Oops! I Goofed!

  I am probably one of the few diehard folks who still use an actual camera.   Other than professional photographers and those "self-proclaimed" wannabe photographers, most folks use the camera feature on their phones to record everything from what they ate for breakfast to what pair of shoes they are wearing for the day.  I have yet to learn how to use the phone camera so I stick with my 13 year old, heavy as lead camera.  It suits me fine. 

  Occasionally, however, I find photographs on the camera reel that are not familiar.  Whether I accidentally snapped a picture or whether the subject of interest merely flitted, swam or bounced out of the frame remains a mystery.  Sometimes, the picture is of a wall.  Just a wall...nothing fancy.  I figure those are accidents.  Surely, I had no great intentions of photographing a bare wall.  Then there are pretty cool looking photographs of some tree, limb or marsh grass, etc.  Those are the ones that probably had some sort of critter that meandered out of the range when I took the shot.

  Today, I found such a find photograph.  It is of a dead branch.  Admittedly, it is a nice dead branch but still a dead branch.  I was a bit confused as to why I took the picture but, after a bit, I recognized the spot.  Recently, a gardenia bush took a notion to die.  The bush has been removed but its memory lives on in the form of this photograph!  The bush's legacy will always be with us!  (It will remain until I delete the photo.)  This one can probably be chalked up to the pair of cardinals skipping out of the photograph. The limb was one of their favorite spots before I cut the shrub.  At least, that mystery is solved...maybe.

Storms. Oarlocks and Strange Happenings

  This is a telling of how storms can create, not only havoc, but strange happenings.  If you recall, a dear friend brought a very unique garden sign to the Bayou.  I have known this lady since I was a mere tyke so the sign was much appreciated and much loved.  It was immediately hung at the entrance of the gardens where it could be fully enjoyed.  Since the sign was created from a huge piece of driftwood, it only seemed fitting to use oarlocks as the hanging brackets.  Two oarlocks were inserted into pipes and used as handy sign posts.  It worked like a charm and made for an easy removal of the sign for the storm event we just endured.  

  This morning, after a very rough night of wind and torrential rains, Son and I went to observe and take inventory of what needed repairing.  One of the first things he noted was that a huge oak limb had fallen and hit the roof of the house.  Then, he spied that one of my oarlocks had been yanked from the metal pipe.  The oarlock was nowhere to be seen.  Son decided that the tree limb must have bounced off the house and hit the pipe sending the oarlock into flight.  We searched and searched but to no avail.  Of course, debris was everywhere and could have been covering the  9 inch oarlock.  

  Finally, a triumphant "Aha!" sounded and Son held up the wayward oarlock.  It had been flung over 25 feet from its station in the pipe!  Imagine the force taken to sling a heavy, iron oarlock some twenty feet....INTO a 50 mph wind!  It sure made me glad that I was inside when this strange event happened!  First, the falling limb, itself, presented danger but, if I had been hit by the 1 lb iron oarlock being flung with that much force, my head may have been knocked asunder!  

  After storms of this sort, one finds all sorts of odd things.  Some are trash.  Some are treasures.  Some simply are purely strange.  Tomorrow begins cleanup and pier rebuilding.  We will have a busy two weeks of hard work.

Thank Goodness for Brothers!

  When it rains, it pours.  For the past month with the heat, we have been wishing for rain.  The afternoon thunderstorms become a welcome treat even with the high winds, thunder and lightning.  Now that the rains have started, they are nonstop.  This makes me happy regardless that a few of the storms have been rather formidable. 

  Late yesterday afternoon, the winds picked up and lightning bounced around the Bayou like no body's business. Two more pine trees received powerful strikes which will most likely kill them. Then last night, I heard the telltale sound of wood creaking.  Fearing that the tall pine that stands near the house might come tumbling down, I eased my way into the small entryway to peer out into the darkness.  A lightning strike in the distance eased my thoughts of a tree falling on the house.  The pine was swaying but not appearing to be breaking.  About that time, another creak and a crash to the west of the Little Bayou House.  The next lightning flash allowed me to see what appeared to be the top of a tree at the end of the lane.  Well, at least it was not on the house!

  This morning, I found that it was not the top of a tree but rather a huge hickory limb that had come crashing to the ground.  Thankfully, it missed the power lines by a mere few feet!  Ok, so that had to be removed.  Tugging on the limb did nothing but tire me but it was not long before I heard the chug, chug, chug of a tractor.  Thank goodness for brothers!  My brother laughed at my lack of progress and informed me that it was times like these that tractors are useful. Within minutes, he had that half of tree moved and all was well.  Until....creak, groan, creak....He and I looked up in a nearby pine tree.  "Looks like we might be moving another branch tomorrow if this rain keeps up." he said.  Yep, I do love a good storm but not as much as I do brothers!