And They Come

   One thing about most wildlife is that they are always searching for food.  It is a matter of survival where nigh on every waking moment is spent feeding the belly.  For humans, it is a "cute" effort to lure a wild critter near enough to be fed.  Sometimes, that works well.  Sometimes, it is deadly.  Putting seeds in a birdfeeder is not a bad idea.  Feeding large predators can be a bad idea.  In fact...that is never a good idea.  Other times, feeding critters can make them become a nuisance as they become accustomed to handouts and have no idea when to stop coming and continue hunting.  

  Yesterday, Mark caught a bucketful of mullet.  He cleaned the fish to give to some elderly neighbors and close friends but then had an excess of leftover scraps.  Usually, these are put in the crab traps but with the overload of fish came an overload of scraps.  I started just tossing these scraps into the water as crabs, fish, birds and otters are always eager to grab lunch.  As I was doing this, two pelicans came to get their bellies full.  Soon, another came.  This was ok as there was plenty to go around.  The pelicans ate well and the scraps were all disposed.

  This morning, more fish were caught and cleaned.  The pelicans had obviously told their neighbors because now five came!  There were more pelicans but fewer fish. Still, there was no squabbling and each bird managed to get breakfast.  Pelicans are some of those birds that have no fear.  They literally will come within a few inches of you while begging for a handout. 

  With the number of pelicans increasing, I ponder what tomorrow's cleaning will be like.  Will there be more pelicans?  Mark sure better catch a lot of fish with that many mouths to feed!  Seems as if we started something!

Friends...Come What May

   It is funny how friends come and go.  Today, a friend that I had lost contact with for some 35 years popped in to see me.  We reconnected a couple of years back as if nary a day had passed.  It felt almost as if we were back in high school chatting about the cute boy who was in our algebra class or the adorable sweater that our classmate was wearing.  Our visit was superb and the time flew by.   As much as I hate to admit it, social media is at least good about reconnecting folks.  Ann and I were able to continue a friendship we started over 50 years ago.

  A couple of other friends came back to the Bayou a few days ago.  Gus and Cinderella (named by the Grand Princess) were diving for mullet.  These are two brown pelicans which may or may not be the same two that my granddaughter named.  It matters not as, from that point onward, ANY pair of brown pelicans will be dubbed Gus and Cinderella.  The birds were busy working the water but were also seeking shelter from the hurricane winds to our west.  They knew to seek safe harbor in the bays and bayous just as the boat owners do.  The pelicans (and the boats) were all gone yesterday. The open waters were safe once again.  The birds may be gone for a while but the attachment to the Bayou is strong.  They will be back.  Old friends...true friends are like that.

Nature mimicking people? Not a good thing.

  One has to ponder how things are in the world today.  With all of the stupidity ruling, where has commonsense gone?  There is nothing but a bunch of whiny folks complaining about anything and everything.  People think they deserve more than they have, find fault with everyone else and are so easily offended by the most unoffensive things has created a pitiful state of being.  Basically, in my humble opinion it all boils down to one thing....greed.  Just about 90% of the people nowadays think they should be handed everything on a gold platter.  (Yeah, I know that the saying is a silver platter but, here lately, if you stuck a million bucks on a silver platter and handed it to someone, they would be offended that the million dollars was not on a gold platter.  Sad state of affairs this mess is.)  

  I was thinking about all the greed that seems to have taken hold of the greater part of the population nowadays as I sat on the pier this morning.  The pier is where I do my greatest thinking.  I ponder things and, then as my Uncle Alfred used to say, put things back to suit myself.  Yep...I wish I could.  A lot of folks would receive a good whupping and then be sent back home.  Just as I was about to head back to the sanity of the Little Bayou House, I heard a lot of racket out over the Bay.  The cormorants had flown back into the area by the hundreds but, while they were peacefully diving for minnows, they were being attacked by seagulls.  Yep, about thirty seagulls were literally dive bombing the cormorants.  Greed had taken over the gulls.  In their eyes, the cormorants had no business being in the Bay eating "their" minnows.  Even though there was more than enough for every bird in the county to get breakfast, the gulls wanted everything for themselves.  There was no "share and share alike" with the greedy gulls.  I watched as the gulls would actually steal fish from the cormorants and other birds after it was caught.  The pelicans, ducks, mergansers and grebes were happily swimming right along with the cormorants but not the seagulls.  They squawked and attacked like a bunch of rioters who did not get their way on something.  Whiny, raucous, hateful and lazy...all over a tiny minnow that could have easily been earned the good old fashioned way.

