Just Keep On Doing

   You know, folks, sometimes you just do.  That nasty virus has hit the Little Bayou House.  So...I just do.  I am trying my best to avoid it.  Most likely, that will be in vain, however.  It seems to spread through everybody whether precautions are taken or not.  So...I just do.  In fact, it has been double doing for the past week.  The cleaning, disinfecting, laundry, cooking, housework, yardwork, taking care of the sick, taking care of the cat...everything...just do.  Needless to say, I am tired.  Needless to say, being exhausted, the virus will probably find its way to me.  

  This morning when Bat, the cat, woke me with his gentle nose boops, I figured it was time to escape.  After my coffee and his breakfast, the cat and I headed outside...at 5am.  It was still dark when we first headed to the pier.  I welcomed his company as we sat in the cool air watching a lightning storm over the Gulf. For a cat, he makes a pretty good hiking buddy!  We sat there for nigh on an hour until it was light enough to wander the hillside.

  It was on the walk back up the pier when I was awestruck by a rather bushy weed.  In a few weeks, this bush will be covered with golden flowers but, this morning, the rising sun sent it into a golden glow.  Either I am starved for entertainment or this was a sign that I could keep going.  If a weed can survive in the marsh and look that glorious, then who am I to give in to circumstances.  I walked away from the pier feeling much better than going down it.  In life, it is all how you look at things and that weed was mighty pretty.  I will keep doing.

Visiting the Frogs!

  While being quarantined due to the virus, I have been taking full advantage of my time being alone.  The yard is being completely redone..gardens, arbors, Frog Pond...everything.  It appears that I have been quite slack on the upkeep of things around here so now is the perfect time to get it ship-shape!  Yesterday, I cleaned the Frog Pond and did some trimming of bushes near it.  As I was pulling out a lot of the water hyacinths, tiny froglets were trying to scoot out of my way.  I knew there were a ton of tadpoles but did not realize that they were already at the stage of morphing into frogs!  Hundreds of different froggies were hiding under the hyacinths and waterlilies!

 Since we literally did not have a winter, the frogs stayed active all year.  There were eggs in the pond in February!  The tadpoles stayed a long while before becoming metamorphlings but once they started changing, it happened quickly for all of them.  While clearing the pond of the overgrowth of hyacinths, I had to be extremely careful not to toss out the tadpoles.  Some had their little arms but no back legs while others had all four legs but still had the tadpole tails.  

  This evening with the cloudy overcast, the   froggy serenade is going strong.  Toads, green tree frogs, leopard frogs, chorus frogs, pickerel frogs and an occasional bullfrog can be heard adding their voices to the cacophony.  This means one thing...the freshly cleaned pond will be filled with eggs in a few days.  More tadpoles are on the way! 

Our World Needs Healing

  As garden work demanded, I was out and about early this morning.  With times being what they are, this is now a necessity and not just a hobby.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  It would not surprise me to see things continue to slide downhill for about a year or so even after the current virus situation is under control.  I figure to get a head start on filling the pantry with canned goods from the garden.  I was also in hopes to fill the freezers with seafood but now that stands iffy.

  Today, the Bonnet Carre Spillway was opened to lower the water levels of the Mississippi River in New Orleans.  While this is great news for those folks, it is devastating to wildlife and even the local seafood industry.  This is getting to be quite troublesome for those of us who depend upon seafood for sustenance or those who depend upon it as their livelihood.  The inundation of fresh water into the Gulf of Mexico creates deadly algae bloom that kills a lot of the sea life. The algae bloom depletes oxygen in the water. Dolphins and sea turtles are the most noticeable but if they are affected, everything below them has already been decimated.  Entire oyster reefs died with last year's opening of the spillway, hundreds of dolphins perished, along with nigh on that many turtles.  Fish and shrimp were hit hard, too, with thousands being found upon the beaches.  Not only were our fishermen dealt a mighty blow but the tourism industry did, as well.  With the beaches being closed due to toxins, there was just not enough draw to vacation here.  Now, it is to be a repeat situation.  Not too many things cause me to get angry but inside, a gnawing anger is brewing.  Our waters are to be tainted once again and there is nothing we can do about it.

  About mid morning, my thoughts were being twisted and turned and fueled by the turmoil of the world.  I headed to my sanctuary...the pier.  There I can find peace as I sit and meditate.  While there, I heard a familiar sound.  Dolphin blows.  Yep.  A pod of dolphins were corralling mullet for their newborn calves to chase.  The little ones could be seen trying to imitate the adults as they surfaced and rolled.  The sight is always thrilling but, this morning, it was also rather saddening.  Will those little ones even have a chance at life?  Will they be able to frolic and play?  Will they even be able to mature to adulthood?  Not if the spillways continue to be opened.  Our world needs healing in so many ways.

Keeping My Distance!

