Are You Lost???

   I have lived near or on the Bayou my entire life.  During that time, I learned a good bit about the fish and other inhabitants of the waters and marshes.  I felt relatively sure that given a chance, I could just about identify any fish caught from the pier...until lately.  For some odd reason, the Bay is filled with unusual (for here) critters.  Some...I have even had to go to one of my "fish experts" to identify.  The young man, Taylor, is a friend of Son's from way back when they were youngsters in elementary school.  Taylor loves all things fishing even though he has moved from the Coast.  I rest assured that if I send him a photograph with the query "What is this?"  He will have an answer.  I did just that a couple of days ago. After putting a name to my unusual fish, he mused "I think you have the most diverse group of fish around your pier than anywhere on the Coast."  Well, he may be right.  

  The salinity of the water is sitting right at 23% which is odd for the Bayou.  We are known as having "brackish" water not high salt water.  Salty in the deeper portions but not in the shallows of the Bayou.  So, imagine my surprise when I caught, not one, but three different Ribbonfish...also known as Atlantic Cutlassfish.  I had no idea what those crazy things were!  So...I photographed and sent the pictures off to Taylor!  After getting a name, I also sent the picture to my oldest son, Mark, since he has seen just about every fish imaginable while living on the island for several years.  His response was "What is that doing at the pier?"  I replied that I had no idea but perhaps it was lost!  He agreed and made a similar remark to Taylor's about there being a lot of odd fish in my old fishing spot.  I will say this about the Ribbonfish...STAY CLEAR OF THOSE TEETH!!  That is one snappy fish that can whip and snag a finger right quick!  Thankfully, I was a mite faster because it has a mouth full of wicked fangs!

  That said, the shrimp are still plentiful so I have taken to filling everybody's freezers.  I throw the net catching a five gallon bucketful in a short while then give the shrimp to those who cannot catch their own.  With our three chest type freezers filled to capacity, nearly 800lbs of shrimp have found their way to our extended family members and elderly friends. Fresh, free food is always a good thing.  This comes on the heels of an investigation of some shady dealings by some of the shrimpers along the Coast.  It makes me happy to supply these folks with free Bay shrimp vs the foreign shrimp that were being passed off as Gulf shrimp.  Dirty dealings irk me so this is my small way of saying "No" to the underhanded ways of some people. 

  So...bring on the unusual fish, plentiful shrimp and knowledgeable young men that keep me up on what I am catching!  The Bayou is a happy, healthy place right now.

Hurricanes, Shrimp, Gars and Childhood Memories

   Since Son has completed the repairs on the pier, fishing, shrimping and crabbing have resumed.  It is almost unheard of to have so much activity going on in the Bay and Bayou...at least, in recent years.  The last time that I recall catching this many shrimp from a pier was way back in the late '60s.  Right before Hurricane Camille hit when I was just a kid, Pop was bringing home buckets and buckets of shrimp that he caught with his net.  Then...along came the hurricane and we were in a fine fix.  This was before the handy-dandy generators that are so popular today.  Pop rigged up a homemade "generator" of sorts from an old lawnmower engine to run our pump but it did not supply enough energy to keep the freezers going.  What was Mom to do with a freezer full of quickly thawing shrimp?  Of course...feed the linemen that were trying their best to restore the electricity to our house!  Pop built a makeshift outdoor burner (wood fired) and brought out the huge canning pots to boil shrimp.  Living on a farm, we had plenty of potatoes and eggs to make potato salad and supply other veggies as sides.  Word got out that we had homecooked meals and the hungry workers were soon feasting.  Mom and Pop both said that those were the "best parties" they ever hosted!  Plus, the hundreds of pounds of shrimp did not go to waste!

  Memories of the shrimp feasts came tumbling from the brain as I casted the net for yet more shrimp the other morning.  Our freezers are full.  Our kids' freezers are (or will be once they come) full.  We have supplied our elderly friends with enough peeled shrimp to give them multiple meals.  Plus, extended family members have received their shares.  Still...I catch.  Mark catches.  We both head and peel the shrimp and feed the needs of so many.  It is a good feeling.

  Along with those pounds and pounds of shrimp, the fish are biting so I always throw out a line as I am shrimping.  Mark usually heads out in the little skiff but I stay back on the pier.  While he is catching redfish and trout, I catch nothing but gars!  It seems that young gars are following the schools of shrimp so the other fish are staying a bit further out.  I kept seeing huge breaks in the water just at the shoreline so I figured perhaps the redfish were dining on shrimp.  Nope...gars.  Just gars.  Do I want a gar for anything?  Nope...not at all, so they get released back into the Bay.

  Those gars even brought back a memory of a "fishing trip" with two of my brothers.  They had found a scuttled boat and tried to make repairs.  Well, those repairs were not the best since they were done by two kids.  Still, I was game to go along with the adventure when they asked.  I was plum happy to be going with my big brothers ANYWHERE!  Little did I know we were going gar fishing on the other side of the Bayou.  They had seen some huge gars there and thought it might be fun to wrestle in one.  Also, little did I know that I was to be designated as "chief bailer".  After paddling to their fishing spot, I was handed a coffee can and told to bail out the water that was steadily seeping into the boat.  Ummm...a little girl with a tin can is not much defense against a myriad of leaks in a boat but I was too scared of the huge gars they were hooking to do anything but bail!  Obviously, there was a good reason that boat had been scuttled!  Oh, the things kids used to be able to do.  Back in the day, we were kids.  We had adventures.  We had childhoods. 

  It is pretty funny how certain things can pull memories out of the cobwebs in the corners of our brains.  When you are doing something repetitively like throwing the net, the mind wanders and recalls delightful things from the past...or, more likely, I am just getting old and wishing for times past.  Either way, the fish, shrimp and crabs are plentiful and I plan on catching and sharing as many as I can.  Perhaps along the way, I can share a few happy memories, as well.

