Some folks find it exceedingly strange that I care so much about the critters here on the Bayou. I find it exceedingly strange that they do not care about critters. The critters (regardless of species) are my friends. I have often made the claim that I have more critter friends than people friends. I prefer it that way. There is no reason to be otherwise.
Just recently, the tropical storm brought drama to the Bayou. Not in the ordinary sense of damaging winds but rather to my critter friends. A mama skink had laid her clutch of eggs under a board that was a bit too close to the marsh edge. I fretted more over her wellbeing than my own. She was a stoic and stayed with her eggs until she could no longer. When flood waters filled her nest and killed many of her already hatched little ones, she abandoned the nest. Seeing the submerged eggs brought out the mother instinct in me and I scooped up the remaining eggs to move to the greenhouse. Two little ones hatched during the transport but the eggs sat dormant and cold for days. I had made up my mind to bury the eggs and move on with other things. This morning with that intention, I went to the greenhouse. I lifted the moss covering the eggs only to find that all but two had hatched! The remaining two were also in the process! I was elated! My little family of lizards had survived against all odds!
Yes, I do realize that the baby lizards will never understand the circumstances that surrounded their coming into this world and I do realize that they will never recognize me as the person who helped them out of their hard time but, still, I love each tiny one. I did not do it for any other reason than I cared. This, my friends, is what a bond is all about. Regardless of the fact that the skinks will never understand nor appreciate what I did, I would do it all again. My friends were in need....I was there. Lending a helping hand is never a bad thing and if folks cannot understand that, it is their loss.
One thing about all of this rain, it really makes one realize that things may not be as they seem. During the midst of Tropical Storm Cindy, Son and I were out trying to retrieve some of the wayward pier boards. The waves had battered the poor pier to pieces and planks were skimming across the water like surf boards. The boards would invariably wash up on my brother's place causing us to have to take the hike over there to pull them from the muck. Son was busy at the moment so I trotted myself over to the spot where one board was seen. Or, at least, I thought I might trot. I took just about five steps. Then......I sank. What I thought was firm sand was so saturated that it was more like quicksand! I was rapidly sinking up to my knees in the goop!
Help! Son looked at me and started to laugh! Instead of coming to my rescue, he LAUGHED! "Come get me!" I demanded. He laughed harder. Finally, my demands became pleas as I was sinking even further. Eventually, he got over his fits of giggles and came to give me a hand. I pulled up one leg and stepped back to the harder ground. Oh, no! I had lost my shoe! I pulled the other leg out of the sinkhole only to discover that shoe had also been swallowed by the mire! That stuff stole my shoes!
I had to hobble back to the house in my socks which by this time were not only wet but coated with an inch of mud. That was some of the stinkiest mud ever! So just a word of advice! If you are ever out retrieving pier boards in the middle of a tropical storm, never....I repeat...NEVER step in any spot that appears to be pretty sand. It is not. It is mucky mud that will eat your shoes!
Just a couple of things here, Folks. First, for any of you following the story of the skink family, it ended in tragedy. My early morning check gave me hope that the little family would survive the onslaught of bad weather brought on by Tropical Storm Cindy. Nine of the eggs had hatched and were doing well. One little one had perished. Mama Skink seemed happy and was trying her best to care for her family in spite of the danger that came with the storm. This first check found the tide waters still at least a foot away from the nest under the board. When I went down after the next torrential thunderstorm, tragedy had struck. Mama and two babies had abandoned the nest but all the rest of the little skinks had perished. The ground was just too saturated. Rainwater had flooded the entire area. The nest filled with water and the little ones drowned. With a heavy heart, I hastily gathered the remaining sixteen eggs and headed up the hill. The eggs were cold but I could not just leave them. Halfway up the hillside, I felt something wiggle in my hand. Two tiny skinks were working their way out of the eggs. I JUST HATCHED TWO BABY SKINKS! Even under a light and in a nice bed of moss, the other eggs did not hatch. This morning, however, the two little ones were bright, happy and trying to catch some little moths that were attracted by the light. My little ones seemed to be ok. (Sorry about the picture below. It is difficult to take clear photographs in the middle of a gale!)
Next, regardless of the torrential rains and high winds that ravaged the Bayou, a splotch of purple led me to the garden. The Stoke's Asters were in full bloom! Their bright blossoms waved in the winds and dripped beads of water but were still gorgeous! I needed that bright spot in all of the gloom that surrounded me. Somehow, there is always a silver lining that gives hope. Not that Tropical Storm Cindy was a bad storm but the days on end of nonstop rain had started to take its toll on my emotions. The asters brought a smile.
Then, in the midst of all the drippiness, the clothes dryer went kaput. It had been going nonstop for at least three days when suddenly it gave up the ghost. Try as they might, Mark and Son could not repair the thing. That is when I realized just how important it is to save things. Most folks would have tossed the old clothes rack years ago but I knew that it would come in handy some day. It did. Towels were hung to dry in front of the open door. The gale winds flapped the towels and I was able to do laundry without the so called conveniences. Folks who live down here and who experience storms on a regular basis understand the value in items such as this. When there is a need, we have something to fill that need. Sometimes it pays to use a little logic and be prepared for whatever may come. Just saying....
