Why Is My Rooftop So Weird?

  Son went up to do a bit of "spring cleaning" on the rooftop.  Once a year, he climbs up on both the shed and the house roofs and sweeps off all of the accumulated leaves and pine straw.  This bit of cleanup was my job before he decided that I was probably a bit too old to be clamoring around on the housetop.  It did not bother me as the shed roof is a gentle slope and the part of the house where the leaves amass is also a bit flatter than the steep pitch of the main house.  Still, I was ever so happy to hand over my broom as long as he does not keep it as that would not fly..hehe!  (Just kidding...I think.)  

  Being as this is an annual thing, I never think much about it but last year (in April), he swept the house roof and made a weird find.  Under the leaves, he saw a slight glimmer and when he investigated, he found our old filleting knife.  This was one that we kept on the pier.  It was old and rusty and only used to cut bait.  How it came to rest upon the housetop is still a mystery.  He assumed that perhaps an osprey or other large bird carried it there.  The idea is plausible...I guess.  

  Today, he did the rooftop spring cleaning a bit earlier since we have had so much rain.  He figured that the soggy leaves accumulating on the roof was not a good idea so up he went to sweep (or shove, as the case was).  While clearing the same spot where he found the knife last year, he found another mystery.  A short length of pipe was under the leaves.  When he brought it down, I instantly recognized it.  This was a piece of an old metal arbor that I had used as a decoration at the local elementary school some twenty five years ago! Why was that up there?  How did it get there?  Why was it still around here in the first place?  The pipe is about the same length as the filleting knife so is there some sort of connection?  Again...we have no answers to any of these and many more questions.  Is our packrat of a bird still toting off strange items?  Is there some critter intent on presenting us with odd gifts?  Why is my rooftop so weird that it collects oddities that should not be there?  The answers may never be known. Mysteries abound on the Bayou!

Weird Stuff!

  For the past week, my cousin has been telling me of some pretty odd finds in her yard.  She lives up north and after the snow melted around her house, she went out to do some yard work. One of the first things found was a spoon.  Not thinking much about it, she put it on the porch rail. Later when she cleaned the spoon, she realized that it was not one of hers.   Then, she found a jacket that did not belong to her.  It was stuffed under a log.  A few days later, a robe sash was on the ground in the middle of her yard.  Odd finds that sort of unnerved her a bit.  We talked a bit about the items and came to no conclusion why the items were in her yard.

  Today, an oddity was located on the Bayou.  Although the item was recognizable, it was the placement that was confusing.  Son was sweeping the leaves from the rooftop when he saw something glinting in the sunlight.  When he swept it free from the leaves, he found it to be a knife!   Why was a knife on my roof???  This particular knife is a filleting knife that we have long kept on the pier.  For years, it remained stabbed in the top of a pier post.  We kept it there to be used when cutting bait so were not worried about the knife being exposed to the elements.  To find it on top of the house was a tad weird, however!

Son and I have about come to the conclusion that the knife was picked up by one of the ospreys that mistook the handle as a fish.  Once the bird flew a ways with the knife, it realized that it was not a fish and promptly dropped it.  It was mere coincidence that the bird was directly over the house when the knife was released from the talons.  Kerplunk!  It fell right down on the roof!

  The assumption that an ambitious osprey may account for our find of a knife and a large bird could possibly explain the spoon and robe sash at my cousin's house.  The jacket stuffed under the log, however, is a bit befuddling!  Weird stuff happening!

Lurking Overhead...

  Yesterday's post was all about things lurking in the shadows on my morning hikes.  One can never be too careful when out before the sun rises.  That time of day sees most critters out and about. While I am not overly worried about my wild critters, those of the two legged sort would give me the jitters if I ever came across one.  Nowadays, people are scary!  I am thankful that I live down on the Bayou and not up near the main road.  Sometimes, swampy areas are a blessing.

  This morning, it was not a critter lurking in the palmettos or marsh that gave me cause for concern.  Just before the sun came up over the pines on the opposite side of the Bayou, I heard something on the rooftop!  What was creepy-crawling around up there?  Easing my way out the back door, I soon found my answer.  Two large, green eyes peered through the darkness at me.  Silly cat!  How did you get up there?  Ms. Nycto was stranded atop the house!  Earlier, I had heard a ruckus near the front door and figured there was some cat fight about to happen.  It never did and, obviously, it was because Ms. Nycto did a fancy escape.  She had climbed the oak tree next to the house, made the leap to the roof but then had no idea how to get down.  She is notorious for that.  More than once, we have had to come to her rescue.  This cat is not a fighter...nor very agile about climbing (at least, climbing down!).  Son had to let her in the upstairs window because she was not about to find her own way off the roof.

  The catfight began because there is a feral cat in the area.  This scraggly yellow cat is grubby, skinny and mean.  It will howl and hiss at anyone nearby and threatens other cats (and small dogs).  This morning's episode is the third time that Ms. Nycto has been "treed" by the feral cat.  Enough is enough!  It sure makes me wish that Ms. Put (the Bayou Queen) was still alive.  She never tolerated such misconduct and would have put the rogue in his place.  Many times, this tiny, six pound cat would reprimand (by literally mangling) wrongdoers that came to the Bayou to stir up trouble. I sure miss that little spitfire!  Ms. Nycto has no protection now other than the rooftop.  She needs to learn to stay inside where it is safe!