The Bayou Provides

   While life on a bayou is probably not for everyone, it seems to be perfect for me.  Most would rather be highly involved with their social lives and the hubbub that comes with it.  Again...not me.  I prefer the solitude that I can find here even to the point that I let the land and bayou provide for most of my needs.  While the garden is in a lull due to a recent drought, the water is teeming with "foodstuffs".  That is where I am spending the bulk of my time...on the pier.  Mullet, drumfish, redfish, trout, flounders and crabs are all within reach and shrimp!...yes, shrimp are plentiful this year!  A massive influx of shrimp this far from the salty Gulf is rare so all of the locals are taking full advantage of the occurrence!  We are throwing the net just about every waking hour and are filling freezers for future use.  Free food is always good.

  A thought bleeped through the brain yesterday as I was hauling in yet another netful of shrimp.  What in the world is this old lady with a bad heart doing down here on the pier?  I think I am pushing my strength to the limits this summer.  Just last week, after a great checkup with my doctor, I got the orders to "Just keep doing whatever you are doing as it seems to be paying off in great ways with your health."  I wonder if Doc knows that I am spending hours at a time throwing a net from the pier?  Still...I shall follow Doc's orders and keep doing what I am doing.  If nothing else, I shall eat good!  *Just a note here...yes, that is my gloved hand holding the shrimp to show the size.  I normally do not wear gloves but after throwing the net close to a hundred times each day, my hands were taking a beating.  Bleeding fingers are not a good thing. The gloves have come into use!

Oh, those Thumb Splitters!

   Every summer, we stockpile enough shrimp to last us until the next season.  Off season shrimp are usually not our good, ole Gulf shrimp and I made the mistake of buying those one time.  Never again.  Now, several hundred pounds of shrimp are bought, headed, peeled, washed, bagged and frozen.  These will make fine meals such as gumbo, poboys or shrimp burgers come this winter.  A shrimp poboy, for my non-bayou friends, is a delectable sandwich made with friend shrimp, lettuce, tomatoes and special sauce pile high on french bread and then slightly pressed to sort of mingle all those flavors.  We use only shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico for any and all of our dining pleasures.  Nothing else matches up to the flavor which is why the fully stocked freezers.  That preparing is what took up the morning here in the Little Bayou House.  Shrimp!  Beautiful Gulf shrimp!

  You know you are getting fresh shrimp when you head down to the docks to meet the boats as they are coming in to port.  The shrimp boats work all night and will head in to sell their catch.  If you are there early enough, you pretty much are guaranteed the "pick of the bunch" even though that means you do get a few "extras" with your haul.  At that time, the shrimpers have not had a chance to pick through the shrimp and discard any "undesirables" so you take what you get.  Most shrimpers are kind enough to "through in a couple extra pounds" to cover the little fish that might be dumped into the coolers.  It has never bothered me to sort them.  In fact, it is sort of interesting to see what is lurking out in those Gulf waters.

  This morning's haul had the usual little pufferfish, squid, croakers and tiny flounders among other oddities.  It also held several nice size mantis shrimp.  Mantis shrimp are the "prize fighters" of the small critters under the water.  These things can literally "pack a punch" which is why the shrimpers call them "thumb splitters".  The mantis shrimp have club like appendages that are held like fists and are used much the same except the punch is much stronger than any a human can give (compared to size).  The punch is so powerful that one punch can smash through a oyster shell and it is so fast that it creates cavitation bubbles.  When those bubbles burst it causes a shockwave which gives sort of a double punch which can kill or dismember prey even if the mantis shrimp misses its initial target.  The thumb splitter name comes from injuries shrimpers have received by grabbing a mantis shrimp.  A mantis shrimp can inflict a very painful injury in the form of a gash or even (in some places) a broken finger.  The Mantis Shrimp has the most powerful and fastest "punch" known to mankind!  (Think about that one the next time you are eating shrimp....then thank a shrimper for doing the hard work for you.)

  Thankfully, the critters in our shrimp were already either weakened or dead by the time we were messing with them.  Other than a few pokes from the shrimp spikes (one on the head and one on the tip of the tail), Son and I came through with flying colors.  The shrimp are all stowed away in the freezer and we await the next batch.  

Tedious but fun

   Although both of our huge deep freezers are filled to capacity, I still could not resist purchasing 40lbs of shrimp from our usual shrimper.  Mr. Ricky always has the prettiest shrimp for the best prices around.  Once Mark headed to the dock to pick up the purchase, I proceeded to "make room" in the freezers.  It took a bit of ingenuity and a lot of luck but I finally managed to maneuver things around just enough to place the filled bags.  Of course, I now have some pumpkin thawing in the refrigerator to be used in muffins come morning.  Still!  Shrimp!

  Since Mark was to be on his way to work, he would not be here for the task of preparing the seafood.  He dropped the shrimp off here and headed out immediately leaving the heading, peeling, cleaning and bagging up to Son and me.  It was all good since 40lbs is a "drop in the bucket" for us. (Next month, another 60 or so pounds will be bought.)  We are used to doing 100lbs at a time so this was a breeze!   Yes, we do go through this process each time we get shrimp because, if we fully head and peel the shrimp, it is better all around.  One, there are no spines to prick holes in the bags.  Leaky shrimp bags can mess up a freezer fast!  Two, heading and peeling saves a ton of space!  I would never be able to get 40lbs of shrimp to fit in my freezers, otherwise. They stay far too full.  Three, by heading and peeling before freezing, mealtime is a breeze!  Simply thaw the shrimp and you are good to start cooking.  