  With all of the mess that the world is in nowadays, it is best to heed the advice of the experts and do a bit of "social distancing".   There is no earthly reason that you "have" to go anywhere.  Make life a wee bit easier on our health care workers and STAY HOME!  It is that simple.  Stay home...let this virus die out due to a lack of hosts.  I don't want it.  You don't want it.  Nobody wants it.  So...stop sharing it.  Today, several folks called and wanted to come here.  Nope!  I rarely leave the Bayou as it is so social distancing is easy for me but, folks, stop trying to "un-distance" me!  I have advised folks to not venture down the lane to the Little Bayou House.  Let me stay in isolation.

  In fact, my social distancing is now an art form in its own right.  I can avoid people with ease.  Early this morning, I was on the pier thinking that I had actually distanced myself from my own house!  I am out before daybreak and tend to stay outside until late, late afternoon.  As I sat on the bench looking back toward the house, it almost made me giggle.  With the new growth of leaves this spring, the Little Bayou House seemed to disappear!  Looking back up that long pier, the house was quite hidden.  It was as if the place had decided to go into hiding with the rest of us.  

  Folks, it is simple.  To end the virus, we have all got to keep our distance, take precautions and stay well.  Best advice is to stay away from everybody.  I have several family members in the medical profession and they are stressed beyond belief.  They are out of supplies, they are physically and mentally exhausted and, yet, they continue to work hard to keep everybody well.  Why is it so hard to do our part?  Stay home.

Just Stay Home!

  Perhaps it is time to put something out there that may make a point hit home.  At least, if folks really think, it may make this whole "self isolation" or "social distancing" seem a little clearer since there are those who either simply do not understand or who do not care what happens to others.  

  A few weeks ago, I posted a photo of the Groundsel Bush Beetle larva.  This is a pretty, little thing that munches happily on the bushes near the pier.  The critter grows and turns into a small yellow beetle.  The main diet for the larva is the Groundsel Bush hence the name.  It does not venture into the garden to eat my turnip greens nor tomato plants.  It does not infest oak trees nor hickory trees.  It simply stays put on the Groundsel Bush and eats to its heart's content.   Now if that host plant is removed, the larva dies.  

  Trying to explain the importance of social distancing or isolation to some folks is nigh on impossible but it can be compared to the larva and the Groundsel Bush.  If  we remove the host, the virus will die.  It is as simple as that.  Remove ourselves from mass meetings, crowded public places and unnecessary groupings and...wham!...the virus will not have a bunch of hosts in which to live.  These social gatherings of any sort puts us all at danger but also puts everyone else who we interact with in danger as well.  The virus WILL DIE if it has no host...simple as that.

  So, that said, folks, it really boils down to a bit of commonsense and a lot of respect.  Would you want someone bringing the virus to your house?  To infect you?  To infect your loved ones?  Then why do you insist on doing the same?  Stay home!  If you are not an essential person needed to keep this country running...stay home.   If you are not a health care worker of any sort..stay home.  If your services are not direly needed for the safety of others...stay home.  If you are not someone directly helping in some form...stay home!  By getting out, you are putting so many in danger and are making the jobs of those out there trying their best to keep things safe and keep the country rolling much more difficult.  Just STAY HOME!

The Dark Path

  Sometimes, it is a bit intimidating to walk down a dark path not knowing what may be lurking in the shadows.  Anything could be there.  Something evil may be waiting to pounce but, then again, something beautiful may be waiting to be discovered.  Facing our own fears can be quite daunting.  It is that unknown the pulls the creep factor up to the highest point and our minds refuse to temper it.  We cling to the sure and safe and rarely go down that dark path.  It is far too scary but. at the same time, our brains remind us of that "something beautiful" and the urge is real.

  I did not sleep well last night.  The body feels like some evil entity is trying to enter.  Thinking that a brisk walk in the night air might help, I headed out far before the sun rose in the east.  Things were dark, a bit creepy and, yes, daunting.  While on the pier, I was fine. Being over the water allows for a good bit of ambient light to surround you.  Plus, the pier gives some semblance of safety since there is only one entry point and anything clomping down those boards is easily heard.  Still, there was that uneasiness that lingered so I headed back up the hill.  Not wanting to go back to the Little Bayou House, my path veered to the right and around the marsh edge until it led to the woods.  Did I dare enter?  The path sure looked dark but I know this place as well as the back of my hand.  Yep.  I might as well push onward.  I might as well face those fears right up front.

 In this time of uncertainty, fear is playing a large factor in people's actions.  It is not fear that is going to get us through this chaos.  Commonsense is the best answer.  When it was put out there to hunker down and isolate from others, it was wise advice.  If everyone would use the logic behind this idea, the virus would soon die out for lack of hosts.  BUT....a lot of folks are lacking in the commonsense area.  Even here.  While I am a pro at this social distancing thing, others are not.  If the virus infects the Little Bayou House, it is because it was brought here not because I was out and about.  I am just going to go down that dark path and hunt for the beauty at the other end.  It is there...regardless of how many monsters I have to battle before finding it.  

  STAY HOME, folks!  Use commonsense!  Be strong.  Fight the urge to mingle because "I am strong and healthy".  Think of others.  If you want to play games with your health...so be it.  Don't inflict it upon everyone else.  Now...that said...pardon me while I become a hermitess for the next couple of weeks and search for something beautiful at the end of that dark path.  Do not come to the Bayou!