Darkness

   "Progress" is beginning to wear thin on my nerves.  Things are a little better today since we had a wee bit of rain overnight but for the past two months, I was constantly on edge.  My nerves were being tested at each turnaround.  A severe drought left our area literally crispy.  Leaves prematurely fell from the trees and became a thick, crackly carpet throughout the woods.  This was just waiting for someone to take a notion of starting a fire whether by ill intention, a tossed out cigarette, fireworks or campfire.  The city took the wise step of issuing a burn ban but, obviously, that does not apply to everyone.  This all goes back to the progress thing.  Clearcutting property has reached a frenzied stage as building new houses is all the rage.  Fine.  Fine and dandy.  BUT...you should follow the rules.  As the people clear the properties all around us, the trees are simply shoved in huge piles and lit afire.  Yep, lit afire while we are under a burn ban due to drought.  It is nerve racking to smell smoke knowing that any spark could set up a wildfire with the brisk north winds.  Progress!  Oh, how I would love to go back to being in solitude around here.

  As I sat on the pier yesterday morning, I had a brief moment where I felt that solitude.  The skies were eerily bright even though the sun had not even risen above the pines but the woods were pitch black.  I say woods...there are dozens of homes just beyond those trees.  For some odd reason, nary a light could be seen (power outage, maybe?).  No streetlights, no house lights...nothing.  As I sat there pondering the darkness, it occurred to me that maybe we are not meant to see everything.  Perhaps, we are better off being in our own little worlds.  I know I am.  Too bad, it appears that my little world is soon to be a thing of the past.

Only Ten Minutes

   Have you ever stopped to think just how quickly things can change?  In a matter of moments, things can bounce from one extreme to the other and sometimes back again.  While we have a tendency to think things pretty much remain as they are, nothing stays the same for long.  Life is that way.  Better enjoy the moments as they are and not fret over what may be as it can flip-flop around so fast your head will spin!

  As proof of how things can quickly do turnarounds, compare the two photographs.  The first one was taken when I arrived at the pier early this morning.  There was an odd haze obscuring the view.  The sun was blocked by clouds but looking southward down the pier, the entire Bay seemed to be a blur.  It was an odd haze which almost appeared to be smoky...maybe?  As I waited, the haze started lifting.  Ten minutes after arriving on the pier, everything was crystal clear.  Thick clouds still hung in the sky but the golden-hued haze had totally disappeared.  Odd...very odd.  It only takes a few moments, folks, for things to reverse themselves.  

The "Smoke Screen"

One thing about those "controlled burns" that the Forestry Department does just north of us is that it makes for some interesting photographs. The other day, when the smoke thickened over the Bayou, it gave a golden glow to the clouds hanging in the noonday sky.  The smoke acted sort of like a filter to the sunlight and blocked out most of the brilliance. This was the first time in several years that the smoke from the burns did not give a "star" effect to the sun.  Instead, it just looked like a big, white ball and the clouds, though darkened, were golden.

  While standing there looking at the sky, my oldest brother and I both had the same thought.  The smoke hanging in the air reminded us of the "look at the eclipse through a smoked glass" directive that we were taught way back in grade school.  At that time, it was deemed safe to peer directly at the sun (or eclipse) if you did so through a piece of glass that was covered in soot (or smoke) from a candle.  Another way was to use a piece of undeveloped film.  Well after generations hurt their eyes by "following the rules", it came to light (pun intended!) that these methods were not safe!  Imagine that! It seems that basically, if you wish to check out the sun, you need some special equipment or a welder's mask.  I figure that I am ok without looking directly at that big ball of fire.  I let the camera do it for me.  Point and shoot.

  Back to the weird sky, though!  The smoke continued throughout the day and into the early evening.  Then, it disappeared as quickly as it came.  I know the controlled burns are for safety reasons and I appreciate the men and women who make the effort to protect us so I tolerate the smoke.  There were times back on the farm when we did the very same thing to the fields that had become overgrown.  Pop would set backfires to burn trails through the grass before setting the full field afire.  There were also times that he would intentionally burn through crops to protect the barns and farmhouse from woods fires that were quickly bearing down on the old homeplace.  As kids, we were all armed with pitchforks and wet burlap sacks to beat down the flames.   It is crazy how things have changed.  Farm kids had to do a lot of things that kids nowadays would never dream of doing.  In a way, I think it was to my advantage.  I learned a lot of things from these experiences.  Things that are probably going the wayside now.  Things that a lot of folks will never experience.  