  As odd as it seems, the hours spent preparing the shrimp is sort of a "bonding" time between the two of us.  Son and I talk and laugh the whole time we are working.  He removes the heads and I peel....we both banter back and forth the entire time.  It makes the chore go a lot faster.  As tedious as the task is, it is almost enjoyable....and those shrimp will make some mighty fine dishes!  A little work...vast rewards.  Nothing better.

The Bird Watchers?

  Early this morning, a lone Brown Pelican was diving around the pier.  It almost seemed to be "too" quiet. Yesterday, a school of shrimp passed through which had the usual following of seagulls, terns and pelicans.  The Bay was "hopping" with activity.   The screeching of the gulls seemed to let every other bird know that the "feed" was on!  Then, overnight, the school of shrimp moved elsewhere and drew most of the predatory birds with them.  The pelican that stayed behind was not in need, however, as massive schools of menhaden and mullet filled the waters.  The bird was fat and happy! It was smart to lag behind and not get caught up in the frenetic doings of the masses. The pelican could lounge about the calm waters and scoop up menhaden and mullet.

  By watching the waterfowl, it is not hard to tell just what is passing below the surface of the water.  With shrimp, the birds are in a feeding frenzy.  Hundreds will dive until their bellies are stuffed.  When the schools are of menhaden, the birds take their dear, sweet time to catch their meal.  The mullet are a different story as the birds have to work harder.  Mullet are fast and travel in much smaller schools.  Local fishermen can all read these signs and know which fish will be biting simply by how the birds are acting.  It is an art! Or maybe a science!  Whatever!  Watch the birds and they will tell you where to fish and what bait to use.

Time for a break

  Ok, so it is time to take a break from all of this canning.  The pantry shelves are stocked and three deep freezers are jammed packed.  Tomatoes have been sauced, plums have been jammed, blueberries canned and some made into syrup and figs have been candied.  Butter beans, field peas, corn, okra and shrimp have been added to the freezers to top off what was already there.  Now is time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor...at least, until fall when pears will need to be preserved.

  A lot of people have been asking just why I do all of this. "It is easier to just go to the grocery store and buy beans (tomato sauce, peas..whatever)."  That is true for folks who like to shop.  I do not.  I will zip in to buy milk or eggs but it is not my nature to spend an hour in a store...any store.  Plus, it is nice to be able to pull together a meal without worrying what I have on hand.  Son said we could eat well for about a year with what we have stocked.  Now, add in the promise of knowing just what is in those jars and in that freezer, makes it worthwhile.  Too many "foods" lately have been recalled for whatever reason.  I do not have to fret over that situation.

  Then, there is another reason for the stockpiling of home-canned goods.  Duh!  We live where hurricanes and tropical storms visit occasionally and knock out power.  With a ready supply of foodstuffs, it is easy to fire up the grill and whip out a meal. So, I will continue to do what I grew up doing.  We always "set aside" foodstuffs back on the farm.  When times were lean (money wise), we still ate good!  Same here...nuff said.

Another Tempest

  With the way things look at the moment, the Gulf of Mexico has received another slap in the face.  Just nine years ago, we had to endure the oil spill that, not only killed off so many marine creatures, it also killed off so many lifelines of the Coastal families.  We are a seafood based industry down here.  Fishing is a way life.  The shrimpers, oystermen, fishermen, crabbers, seafood factories, charterboat captains...you name it...were all out of jobs.  Their boats and gear lay idle while the oil killed most everything within its reach.  Many lost their boats.  Others lost their homes.  All lost their way of life.  It was a hard time for the Coast.  It was years before things began to return to any semblance of normality.  Finally, the seafood returned and was deemed fit to eat.   It took years after that for the industry to return to its profitable self but many folks had already moved on to be able to support their families.

  Now, the Gulf of Mexico faces another tempest.  While all Coastians are ready and eager to help those in the flooded zones of the country, opening the spillways has, once again, created a mess for the fishermen. The marine creatures are dying at a great rate.  Countless dead dolphins, sea turtles and fish are washing ashore.  Entire oyster reefs have died.  Crabs have literally suffocated.  Shorebirds are not to be found. Schools of fish and shrimp have moved further out in an attempt to escape the water pouring into the Gulf. Many folks do not seem to see the harm in what has been done.  "It is just fresh river water so it cannot be doing any harm." is said over and over again.  Sorry, that fresh river water wreaks havoc on saltwater marine life.  They do not have time to acclimate before it kills them.  That "fresh" river water is also polluted from runoff.  Whatever has been flooded up north of us has now spilled into the Gulf.  Fertilizer, sewage, any number of chemicals and...yes...oil is making a mess down here.  

  Don't get me wrong.  We are not blaming anyone.  We are not pointing fingers.  We are not begrudging those who are trying to save their places and livelihoods that are flooded.  We understand THAT whole scenario as we are subjected to hurricanes that flood our area and we are sympathetic to those that are suffering.  We understand that something had to be done to provide some relief.  However, there has to be another answer.  Opening the spillways has done nothing but spread the devastation to another area.  

  All of that said, the fishermen down here are working frenetically to catch what they can before the waters get any worse.  The boats are going out further to make catches of "clean" shrimp and fish.  (The crabbers and oystermen do not have that option.)  This plan is working as far as catches but puts a new strain on the fishermen.  Fuel prices, boat upkeep and extra time spent are making it a struggle to "stay afloat".  The fact stands that the wages they earn has not kept up with the current state of affairs.   Many cannot afford to keep running as their expense outweigh their profits.  It is a sad situation.  

