Bat Attack On The Mushrooms!

   The trouble with inheriting cats from other places, is they are curious as to the doings of the Bayou and surrounding areas.  The "throwaway" cat that came to live at the Little Bayou House is no different.  Add to the fact that "Bat" is still actually a kitten in a rather large. adult-sized body and that curiosity can often get out of hand.  He is never still.  Bat climbs, explores, falls into and literally obliterates almost everything he contacts.  Poor buddy has a long way to go before becoming a true Bayou Cat.

  Today, I cut firewood.  This is getting to be a tiresome chore for an old lady but if I expect to keep the wood-burning stoves chugging along relentlessly, it is a chore that needs to be done. So, I do it.  After cutting and hauling several loads to the woodpile, I came across a dozen or so large oak chunks that needed to be split.  THAT is even harder for me to do now.  Swinging an axe is something best left to younger folks.  Still, since it was there, it could not hurt to give it a try.  I did fairly well and got enough split for at least a few burnings.  

  It was on one of the logs that I noticed some very large mushrooms.  Even though they were a greyish brown, the things were rather lovely...in their own right.  They appeared to be so soft and velvety!  Thinking I should photograph the 'shrooms, I traded the axe for the camera.  At the very moment I tried to photograph the mushrooms, Bat decided to attack!  The mushrooms were soon a matted, flat mess!  That crazy cat is not the best friend of any camera toting person!  He is a rascal!  Grow up, Bat!!

Cats are funny....even when they are not cats

   Bat, the Bayou Prince Cat, has come through his surgery fine and is back to his bouncy self again.  It is different having a young cat here since we have always run an "Assisted Living" home for critters.  Old critters seemed to gravitate to the Bayou for their last years.  Bringing them comfort as they aged meant a lot to me and I can only hope that the favor will be returned if I ever need assistance.  Hopefully, it won't come to that but you just never know.  Bat, on the other hand, is a bouncing baby boy in the true sense of the phrase.  He literally bounces everywhere.  

  One of his favorite napping spots is the glider rocker where Son often sits.  Since Son is his favorite person, it is not hard to understand that he chooses the comfy chair.  Today, Son sat in the other rocker and held the cat while I was folding laundry. We were talking about how accident prone I have been lately when he quipped that I was just being  my "usual self".  Ugh!  I admit it but...then, again...I don't want to admit it!  So, I picked up a black shirt and threw it at him!  He dodged the shirt and it hit on the glider rocker....right in the spot where Bat naps!  From the angle where I was standing, the shirt fell into a mound shaped almost like a cat!   I got the giggles and Son just stared at me as if I was "batty".  I tried to explain what I saw.  He glanced over and just saw a rumpled up shirt.  I snatched up the camera and took a photo to show him.  Yep!  It did, indeed, look like Bat!  Funny, funny Bat! Only it was a shirt!

West Is The New North!

  In my meanderings about the hillside, marshes, creek bed and woods, I have come to the reasoning that a lot of what is touted as "survival skills" is pure hogwash.  The so-called "Preppers" of the Internet World have no clue of how to survive in the wild.  Sure, there are a handful that would fall into the category of hardcore survivalists and could withstand most everything thrown at them but the wannabes are killing me with their advice.  Just today, I was in a discussion with some other folks about how to survive if you become lost on a hike.  It was decided by most that they would use some sort of electronic gadget to find their way out of the woods.  When I threw out a scenario of "What happens if that is lost or broken?", it seemed to be the popular idea that you should "Look for moss on trees because that is the north side!".  Yep, because we ALL know that moss only grows on the north side of the tree.  (For those of you who are unaware, mosses carry compasses! Surely, that is true because you just read it on the Internet!)  Besides, I am not even sure these people could tell their right from their left much less know cardinal directions.  Speaking of that, in one of our past Clue Hunts on the Bayou, the teams had to use a compass to get to their next post.  Not ONE GROUP knew how to use the thing.  (Oh, and these were all teens and adults.)  But it was that north-facing moss that was the kicker today.

  Folks, moss grows anywhere it pleases.  It does not grow only on the north sides of trees.  It can grow on the south, east and west sides too...not to mention limbs, roots or anywhere.  Moss, when happy, tends to multiply and flourish and grow everywhere.  That said, try to figure out a direction from a tree completely covered in moss.  Not happening folks.  Plus, do you know your mosses from your algae?  Algae grow on trees, too.  Uh, oh.  Could be trouble. 

  This afternoon, I was wandering the creek bed when I burst out in giggles thinking of how my trees might confuse a lot of my friends.  There was a perfectly beautiful green coating on the WEST side of a tree.  It was algae growth.  Yep, not moss, at all.  That green stuff can be tricky.

  Folks, if you really want to learn survival tricks, get off the Internet.  While it is full of helpful (and some not so helpful) information, it is not going to do you any good if you are truly lost.  Try actually learning something instead of just "pinning" it or "saving" it for a later date.  It won't be there when you really need it.  I do not claim to be any better at things than the next person but it seems that it would be a much wiser decision to actually learn the proper methods of doing things if you are going to preach it.