Does She Know Something About The Weather?

  While it seems early for them to do so, the fiddler crabs are making their way up the hillside.  Normally, this departure from the mucky marsh takes place in August.  Then, the critters vacate their muddy tunnels and work their way up the hill.  They even go as far as the paved road which is some eight hundred feet or so from where they need to be.  The fiddler crabs do this mass, mini "migration" at odd times.

  The reasoning behind their move is still up in the air.  No one has been able to convince me of their true motive.  Some folks suggest that the crabs are searching for mates.  This is an odd idea as the entire mating and egg-laying process involves the damp marsh areas.  Other folks state that perhaps the crabs are in search of food.  Well, to answer that, fiddler crabs eat algae and bacteria from the marsh and also filter tiny particles of food from sand and mud.  They need the water to help with the filtering process.  Then there are the folks who say that the crabs migrate to higher ground when they sense that a storm is near.  Hurricanes flood the marshes and hence flood the crabs dens.  In an odd way, this makes more sense than the other claims.  If a fiddler crab can truly "feel" the change in barometric pressure, perhaps they can foretell when a storm is about to hit.  A few of the old-timers around here still cling to this belief and who am I to question them?  Common lore has it that the crabs will seek higher ground about two to three days before a storm is to brush through an area.  Once they leave their marshy home, they dig a new burrow in their newly selected site.  That same bit of lore states that the distance the crabs go inland correlates to the severity of a hurricane.  

  In viewing the weather forecast, I see that there are a couple of tropical storms that need watching.  For now, none are predicted to hit here.  The fiddler crabs, however, are on a hike.  Several have been found as far up the hillside as the board path and one adventurous little lady made it into the Small Gardens.  I sure hope she was a bit disoriented and is not adept at foreseeing the future!  I do not need a hurricane at the moment.

Near Catastrophe!

The winds howled with such intensity today that if I had not known better, I would have thought a hurricane was bearing down on the Coast!  After a night of drizzly rain, around noon the winds began to blow a gale!  Limbs were being blown from the treetops and yard items were being upended.  This was some storm!  It was a bit unnerving to say the least!  Any time a storm of this strength hits without warning it makes me wonder if there is a tornado or waterspout in the vicinity.  There very well could have been today.

The wild weather knocked this limb down on top of  Mama Dove and her nest!

The top of a dying Black Gum Tree slammed on top of the south rose arbor.  This is the same arbor where Mama Dove sat on her nest.  Was she ok?  Had she taken a direct blow from this huge chunk of wood?  How were her little ones? Staring out the window, I tried to focus through the wild weather to check on her.  A few seconds later, I saw her wobbling about on the ground.  She was walking or stumbling in circles.  Poor Mama evidently had been hit!  Regardless of the fierce winds and torrential rains that were pummeling the Little Bayou House, I raced out see if I could help her!  Not realizing that I was her friend she tried to fly to the fence top and was careened off into the wind!  Poor Mama!!  Now my attention turned to the nest and little ones.  Grabbing the stepladder, I hurried to check on the babies.  The nest was empty!  Where were the babies?   Just by a matter of inches, a miracle had occurred!  The legs of the stepladder had been plunked down just inches away from the tiny birds.  Oh my!  Scooping up the two of them from the ground, I hurried inside.  With Mama Dove nowhere in sight, I had to try something!  The tiny little bodies were cold and motionless.  I began to wonder if I was too late.  I cradled them in my hands but then realized that I was as cold as the babies.  Hurrying to the kitchen, I did what I could to warm the babies.  Soon they were nestled in a warmed dishtowel.  I watched them closely.  After about ten minutes, I noticed one little head start to bobble a bit.  Then the other started to move!  The little ones were still alive!  Oh, Mama Dove...please be ok..please return!

The two nestling doves that were knocked out of the nest by the wind.  They were cold and wet!

Nigh on an hour later, the winds started to ease a bit.  I peered out that window again hoping against hope that I would see Mama Dove.  I did not.  My heart sank a bit..poor little ones.  Then..a flutter!  Looking battered and tired, Mama Dove was trying to find her babies!  Once again, I scooped up those little rascals!  Out the door and up the ladder I went!  Mama Dove eyed me curiously as I reached toward her empty nest.  She was just inches away from my hands but must have either been too exhausted to care or she knew I was there to help.  Gently..ever so gently..the two little doves were placed back into that nest.  No sooner had I set them down than she cooed and eased onto the nest. She shuffled them up under her and soon was nestled down atop her babies.  The wind still whipped around us and the rains still drenched us but we looked at each other. From one mother to another..we were satisfied.  The babies were safe..at least for the moment.

I am happy to report that Mama Dove is still sitting on the nest late this evening.  This means her little ones are still surviving their terrible blow from the weather..at least for now.

I hope the fall from the nest and the cold, wet rains did not do too much damage.  I do take some consolation in knowing that at least I tried.  The two tiny tots would have surely perished if I had not intervened.  Mama Dove..I am glad you are ok and I am only too happy that I was there at the right time to help.