  Mark and I were able to get shrimp today from one of our longtime suppliers.  This shrimper had to go outside of the "dirty" zone to get a good catch.  The shrimp are beautiful and we are thankful he made the decision to keep trying.  It is our plan to buy as many pounds of shrimp as we can to help those struggling.  We have been there and done that ourselves.  It is also our plan to stock up on the seafood so that, if worse comes to worse, we will have a good supply on hand to ride us over until the Gulf cleanses itself.  Our freezers will be filled to capacity within the next few weeks.  To those in the flooded zones and to those struggling with the situation in the Gulf, we hope and pray that this is soon over for all of us.  To those with the ability to help any in need, please do.  There are so many out there that have been affected that need help.  We are all in this together.

 

The Right Idea!

  Several times today, Mr.PJ and I made our rounds about the place.  The old dog found hog tracks in the back by the canebrake, romped through the goldenrod and waited patiently for his no-show of a friend, Mama Nutria Rat.  On each of our hikes, the constant splashing of the brown pelicans could be heard even above the brisk northeast winds.  It seemed as if there were an awful lot of the birds around the Bayou!  When we made our way to the pier, that assumption was proved correct.  While we normally have four or five of the birds that hang around the pier, nearly a hundred could be counted within view.  These birds were drawn into the Bay for some reason...but what?  Hundreds of gulls could also be seen making the dive-bombs into the rough waters.

A few casts of the net soon gave me the answer.  The birds had all followed a school of shrimp into the shallows.  It is about that time of year that shrimp make their way of into the Bay.  Each year, I am able to catch enough shrimp to feast upon just by throwing the net a few times.  So...I threw. Yep, we eat shrimp tomorrow!

  The brown pelicans and assorted gulls and terns all follow the massive schools of shrimp.  For the next couple of months, the birds will dine upon the shrimp and fatten themselves for the leaner times of winter.  Their splashdowns will be heard, not only during the day, but all throughout the night as well.  The pelicans will hunt by moonlight if necessary while shrimp are in the shallow waters of the Bay and Bayou.  I, too, will shrimp by moonlight!  For the next month or so, shrimping will be of utmost importance.  Most locals do not pass up the chance for catching the free shrimp that others purchase at an exorbitant price.  Yep, that is just one of the perks of living on the Bayou.  Cast the net a few times each night and fill the freezers with food for the next few months.  If nothing else, we eat good here on the Bayou!  Fish, shrimp, crabs....all free for the taking.  Yum!  Those pelicans have the right idea!

Dragon or Rock?

  One thing about living on the Bayou is that there is a season for all things.  Besides the obvious garden seasons, there are also "water" seasons...meaning that certain bits of seafood can only be caught at certain times of the year.  Blue crabs tend to be more plentiful during the summer months, redfish, while here most of the year are active during the fall, flounders find their way here during the spring, trout are a great wintertime catch and shrimp are usually a fall treat.  Since we share our seafood with a good many elderly folks and with family members, I like to keep a well stocked freezer...actually, three freezers.  If I start to run low on shrimp during an off season for us, we buy from the local shrimpers.  They have a hard time making a living since factories and stores wish to buy at the cheapest rates possible and will buy foreign seafood over local if it suits their needs.  Personally, while I have nothing against foreign products, I feel helping our neighbors on the Coast is a better option.  Plus, the shrimp are fresh!

  Mark bought fifty pounds of lovely shrimp today so we could share half of them with some elderly folks who cannot get them otherwise. That left twenty-five pounds for Son and me to head and peel.  This is a workable amount and is not stressful.  In just a short time, the shrimp were headed, peeled, washed and bagged.  All were frozen except for four pounds of the peeled beauties that will become our Easter dinner, tomorrow. While working with the shrimp, Son and I were amazed at how large some of them were.  We weighed them and found them to be eight shrimp to a pound!  Those are huge!  The shrimp that we catch from the pier are far smaller but, in my opinion, much tastier! 

  Son (who was heading the shrimp while I peeled), pulled a funny looking critter out of the cooler.  "I don't think this is the right kind of shrimp." he deadpanned.  I was much more animated in my response. Ewww!  What is that thing?  "I dunno.  Should I head it?"  Son is one of those folks who is willing to try anything once.  Not me.  That thing was ugly.  I looked closer at it.  It had spikes running all down its back!  Ok! I knew I was not peeling that thing!  It would have been like trying to peel a rose branch!  The spines resembled a rose thorn and felt just as sharp.  Nope!  Ain't happenin'!  Son and I dubbed it a "Dragon Shrimp"!

  The ugly critter was identified later by the hubs.  Mark looked at it and told us that it was a "rock shrimp".  Yep.  A rock shrimp.  I did a bit of research and the thing was indeed just that.  It is edible...if you wish to take the risk of getting pricked by the many horns on that guy.  The two horns (one on the head end and the other on the tail end) on the white shrimp and brown shrimp are enough stabby things for me.  That other thing, Dragon or Rock, can keep its horns to itself.  

The Naming

  Take one tiny girl fishing and introduce her to critters that she has never seen and she will name them all.  For the past few days, we have been able to share the Bayou with our granddaughter, Mary Ruth and grandson, Mark Charles.   While he loves being outside and seeing everything, the little fellow is still to young to fully appreciate what is around him.  He is all about playing and exploring his newfound freedom of toddling.  Mary Ruth, on the other hand, is at that perfect age of learning about nature and she loves it.  

  One of the highlights was the feeding of the two pelicans.  It did not take long before Mary Ruth decided to name them. The Brown Pelicans of the Bayou have always been called "Old Gus" for as long as I can remember but Mary Ruth decided that the two needed individual names so the second of the pair became known as "Cinderella".  Hey, this worked for me.  Gus and Cinderella now reign as King and Queen of the Bayou.  It is great but being as both male and female pelicans look the same, I can only hope that they are named correctly.