Where There Is Smoke.....DON'T BREATHE!!!

  The "Big Cleanup" of the yard is still underway.  Today, the rose garden was cleared and trimmed, fig trees "un-mulched" and about a billion acorns and hickory nuts were raked and carted off down he hill.  There, the nuts can feed numerous critters for the next few weeks but will be out from underfoot.  There is nothing worse than stepping on a hickory nut and taking a slippery slide down the hillside.  It is best that the nuts are out of the way.  As all of this was being done, my little burn pit was chugging out smoke from leaves and twigs.  The garden area was sometimes quite thick with the smoke but since we had a stiff north wind, the smoke was soon sent flying over the Bay.  Occasionally, a heavy fog would roll back in off the Bay making it difficult to tell if the smoke was the problem or if the haze was fog.  

  About noontime, I began to notice that the area was becoming quite obscured by the white haze.  Hmmm, fog?  Smoke?  Maybe a mixture?  It was about that time that my brother called asking if I smelled smoke.  Duh??  Of course!  I even smelled of smoke myself! I had been burning leaves all morning but it did not make sense that he should smell my little burn pile.  He was north of me and with the wind blowing everything south, the smell should have followed.  That said, he informed me that he could hardly see anything down his way and he thought perhaps there was a woods fire north of him.  That's it!  A woods fire would account for all of the heavy smoke but that did not bode well for his place nor the Little Bayou House.  Again, that wind was blowing everything southward...right on top of us.  A quick trip to the pier, proved that whatever was burning, it was truly huge.  Everything was blocked from view. 

  After a bit, a call to the fire department was met with "Its a controlled burn.  Everything is ok....just do not drive, stay indoors if the smoke gets too thick and, well, don't breathe."  Huh, don't breathe?  The first two directives were pretty logical advice but that last one had me pondering the smarts of the person taking the calls.  LADY!  I HAVE TO BREATHE!  

  The smoke lingered for the rest of the day even though my little burner died out. Even tonight, the air is thick with the stench of the smoke. Whew!  I am glad that I did not cause all of that!  My little burner cannot wreak that much havoc!

Smoke Over the Bayou

  The Bayou is always a point of interest to any who come to visit.  At least it is to those who like to tromp around exploring new things.  This makes me happy as there is much to learn if only eyes can be opened. Instead of sitting inside all day letting the brain be dormant, it seems to me, that learning is a way of keeping the mind fit.  Just like our bodies, our brains need exercise. So even if no one else is here to explore, I hike to get the best of both!   This afternoon while hiking near the the marsh, I noticed smoke rising up over the pines.  Well, that just doesn't seem to be a happy event!  Smoke rarely means something good is happening...at least THAT much smoke!  This was far too much to be a grill or even a small trash pile.  I always get the ominous feeling about smoke ever since the first house here on the Bayou burned.  That was such a tragic day for us and to think of other folks experiencing the trauma of a house fire saddens me.  To lose everything in such a way is harrowing.  I said a prayer right then and there.

  The smoke was a reminder of our fire back in some ancient time filed in among the cobwebs in my brain.  At that time, we lost everything we owned.  All we had was each other and the clothes on our backs.  It was not a good time.  Had it not been for family, friends and even complete strangers, we would not have been able to regroup as quickly as we did. Then Hurricane Katrina hit us with all she had and left us struggling again.  Even though the Little Bayou House was intact, so much was lost. It is no wonder that I cling to whatever tidbit of my past that I can. Once things are ripped from you, the family "heirlooms" (no matter how small) bring comfort.  Ha!  This is why the Little Bayou House is filled to the brim and it is why I am the Keeper of All Things Weird and Wonderful.  They reassure me that I am still here.  

  Today, the smoke billowed for almost an hour.  I have yet to discover the source.  Hopefully, this was a controlled burn by the Forestry Commission and not some devastating house fire.  I hope no one ever has to go through that pain.  Again....it is not fun.

Its Toast!

  Yep, its toast.  It bit the dust.  It plain out died...well, sort of...maybe...probably, well, there is no maybe about it..it is dead. Before dawn this morning, I was in the process of making me a bit of breakfast when the calamity struck.  I had just plopped two slices of bread into the old toaster and turned to stir my coffee. Wham!  Psssssst!  Pop! The room filled with the most acrid smoke imaginable!  Oh, my!  I spun around toward the toaster to be met with flames.  Alrighty then!  This was not my favorite way to start the morning!  