All in all, the storm turned out to be eventful. We had babies, found blooms, salvaged a damaged pier, endured nigh on twelve inches of rain, ate far too much and realized just how fortunate we really are. Life is good.
Whenever life handed him a blow, Pop would always say "Its nothing that a little hard work won't fix." He was a firm believer that most problems could be overcome by just working at them. He usually was right. Too many folks shy away from tackling a daunting task but sometimes that is the only way to mend things. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and jump right in. There is nothing a little hard work won't fix.
I thought of Pop and his "can do" attitude today when Mark and I were on the pier reviewing the storm damage. The storm surge had completely covered the pier making it impossible to even tell if we had anything standing but now, we were able to observe just what all needed repairing. Seventeen boards had been ripped up and nine had floated off to parts unknown. Many more may be missing by morning since the wind and storm surge are still pounding the poor pier with all the gusto the storm can muster. I am sure Pop would have already been gathering together his tools, more boards and a bucketful of nails to repair the pier as soon as the storm eased a bit. Mark and I have the same idea as do others who live along the Bay. None of us wait for others to do the work for us. We just jump in and get it done.
The pier is our enjoyment and is of high priority. Its repair will be forthcoming as soon as the tides recede. Then, if others need help, we will gladly take our tools to lend a helping hand. That is just what neighbors do....at least, that is what we do down here in the Deep South.
The Bayou is still being hammered by the outer bands of Tropical Storm Cindy. While she is not a terrible storm, as far as storms go, she is doing a grand job of messing up the area. All eyes are focused on where this storm is making landfall and not where the damage is actually being done. Here flooding is a major issue. My rain gauge overflowed sometime last night at seven inches. This afternoon, it showed another four. It is still raining. Thunderstorms are rolling in from the Gulf and bringing waterspouts with them. I spotted two in the Bay directly out from the pier. Many more and much larger ones were filmed moving along in the Gulf. Tornado sirens have been belting out their frantic tones since late last night. Today, I counted eight different times that the warnings sounded. Much more of the same type weather is expected overnight and into tomorrow.
Earlier today, I headed down to the pier to pull the old skiff a bit closer to shore. I did make my way down the pier part way but decided that going to the end was not the brightest idea. About a foot or more water was over top and quite a number of the pier planks were missing. One misstep and I would have wound up in the churning waters. I played it safe and headed back to shore. Once there, I checked on Mama Skink and her brood of eggs. Surprise! One feisty little baby was bursting out of its eggshell! What perfect timing! Mama Skink did not seem to mind me taking a few photographs of her little one before I eased the old plank back down upon the little family in the making. I eyed the ever nearing flood waters. Mama Skink was brave. Her family came first and she was not going to give them up easily. I said a little prayer that the waters would recede and she would be safe.
Back in the Little Bayou House, I checked the tide charts and found that high tide was within the hour so perhaps Mama Skink had gained another day. At least one little one had hatched and may be able to make a dash to the palmetto clump just beyond the nest if necessary. Tomorrow morning, the tide may be higher and that escape may be pertinent. Just in case, though, I gathered a basket and brought the shovel around near the door. If the surge hits the nest, I would at least make an attempt at a rescue. I had come this far with the little family and would do whatever was in my power to help them during their time of need. The remaining eggs, one little tyke and Mama would take a ride in the basket to the greenhouse. It may not be the perfect solution but, at least, it is a solution. I hope.
In the meantime, to all those in the path of the storm, hunker down, stay dry and safe and be thankful that this one is coming in as a tropical storm and not a hurricane! Happy times on the Bayou!.........And, yes, I have been writing a lot about Mama Skink. It helps to think about something other than storms. Besides, sometimes I think critter friends are the best type to have.
With a tropical storm knocking at our front door, things could get a mite messy tonight and tomorrow. The past twenty-four hours have seen us being pelted by a steady rainfall that was quite heavy at times. Now that the sun has dropped behind the pines, winds are starting to whip the tree branches into a frenzy. And this is nothing...compared to hurricanes. Still, this "nothing" is not "something" to take lightly. Preparations have been made and now we sit tight and await the outcome. Once again, a storm is "projected to move into Louisiana" which means we get the right side of the storm....the "bad" side. We, however, will not be in the spotlight and will, more or less, be on our own.
While I am not overly concerned with this storm other than the exorbitant amount of rainfall, I am fretting over one thing. One of my critter friends is in danger of being flooded. The mother skink that laid her eggs under an old pier board down near the marsh is probably going to be flooded out. Her eggs will be ruined. It makes me sad to think that she has been such a staunch protector of her brood only to have a storm come wipe out the entire family. With rising tides and flooding rains, the poor lizard will most likely have to abandon her nest.
Earlier this afternoon, I so wanted to brave the onset of the storm to try and save her. Perhaps if I got a box...Maybe I should scoop up the nest with a shovel...I wonder if I can get her and the eggs into the greenhouse?....Maybe I should just let it be and let nature take its course. I just do not know.
Off and on during the day, I fretted over Mama Skink and her eggs. Not once did the weather clear enough for me to make a dash down the hillside to check on her. When telling Son of my ideas, he simply asked me one question. "Do you have enough boxes to save all of the critters that are nesting near the marsh?" Point taken. How do I choose one over the other? Hopefully, the tides will not reach any of the critter nests on the lower portion of the property...hopefully.