  After feeding (and naming) the pelicans, her daddy showed her a baby shrimp that he caught in the minnow trap.  At first, she was having no part of holding that weird looking thing!  She soon warmed up to the idea and shyly put out her hand.  The shrimp laid quietly in the palm for just about two seconds before it flipped (as shrimp are prone to do) and slid between the pier boards.  This caused Mary Ruth to burst into a fit of giggles before settling down to the task of naming the critter.  "Tiny." she quietly murmured.  "Tiny."  Well, at least that was appropriate!

  Next came a baby crab.  Since she had held a shrimp, her dad thought she might like to hold the crab.  NOPE!  THAT WAS NOT HAPPENING!  I let the little critter crawl up on my finger to show her that the crab was not out to eat her but she still was not convinced.  The crab never made it to her hand before it, too, scooted between the pier boards back into the water.  Since she had named the other critters, I knew it was best to ask if this one to had a name.  I was not disappointed..."Yes, it was named Crabby!"  Alrighty then.  Crabby, it was.  

 So, Old Gus, Cinderella, Tiny and Crabby all live in the Bayou and all are probably back at home telling their friends about the cute little girl named Mary Ruth!  I know for a fact that the first two are going to miss their friend when she heads back to her home tomorrow.  This mawmaw is going to miss both tykes terribly.  The Bayou is going to feel so very lonely.

It is that time of year again!

    I should know better by now.  If there is anything that should not take me by surprise, it should be anything to do with the Bayou.  Nope.  I was caught unawares once again.  Mark headed out fishing this afternoon and I stayed behind on the pier.  Seagulls were in a feeding frenzy which made me think that perhaps a school of shrimp was meandering about the Bay.  I watched until the birds were close and then decided to throw the net a bit.  Obviously, these were not shrimp. I caught an entire net full of baby white trout, one fat mullet and one menhaden.  Oh, did I forget to mention that I caught a whole mess of jellyfish and one huge sea nettle?  It was that sea nettle that was my undoing.  Yep, with the next cast of the net, I was hurting!  

  I am one of the folks that throw the net in the "old school" way.  I still put the leadline in my mouth.  Yeah, I know that this is probably not the best idea but old habits die hard.  This time when I popped the cording in my mouth, I also popped a few strands of the sea nettle's stinging tentacles in along with it.  Not fun!  My mouth began to feel like it was on fire!  For those who do not know, even the severed tentacles can still cause severe pain. Well, I figured that no matter what I did, the burning was not going to cease so I kept fishing.  

  The sea nettles make their way into the Bay and on up into the Bayou each fall.   Some stay year round but we do seem to see more during this time of year.  This presents a problem since this is also the time of year that the shrimp to come into the bays and bayous.  There is nothing more aggravating than to get a netful of sea nettles when you are expecting a netful of shrimp! 

Support your local shrimpers!

  Mark brought home forty pounds of beautiful, white shrimp early this morning.  For the next hour or so, he headed the critters while Son and I peeled each one.  These were all weighed and bagged for the freezer. Each bag now holds two pounds of the peeled shrimp.  All in all, the bundle made quite a few meal-sized packets.  Yes, I realize that two pounds of peeled shrimp is a lot of shrimp for three people but we do enjoy our seafood!  

These ten shrimp weigh in at a hefty one pound!  They are Biloxi Beauties!

  While we picked the shrimp, we discussed the plight of the Coastal shrimpers.  These men and women work hard to make their catch, have expensive upkeep on their boats and equipment, pay workers to help with the trawls and pay for licenses to go out onto the waters.  All of this and they do, indeed, literally put their lives on the line so we can enjoy our meals.  What with a terrible "flesh-eating bacteria" called Vibrio vulnificus being found in most coastal waters, just being on the boat puts these folks in danger. Add in rough seas, sudden storms and dangerous work and you will see that they are amazing folks...these shrimpers.  

  What makes this a sad story is the mere pittance that they are paid for their catch.  Whereas folks pay atrocious amounts for shrimp (and other seafood) in restaurants, grocery stores and fish markets, the factories that supply these places literally pay the shrimpers a meager sum.  The owners of the boats barely make ends meet.  Most have to hold other jobs to support their families.  This is a sad plight.  What used to be a booming business for the locals, now has become nothing more than big money for a few.  A few that does not include the shrimpers at all.

  What can be done to remedy this situation is up in the air.  If the shrimpers do not band together and demand more for their catch, soon they will be giving up the trade.  The livelihoods of so many locals along the Coast could come to a screeching halt.  No one thinks of this, though, as they complain of the high costs of seafood.  The shrimpers need to unite and have a voice.  Not the factories, not the restaurants, not the markets...the shrimpers.  They cannot depend on anyone else.  

  While you may think that Mark and I added to the problems of the shrimpers by buying the seafood, we did not.  What seafood we do not catch, we always buy directly from the shrimpers themselves. We do pay more than what the factories pay for the shrimp but we still get a great deal.  If we did make our purchase through a third party, our cost would be staggering.  

  So...all of this said, Folks, if you want to buy shrimp (or other seafood), why not visit the harbor and buy directly from the boats.  The seafood is as fresh as you can ever get, you will be guaranteed a great bargain and you will help the fishermen support their families!  This, my friends, is a win/win situation for sure!

Up close and personal!

  Here on the Bayou, we make use of most everything.  Things are used, reused, repaired, recycled, upcycled and, then, used again!  It is just one of those "waste not, want not" ideas that has stuck throughout the ages in my family.  There is also this mantra of "waste not, want not" when it comes to food as well.  It seems almost sinful to just let food go to ruin.  Then again, this might come from the fact that most of our food is either home-grown or self-caught. When you have to physically work for your food, you appreciate it all the more. The garden and the Bayou provide for our needs quite well.  With now four deep freezers filled to capacity and the "larder" shelves heavy-laden with all sorts of goodies, I feel it is time to sit back had enjoy the fruits of our labor.  The fall garden is already in the ground and the shrimping season has waned for the time being.