  I pulled the plug on the flame-spitting, smoke-spewing monster and opened the back door.  The cooling breeze helped alleviate the stinging, cough-inducing smoke so I was able to examine the toaster.  Yep, just as I had imagined...that old thing was toast!  It was definitely a goner. The cord near the plug was nigh burnt in two and the rubber around it was soft and mushy. (Also, stinky!) 

  This morning's incident was a minor nuisance although, it could have been far worse. While this could have been a disaster with the overhead cabinets heating up pretty fast, it made me feel a lot better about my habit of unplugging all small appliances.  I think sometimes Mark thinks that I am a mite crazy for putting the toaster up in the cabinet after each use but I always worry about things just like what happened today.  We already lost one house due to a faulty plug in a clock radio.  There was no need to get lackadaisical.  (Oh, and do not think that just because you have new appliances that this cannot happen.  The aforementioned clock radio was brand new!)

  The incident, also, made me realize that we need new smoke detectors.  The one nearly directly above the toaster never even sounded even though the room was thick with black (and did I mention stinky?) smoke.  Installing a few new ones will be on the agenda! Meanwhile, my bread finished toasting on the old cast iron skillet which just so happens to be my preferred method anyway.  

***SO CHECK THE PLUGS ON ALL APPLIANCES, TRY TO REMEMBER TO UNPLUG ANY NOT IN USE AND....DO A CHECK ON THE SMOKE ALARMS!!!  Right now...go do it...get going...do not procrastinate!***

 

 

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

  Put that in your pipe and smoke it! That would be the attitude of the officials if I had nerve to complain but since I don't, I just have to live with it.  "It" being smoke and all of the grime that goes with it.  Up north of here, the forestry folks are in the midst of doing their "controlled burns".  Large spans of grassy fields and even some wooded areas are burned in the name of controlling future fires.  I can see the sense in that...I suppose...but it still does not help matters here nor does it help the thousands of critters that are rousted out of their snug homes in the midst of winter. No one thinks about the rabbits, fox, mice, bobcats and other critters that make nice snug dens.  Yep, they are all out of a place to live now that the land has been scorched.  Out of a home, if they survived at all.

   Still, that is not my gripe for the day even though my complaint seems petty compared to what the animals must be feeling at the moment. It seems that every time there is one of these burns, we happen to have a north wind.  This makes all that nice smoke and ash float down my way. I was out minding my own business, in my own garden when I was literally coated with ashes drifting down from the sky. Ashes in my hair. Ashes on my clothes.  Ashes on my freshly washed laundry on the clothesline. Nice. (And, yes, I am being sarcastic there..it was far from nice.)  To make matters worse, this ash was falling on things that were still wet from a heavy fog this morning and on my wet towels.  Nice.  (See, above...sarcasm is a grand thing.) 

  The only good thing that I found in today's smokiness was an interesting sun.  Mid afternoon saw the sun being shrouded by the smoke.  It was thick enough to create an almost surreal atmosphere. Where the day should have been bright, it was darkened with a reddish brown haze.  Although this was rather interesting, I do hope this is the last of the controlled burns for this season.  

Things find me!

  I have had several folks ask me how I find so many interesting things without ever leaving the Bayou.  It is my belief that I do not find these things.  They find me.  Then, there is the other possibility.  Everyone else might see the same things that I do if they spent as much time outdoors as I do.  There are only so many phenomena that occur inside four walls.  Outside, the chances of happening upon something intriguing is not a rare occurrence. 

  After I finished all of my inside drudgery, err, chores, I headed out to do a bit of gardening.  The 140plus cabbages are all starting to head so one more round of nourishment was needed.  (Now, I just have to sit back and wait!)  My time spent outside also saw me raking some more of the downed leaves.  These things just won't quit!  Ms. Ez bounced in my piles as I raked.  The old dog still has a good bit of puppy in her, I do believe!  All the while, I kept smelling smoke.  Far up north of here, the Forestry Department was doing a "controlled" burn.  The thick smoke invaded my space dropping ashes on me.  I knew to keep checking the sun as this blanket of smoke could set up an interesting view.  Sure enough, just about two in the afternoon, I noticed it.  The smoke was passing between me and the sun making everything quite unusual.  I had seen this before so knew just what to expect.  I hurried to get my camera.

