding animals and clumsy humans from damaging any that are there. It is amazing to me that something so tiny and seemingly fragile can withstand the constant headlong diving that these terns do when feeding. I loved photographing the tiny terns and this one in particular seemed to enjoy it, too!

It was another typical summer day on the Bayou. Intense heat and then cooling rains, a summer cycle that never bores me. The rains are welcome even though today's caught me unawares and soaked the laundry that I had hanging on the clothesline. Helplessly, I stood staring through the screen door at water pouring down upon my freshly laundered bedsheets. Then something that Dad used to say flitted through my head.. "Don't worry, it will all come out in the wash!" He would say this whenever there was some daunting problem weighing on my mind...and he was always right. It would "all come out in the wash". The clothes were allowed to "drip dry" with the assumption that they just needed the extra rinsing that the rain provided. Most problems have a way of working themselves out and we all seem to worry far to much about things that really do not amount to a hill of beans. I have in the past and will try again to not fret over things of which I have no control. Although, I will try to remember that I have clothes on the line before the next rainstorm!