  Speaking of shrimp, Mark and I were on the pier this afternoon during a bit of squally weather.  We had to secure his boat and all of my fishing gear to keep the storm from claiming it.  While there, he tossed the net a few times out of curiosity.  We were wondering if the bad weather had brought the shrimp back closer to shore.  He caught one! Yep, it was a nice one and it would have been delightful if we had caught others but only one found its way into the net.  I was holding this nice, large shrimp when I decided that it needed to be photographed "up close and personal"!  Why?  I have no clue.  I just did.  This was a fine specimen of crustacean!  It was quite large and had a beautiful color to it.  The critter was just pretty...as far as shrimp go.  So I got Mark to hold the critter whilst I photographed it.

  While most folks realize that seafood is quite healthy to eat, a lot of folks do not know that shrimp can be considered one of the world's super foods!  These crustaceans are loaded with an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrient.  This nutrient can help prevent colon cancer.  Shrimp are also loaded with selenium which is good for the heart.  These are both good reasons to add seafood (especially shrimp) to the diet!

  Back to photographing this particular shrimp.  Today was a good day for the critter.  Its health remained in good order.  After just a few seconds, the critter was dropped back into the water and bid a hearty farewell.  I could not see keeping just one shrimp even if it might have been quite tasty and surely healthy!

What a catch!

  It is a sad state of affairs when I cannot even catch a fish large enough for a meal!  This evening, as usual, I headed to the pier to catch a few mullet for the injured heron.  While there, I thought that I might as well try to catch my supper, too.  A few shrimp were the only things I saw that resembled food.  Well, perhaps as bait those few could be turned into something larger.  While I waited for the heron, I baited my hook and tossed the line in the water near the shore.  I had high hopes of snagging a redfish!  Well, it did not happen!  As matter of fact, nothing happened!  The bird did not show, I did not catch mullet nor did I catch my supper.  My catch of the day consisted of one teeny-tiny Gafftopsail!  This wee bit of a catfish was not much larger than my bait! How in the world did it completely swallow the shrimp?

  It seems that this is a prolific year for catfish of all sorts.  I have caught more tiny, baby catfish this year than any other that I can remember.  This is not the only strange catch of the season. Shrimp..large shrimp..very large shrimp filled the Bay this past month. Every fall, we usually catch a few shrimp but never the size of the ones this year.  Each evening, I spent several hours throwing the net and filling my freezer with the beautiful, white shrimp!  When Mark was home, he would go out in the boat and throw the net.  Between the two of us, we caught buckets full of the delectable critters!  Our freezer is filled to capacity!  There will be plenty of fine eats for us come this winter! Gumbo, jambalaya, po-boys...you name it, it will be served!  

  If I cannot catch a fish, I definitely am not complaining about the shrimp.  There will be plenty of lazy days ahead that can be spent hooking a redfish but shrimp are here only for a short while.  The usual catchphrase around here is "Catch 'em while the catchin's good!"  

 

Fall is "Shrimp Time"!

Fall means a lot of things to folks like me.  Not only is there the usual pumpkins, Halloween, bonfires and multicolored leaves, there are shrimp!  Shrimp that are free for the taking!  All you need is a pier or boat, a net and a couple of strong arms.  Mark and I noticed that the shrimp had made their way up the Bay to the Bayou a few days ago.  We were on the pier trying to catch bait for fishing when he caught the first ones.  This was not a big haul but enough for a meal and anytime I can get a free meal, I am happy!  We threw the net a dozen or so times and caught a nice mess of the critters.  With the shrimp, the fish and crabs we caught, it was a fine day.  As I said, anytime that I can have a free meal, I am happy.  The Bay and Bayou provides us with all sorts of free meals.  Each are there for our enjoyment.  The shrimp, fish and crabs all give us a ready source of protein.

I can remember back when I was a kid, I would often go "shrimping" with Pop.  He would always go out in the boat to throw his net.  He said that the mud around the Bayou made for a big mess!  The mud around our pier does, indeed, make a mess if you are not careful.  Pop and I would sit out there and fish until the sun started to set.  Once it was below the pine trees, Pop would "bait up". This involved throwing handfuls of chicken feed into the water. Yep..chicken feed!   He always said it was the best shrimp bait available.  There are those folks who swear by cat food or even dog food but Pop insisted on chicken feed. The "Laying Mash" is a feed developed to provide laying hens the needed protein to stay healthy.  Why Pop even thought of feeding it to shrimp is beyond me! When we noticed the shrimp at the pier, Mark immediately went down to by some Laying Mash. Since he did not go to a Feed and Seed Store, he bought Rabbit Food.  We have used it in the past and I suppose it works as well.  Still I wonder to this day, if we even need to "feed" shrimp.  And..do shrimp really prefer one type food over the other? Do they even eat the stuff?  Are our efforts in vain?  I know that Pop caught a bunch of shrimp each time he went.  So we follow his lead and bait up the area with chicken feed (or rabbit feed).  We wait and then toss that net out over the water.  Our free food comes in with each haul.

Today, my sister called me.  She and her husband were out fishing and they discovered that the "shrimp were in".  This is a big deal to most folks that live around here.  Word spreads quickly and in a short time, the Bay will be dotted with lights at night as folks throw their nets.  Me?  I discovered a secret!  Those shrimp are out there during the daytime as well as at night.  I catch mine during the bright light of day so I do not have to be down on the pier in the pitch black of night.  Not that I mind the darkness but you just never know what you might haul in with that net. There is nothing worse than pulling in a couple of stingrays after it gets dark.  Those things can tangle in a net and cause major problems! Yep, I will stick with shrimping during the day...and eating my shrimp in the evening while everyone else is out working for their free meal!