  As the cloud of smoke thickened, the sun started looking more and more like some fanciful star.  Time for a few pictures, I thought!  While snapping photographs, I wondered just how many folks were actually seeing the beautiful sky.  This would only be seen for a few moments and then will be gone.  Yep, if you don't get up and get outside, Mother Nature cannot share her beauty with you.  Even smoke and the sun try hard to amuse us.

Murky Bayou?

  It recently occurred to me that some folks have an erroneous idea of my life here on the Bayou. Perhaps my tales have unintentionally led people a bit astray.  Obviously, there are those who think bayou life is filled with the weird and wonderful things of the theater.  While things can be strange at times, life here is not mysterious.  Contrary to popular belief, there is not always some low fog hovering amongst the cane (reference below!) and Big Foot has yet to make his appearance.  (Although, occasionally we do have some pretty strange critters bounding about the marsh!)  My life here cannot be compared to some creepy carnival sideshow with voodoo and zombies.  It amuses me that folks ask me constantly if they can "visit the Bayou" as if it is majorly exciting.  They have the mistaken belief that I can conjure up "spirits" like the fictional character "Tia Dalma" from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean".  Nope.  I cannot do that.  No way, no how.  (Although, I must admit that my son does bear a striking resemblance to the character "Jack Sparrow"!)  That said, at times things do lend themselves to being just creepy enough to send shivers up the spine of those of the not-so-brave sort.  Whether it be the screeching call of a loon or the bellow of a bull alligator, there are things that can be a bit disconcerting. The "uninitiated" might step a tad closer to the door of the Little Bayou House.

  However!  (Isn't there always something that goes against the rules?)  However, things do occur that are a bit fun to "play with" and to twist, turn and otherwise distort into a mystery!  Take, for instance, yesterday morning!  I was out at daybreak.  It was making up to be a most beautiful day and I wanted to get a head start on my yard work.  I stoked the leaf burner.  The hot ashes from the day before sprang to life and smoke started billowing out of the burner.  In the distance, I could hear the loud splashes of the pelicans as they hunted breakfast.  Across the Bayou, a couple of coons were quite "busy" and their squeals echoed through the early morning stillness.  To anyone not knowing these sounds, the Bayou would seem to be a wild and eerie place.  Just as I was thinking that very thought, I noticed how strangely the smoke was behaving.  The humidity was causing the smoke to lay low to the ground.  It was not rising high in the sky but rather trailed through the undergrowth and around the hillside like some live entity.  Aha!  If only!  If only I had some gullible folks around here at that very moment! The smoke laid low like any good swamp mist should! My shrieking coons could be the "Swamp Critter" splashing (remember the pelicans?) about the marsh.  With just a bit of "good story-telling", my visitors would be easing back up near the doorway!

  

  It is funny how this is.  Several years ago, we were having a large fish fry with lots of family members and a few friends.  A good many of the young folk gathered on the pier to try their hand at fishing.  Just about dark, my niece asked me to relate the tale of the "Bayou Critter".  This was a bit of a fantasy tale that my oldest son and I created years and years ago.  The tale grew with passing time and was a point of interest around here.  I told the tale in my own eerie way dragging on and on until it was well after dark.  This caused the young folk (late teens) to become a bit leery of making the hike back to the house with no light.  I volunteered to fetch several flashlights from the house.  When I did, I "let slip" to my oldest son, Mark, and my nephew, Daniel, about the telling of the tale and how scared the teens were.  That did it!  They both slipped out the back door and down to the marsh edge.  I hiked back to gather the young folk homewards.  Just as the group stepped off of the pier, Mark and Daniel went into action!  Mark let loose a bloodcurdling yell while Daniel threw several large logs into the marsh! My sweet daughter-in-law, Joanna, was on the back porch and excitedly yelled to me.  "Mom! WHAT WAS THAT?" She had played along well with Mark and Daniel's ruse!  I have never seen nor heard so much ruckus come from a group of teenagers in my entire life! They bolted toward the Little Bayou House. Once they were inside, the hair-raising jitters did not stop!  I do believe storytelling with a little background activity can convince anyone that there are sinister creatures lurking about in the Bayou!

  To me, the Bayou is a peaceful place.  It is a bit of paradise where one can escape the things that are really scary!  As for the smoke?  I found it had a certain loveliness about it as it snaked its way beneath the canebrake.  Life is only what you make it and I choose to make mine as serene as possible.