The View Through The Muddy Waters Of The Bayou

   My oldest son and daughter-in-law live somewhere out there in the middle of the ocean on a tiny island.  The photographs they send show the clear, clear waters.  They and the two grandlittles swim, snorkel and dive in that lovely water!  In fact, they say that a lot of the time, you cannot really tell just how deep the water actually is because you can see the bottom most of the time!  Wow!  I cannot imagine how interesting that must be!  I so wish to see what is on the bottom under the pier in two feet of water.  The waters of the Bay and Bayou are so muddy that it has to be a calm day and six inches of water before you can see the first thing.  Such a dismal thought!

  With the north wind shoving the tide far out from the marsh, it is my grand opportunity to gaze at what lies beneath the surface.  Not much...unless you love a bunch of odd pieces of driftwood or some muddy clam shells discarded by the otters.  The driftwood has to be pulled out so we will not catch our lines on it as we fish but it is not nearly as exciting as finds out there on the island!

  I did peer down into the water, yesterday, during a break in the rains.  My whole thought was how I was going to gather that driftwood.  I did not even see a fish, a shrimp nor crab.  Our water critters must have moved elsewhere.  But..oh, that driftwood!  Perhaps another sculpture will be in the works if I can figure out how to get the pieces without sinking up to my hips in that mud!  How glorious is the muck and yuck beneath the waters of the Bayou!

The Troubling Secret

  At daybreak, I eased my way to the pier just to calm the brain after yet another sleep-interrupted night.  Mr. PJ (the old dog) has some serious problems that seem to be worse at night.  I deal with it the best I can but there are times that I have to escape.  The pier is the one place that I can find solace.  This morning, however, that peacefulness was just a facade for what the water truly hides.  Beneath those calm waters, hides a misery for so many folks here on the Coast.  With the recent opening of the Bonnet Carre spillways (second opening this year which is unprecedented), things are bad...really bad for the waters.

  The fresh/flood waters from the north brings a lot of problems for those down south.  It is those chemical laden waters that have created a near death situation for the Gulf of Mexico.  While the spillways are meant to protect, they are, in a sense, the root of the problem.  Farm runoff and lower salinity equals dead marine life, algae blooms and flesh-eating bacteria. The fishermen whose lives depend on a healthy Gulf, have taken a cruel blow.  The waters are unsafe. The seafood is unsafe. The beaches are unsafe. What was meant to protect has done just the opposite.  

  My calm waters of the Bayou hide a troubling secret.  What I intended to refresh the soul has done nothing more than cause a troubled mind.  When will this ever end???