A Tray full of Shrimp..Crowder Peas..Pecans..or FUN!

Mark came in with fifty pounds of shrimp today but then had to leave. This meant that Son and I were left with the job of heading and peeling the whole lot of them. Twenty-five pounds of the shrimp were medium-size but..oh, my goodness!..the other twenty-five pounds were huge! Usually, Mark will head most of the shrimp while Son and I peel. Occasionally, Son will relieve his dad with the heading leaving me to the peeling. Today, however, Son took off the heads and I peeled. After he finished heading, he turned around and helped me peel! How nice to have help!! It took us several hours but at the end of that time, we had a goodly number of bags all headed, peeled, washed and ready for freezing! Plus, the kitchen was all cleaned with mopped floors! Whew!

When we get a bundle of shrimp like this, I immediately pull out one very large tray. This tray sits on the kitchen table and as the "header" gets a nice bowlful ready, he dumps them there for me to peel. The tray is so large that it covers a good bit of the table. This makes cleanup a lot easier as it catches all of the nasty "shrimp juice" that sort of erupts from a shrimp as it is peeled. Today, as I pulled the tray out of its storage spot, I thought of all the folks that have used it over the years. I am not sure just where it came from originally but my grandparents had it first as near as I can recollect. It could have been handed down to them, for all I know, since the history of the tray was not deemed important enough to pass down with the tray itself. Like I said, so many folks have used the tray and not all for shrimp (although, if the family ever had a "Shrimp Boil", that tray was the focal point of the event. It held the mounds of delectable morsels fresh from the cooker! The steaming hot shrimp would be dumped on the tray which was set in the middle of a makeshift table. All "Shrimp Boils" were held outside so any dropped peels would land on the ground and not make a mess of the kitchen floor! The same with "Crab Boils"! Summer would see plenty of such gala events with all the aunts, uncles and cousins gathered around. Each would bring a dish of potato salad, coleslaw, garlic bread, baked beans or some dessert! The table spread would be tremendous! Yep, this tray has seen a lot of such events!

In the fall, crowder peas would be heaped on the tray so everyone could get in on the shelling. Usually, the pea-shelling would be on the screened porch as the gnats or mosquitoes would have munched on our legs causing red welts to swell and itch like crazy! During the winter months, this same tray would be mounded over with pecans as we all sat around shelling them. The tray sometimes would be placed on the floor so all the kids could shell the nuts while the adults would pick out any of the small pieces of inner shells. There was always a lot of chatter and plenty of laughter! It seems as if, back in the day, we could make a party out of anything! Speaking of parties..out came the tray again! Not just to serve food but to be used in a "family" party game. An adult..usually my grandmother..would have collected together a very odd assortment of small trinkets and household items the day before the party was to take place. After the tray was used to serve sandwiches or cookies, it would be wiped down and all hundred or so small items would be randomly placed on the tray. Each game participant was given a pencil and paper (sometimes teams assigned). Then with a "Timer" holding a kitchen timer ready, she would bring in the tray of assorted odd items. We were given one minute to look over the tray and try to remember as many things on the tray as we could. At the end of the minute, the tray and items were whisked away to the kitchen. The timer was reset for five minutes and all players raced to jot down as many of the names of the items as could be remembered! Everything being a commonplace item made it harder than you might think! A clothespin, a diaper pin, a spoon, a postage stamp, a hair comb..things of this nature that you see every day have a tendency to slip the mind when something like an ice cube (melting, by the way!), a diamond ring, a live goldfish in a tiny bowl or a lit candle drew your attention! At the end of five minutes, Grandmother would bring the tray back in again so we could check our lists. Whichever player remembered the most items from the tray won the game! One of the small trinkets was given as a prize and the tray was again put back up to wait for the next gathering. It was a fun game for all ages and all ages attended these parties! These "Back in the day" times were all about family! Good, clean fun, tasty food, lively chatter and lots of laughter created an atmosphere that all enjoyed! And this tray, well, it saw it all...and still does! I hope that one of my children will want the tray and see just how versatile it is...and not just use it for food-serving!

Watching the paint dry!

I spent hours today just watching the paint dry! No..I spent hours today waiting for paint to dry but I did not just sit around the house and be lazy! I went to the pier to be lazy! Nothing like a good excuse to escape the confines of the house! Early this morning, I painted the ceiling of the hallway. It looked grand except the old white ceiling paint showed through is some places. Since it would need a second coat, I got the harebrained idea to put the first coat of paint on the floor. I would make good use of my time while the painted ceiling dried! Now that was using my head! So I painted! With the first coat on the floor finished, I realized that I had painted myself not only out of the bathroom..but out of the entire rest of the house! The only room that I could enter was the livingroom. Now that was NOT using my head! It would not have been so bad had I remembered to unlock the back door. It also would not have been nearly so bad had I not been so hungry! I was locked out of the kitchen! Egads! This would never do! I would slowly starve to death as I waited for the paint to dry! That is when I realized that I had two options..I could sit and agonize over the hunger pangs that were ripping through my stomach..(ok..so it growled a little) or I could find something a lot more fun to do. When I look for fun, it usually involves the water, so I headed to the Bay!

Ezzy waiting to go fishing!

