Windy Days, High Tides and Silly Birds!

   For the past few days, there has been some sort of weather system in the Gulf that has been pounding us with strong easterly winds that pushed the water way up higher than usual.  This high tide presented its share of problems with securing the skiff and with knocking loose a few of the pier boards.  Thankfully, none of the boards were lost as they were simply washed over to my brother's yard.  Once the tide recedes, they will be hauled back and another attempt at finishing the repairs will take place.  This was damage from Hurricane Zeta last fall and here we are looking at another system already.  The hurricane season was started a month early to compensate for what the forecasters are calling a "busy" year.  Great.  Just great.

  Not all is bad with the wind and high tides.  At least, there are no gnats as those rascals have been blown to parts unknown.  That is fine by me.  Now if the wind could possibly do something about the mosquitoes and deer flies, I would be one happy camper.  Speaking of happy campers, the egrets are taking full advantage of the tide being pushed well into the yard.  With the high tide, small fish and minnows are also up well into the yard.  The egrets and herons are "wade-fishing" on the grass!  While Son and I watched several egrets were snapping up minnows and, Moe, the Great Blue Heron awkwardly chased a mullet that had somehow found its way onto the grass. The birds were getting plenty to eat today!

  The tide will be up until the storm goes inland then, hopefully, things will settle down a bit.  It has been a windy week and I am ready for a change.  I have a lot of chores needing to be done that just cannot be safely tended with tropical storm force winds whipping about the place all day.  Until then, I will sit back, enjoy the gnatless days and the show put on by the birds.  

A "Shoulder" To Lean On....

  Every now and again, even the toughest of us needs someone with strong shoulders to "lean on".  We need the security, the reassurance, the comfort of just knowing someone is in our corner.  Those shoulders can be the big burly guy like Mark or the soft..umm...well-padded shoulders of a grandmotherly type.  The type shoulders matters not.  What matters is they are there when we need them.

  For the past two days, storms have pounded the Bayou.  We have seen hail, gale-force winds and torrential rains.  I did not need the "shoulders" for support as I love a good storm and this one fit the bill to a T.  We had all of the trappings of a squall without major damage!  That is my kind of storm!  Still, when I headed to the pier this afternoon, it was good to see that a strong "shoulder" was there when needed.  And, yes, I am speaking figuratively here as I am giving personification to part of the pier.  One of the broad pier posts was in the right spot to catch the wooden bench before the strong winds pushed it off the pier.  Had the post not been there, our bench would have gone swimming never to be seen again.  The wooden bench would have been shoved overboard and pushed away by the winds.  It has happened before!

  Everything on the pier took a beating but there is nothing that cannot be replaced or repaired.  Those "damages" are not worthy of complaint.  Instead, my thoughts are with those in the path of this system that have not been so fortunate.  Flooding, wind damage and tornadic activity wreaked havoc on some places.  They will not recover for months, if then.  Hopefully, there will be helping hands and strong shoulders for those in need.  

Stranger Things...

  There are times that the Bayou presents me with things.  These items come from parts unknown and are washed in on high tides.  Let a tropical storm or hurricane whip in here and the trove is quite unbelievable.  One never knows what will be found in the yard.  These "treasures" are often mostly trash that needs to be discarded but occasionally a true "treasure" is found.  After hurricanes, I have found furniture, household items and tools strewn about the property.  A lot of it is beyond repair but there are pieces that can be restored to be useful. Trust me when I say, I am not so high and mighty that I will not use the stuff.  I have.  We were always taught that it is purely wasteful to not at least try to repair and reuse items.  

  The past week has brought some odd weather to the Bayou.  A tropical storm hurried through only to meet up with a cold front coming down.  Mother Nature's whims sent things into a bit of a turmoil.  Not much was hurt in the wake of this but a few things were tossed around.  No biggy.  Then, we were bombarded by the system that sits on top of us now.  This one is "no biggy" either but it gave a bit of wind and copious amounts of rain...and is still giving us rain.  Last night, one squall gave up a "treasure".

  Early this morning, I carried the old dog out to do his business.  While I was headed to his favorite spot, I noticed something strange.  A beach ball had obviously flown in on the wind.  While this is not overly unusual, the spot where it landed and became lodged was.  Son built a "brig" or jail (of sorts) for the clue hunt.  Since the hunt takes place on an uninhabited (almost) spot, the pirates that were shipwrecked supposedly had to use what material was on hand.  The brig is created out of reed fencing and canes from our huge canebrake.  Somehow, that beach ball was tossed inside of the brig!  Now, the only thing that remains locked in our jail is a faded beach ball that came in on a storm.  

  Strange tides bring strange things.  The treasure trove of oddities continues to grow with each storm that surges across the Bay.  For now, the ball will remain in the brig.  There is one team left to compete in the annual hunt so we shall see their reaction to something so out of place it is hilarious.  Will they think this is some odd clue?  Or will they realize that Mother Nature played yet another trick on us all?

 

It Came...It Went

  It had been the perfect night for sleeping.  The old dog was snoring on his bed, the cat was snoozing near my feet and it was raining.  The soft thunder in the distance and the pelting of raindrops on the rooftop helped me to drift off into a deep slumber.  A good storm can always relax me so I got some much needed rest.

  Then along about 4am, a loud crash woke me.  Something had smacked the side of the house!  It was then that I realized that the wind was literally howling at the french doors.  Whoa!  The tropical system that was stirring about in the Gulf had decided to move ashore.  Even though, Olga went in to our west, we got a bit of the high tides and strong winds. 

  The storm did some slight damage to the pier but, other than the limb hitting the house, everything is good.  This one just sort of caught us off guard.  Son and I had pulled up the small skiff and had hauled the fishing gear up from the pier so there were no worries.  At daybreak, he and I headed down to retrieve the pier boards that were being ripped off.  Some we found.  Others floated off to parts unknown.  

  Storms like these keep us on our toes and make us realize just how small and insignificant we really are.  Things can change in a heartbeat with no warning,  It is best to use time wisely.

Marsh Mats and Critters!

  When the southeast wind blows hard, it cleans the marshy areas quite nicely on the Bay side.  The shore side, however, usually receives all the trash that was hidden in the grass.  I try to scoop up most of the trash that is within reach but I am sure not going to traipse about the mud to get stuff.   There are too many hidden dangers that lurk beneath the tall, waving reeds.  In the past few weeks alone, I have found two cottonmouths sunning themselves so there is no telling how many others go unseen.  The same tides and wind that clean the trash from the marsh also rolls dead reeds into huge marsh mats.  These mats house many critters.  They provide shelter for the snakes.  They make perfect thatched roofs for the otter and nutria dens.  They give escape routes for the rabbits and rice rats.  They, also, provide a nice "table" for other critters.

  A few weeks ago, Moe the heron took a large mullet to the marsh mats.  Here, the bird was assured that the fish would not "get away" if he dropped it.  Moe finished off the mullet with no eventful struggles.  These same mats now serve as a dining spot for the small otter pups.  For the past few nights, the otters have been feasting on the mussels that anchor themselves in the marsh roots along the shoreline.  The otters rip the mussels free and carry them to a mat.  The mussels are opened and the pups feast on the soft meats.  It is obvious by the number of shells left behind that the otters find the mussels rather tasty!

  While I find the marsh mats interesting and they do serve a lot of different purposes for the critter life of the Bayou, I can only imagine the mess if we get a hurricane.  All of this will wind up in the yard.  The marsh mats and the critters within will become one huge mess in the yard.  Hopefully, that will not happen and the mats will have time to rot before coming shore bound.