I am happy to say that I did not starve and I had quite the enjoyable time on the pier! Mutt Ezzy and I made the best of our time. We had a wonderful time playing fetch..I would fetch minnows for her and she would eat them. This went on for about twenty minnows (menhaden) until I decided that she had enough. Many more would have made for a very ill puppy tonight and that was not a desirable situation! While catching the menhaden, I noticed that quite a few shrimp were in the net with each throw. All three freezers are filled to capacity but I just could not resist the free food! Shrimp are always good so I started tossing them in the bucket. Ezzy had her fill of minnows and I caught a nice mess of shrimp for supper! It seems that shrimp season is here so I will have to just make more time to spend on the end of the pier! I guess that means that the paint jobs will have plenty of drying time!

A nice size shrimp!

Supper!

Shrimp or Prawns? Kings or Tigers?

This morning's trek to the pier was quite the foggy outing. It was so refreshing to sit there with the coffee mug in hand just taking in the breaking of a new dawn. Hubby and I sat sipping our morning "wake-up" while chatting with my brother. He was on his pier just a few hundred feet away catching mullet in his net. It was the perfect beginning of a wonderful day.

After we were back at the house, Hubby headed out to make a delightful purchase. He brought back fifty pounds of fresh shrimp! A friend of his has a large shrimp boat. The boat had just gotten back from a trip to the Gulf and had a load of the most beautiful shrimp! I was happy to get them since it seems the season for the critters in the Bay might be a bit bleak this year. I have not caught many from the pier and those that I did catch were very small. My freezer was looking a bit on the empty side! Hubby is going to get another fifty pounds so my day tomorrow will be a repeat of today...heading shrimp...peeling shrimp...bagging shrimp! It takes a couple of hours but will be well worth the effort come this winter. Shrimp will definitely be on the menu for any who visit the Little Bayou House!

This brings me to another "ponderation" though. The shrimp today were a mix brown or white shrimp. Nothing unusual about that as this is what is normally caught in the Gulf of Mexico. Then there were a few that were almost black. The meat of these was not the nearly translucent color of the whites and browns..this meat was snow white. The confusing part is all of the different tales that I have been told about these shrimp. Someone once told me that they are "King" Shrimp. I am not too sure what the term "King" Shrimp refers to but perhaps since there are only a few in each catch..they are kings of the school. A little far-fetched there but hey, whatever. I am supposing that there could be royalty in the shrimp domain! I was also told that they are not actually shrimp but prawns. On research, I found what we call shrimp are all actually prawns..so the assumption that these black shrimp are prawns seem to be a bit grasping at answers. It seems the term shrimp as we often hear it is an American term..other parts of the world call our "shrimp" "prawns". Who knew? To me "prawns" sounds a tad bit uppity..I will stick with shrimp! Another person told me "Don't eat them! They are poisonous!" Sorry, but I have been eating them just like any other shrimp ever since I can remember. So either they are not toxic or I am slowing being poisoned and do not realize it! Then I was told that they are Tiger Shrimp. This makes a bit more sense in the fact that Tiger Shrimp are black..sort of a stripey black but still black. Tiger Shrimp are mostly found near Asia but I suppose if some got lost and wound up in the Gulf of Mexico, no one would send them back home. So..with this said, I am going with Tiger Shrimp! If anyone wants to correct me on this, I would love to hear the proper name for these black shrimp. In the meantime, they are bagged with the rest of their buddies and await the frypan!

Shrimp and Fish!

The Bayou was the scene of a wild, windy and rainy day! I ventured down to the pier early this morning between showers. The wind was stirring up the Bay something fierce and I could see the rain coming! A hasty retreat back to the house was necessary for fear that my camera would be soaked! No sunrise pictures again today!

Several gourds needed to be painted for a friend so that was the plan for the day! The gourd with the painted shrimp that I finished the other day was a tad small for the order so I had to begin again. I pulled the largest gourd I could find and set to work. This time, the shrimp seemed relatively easy to paint..I guess the old saying of "practice makes perfect" is true..although, I still need a ton of practice to ever "perfect" my art. The gourd was painted in record time!...but was it finished?? It appeared to lack something. I played around for the rest of the day just trying to "dress up" this gourd. Finally, I decided to "sew" a piece of netting to the top of the gourd to see if that would help at all. This was easier said than done! First off, the gourd was a mite slippery since I had put a nice coat of wax on it to seal the paint. This was not making it particularly easy to attach a net! The gourd would slip to one side and the net would simply slide off. I tried gathering the net around the gourd and the goofy thing shot out of my hand like it was in a slingshot! It careened off the table and hit the floor..uhoh this could be trouble! I gingerly picked up the gourd and inspected it for cracks..nope! Not a one! Whew! I must be a tad more careful! The next stumbling block came in the form of stretchy netting! I was using a piece of an old castnet but for some reason it felt more like elastic! It would stretch almost double its original length! Every time I would position it on the gourd, it would look right on one side but the other side would look one of those Shar Pei dogs with all of its wrinkles! I pulled..I tugged..I trimmed and I whip-stitched the net to the top of the gourd and called it finished! My "shrimp gourd" can be delivered after which I will breathe a sigh of relief!

While working on the gourd, I was sitting at a table that I had painted for my husband several years ago. It turned out to be one of my favorite pieces that I have ever painted. Perhaps because it was for him or perhaps it was the subject matter of the piece. I painted a picture of a redfish on the table top since this is one of his favorite fish to catch. He loved his table and uses it almost daily as a "laptop" table! But today..I noticed a problem! There is a large crack that has developed right down the middle of the table! I believe it was caused by the heat of his computer. Hopefully, I will be able to repair the crack and give the table a another chance at survival! This is its second life as it was donated to me by the flood waters of Katrina. Ha..from debris pile to "treasured family heirloom"! Or after I am gone..back to a debris pile! Who knows?? Anyway..on tomorrow's to-do list..repair a table!