  I stayed to see the outcome of the ruckus.  Would the greedy gulls win? Would the cormorants cede to the wishes of the rioters?  Would evil top peaceful?  Not in this case.  The cormorants, ducks, pelicans, mergansers and grebes kept feeding regardless of the ugliness of the gulls.  Yes, the cormorants did eventually leave the area but only after they finished feeding.  This was not by the intimidation of the gulls, however, as it is a daily thing.  By evening, the cormorants would fly back in to get supper. The riotous gulls would start their stupidity, once again, thinking they had succeeded in doing great things.  Delusional little rascals, aren't they?  The other birds were happy campers with full bellies while the gulls did nothing more than cause themselves a bit of grief.  Sounds familiar doesn't it?

Giving Back

  True friends are just that...true.  They stand by you when things look bad, they help in any way and they give back kindness where kindness was shown.  In this crazy old world, a person is lucky to have a few of folks who truly care.  Sure, there are tons of "fair-weather friends" but barely a handful that will help a person weather the storms.  I am finding that most of my so-called friends are more the sunny type who say they will do anything to help but rarely show up when needed.  No problem.  If there is one thing that I can say Pop instilled in me, it is the ability to do for myself.  It is hard to ask for help so I usually do not.  That is not to say that the occasional true friend that offers a hand is not appreciated, it is just far easier to do things myself than to bend and ask.  I would rather be on the other side of the helping hand. Then, again, there are those that give back more than they received.  Folks like that are a rare commodity and should be treasured.  I am, indeed, blessed with my "handful" of those!  Folks like that give until there is just no more to be given.  

  Sometimes, those returning with a gift in hand are not even humans.  I have often stated that I have more critter friends than human.  We just seem to get along a lot better.  A mutual respect between the Bayou's critters and me has grown to a point that we share and share alike.  If an animal needs shelter or food, it is soon supplied in some form.  They return the favor by merely allowing me to photograph them.  Most show no fear of me as they remember the handouts and appreciate them.  Then, there was today....a gift in return for kindness shown.

  When the old dog, Mr. PJ and I finally made it to the pier between the rainstorms today,  dozens of birds had taken refuge there.  Pelicans, cormorants,  gulls, herons all rested their weary wings.  All of these feast upon fish, yet, there in middle of all of them was a fine mullet.  When I eased my way into the midst of the birds, they seemed to eye my reaction to finding the fish.  Any one of these fine feathered friends could have snatched that fish at any given moment but it almost seemed as if they had left it there for me.  Hmmm?  Was I reading far too much into this coincidence?  Probably....but you have to admit it was a tad unusual of a find.  

  Regardless of whether the birds had intentionally left the fish for me or if, by some quirky accident, they overlooked a fish in their midst, I intend on looking at it as friends helping friends. No, I did not keep the fish.  (I do not have a penchant for eating things that I find already dead.)  I did, however, share it back with my feathered friends.  The good-sized mullet was cut in chunks and doled out to each of the birds.  This they accepted.  We had a lovely picnic before the rains set in again and Mr. PJ and I had to race back up to the Little Bayou House...bit I did so with a smile on my face.

The Naming

  Take one tiny girl fishing and introduce her to critters that she has never seen and she will name them all.  For the past few days, we have been able to share the Bayou with our granddaughter, Mary Ruth and grandson, Mark Charles.   While he loves being outside and seeing everything, the little fellow is still to young to fully appreciate what is around him.  He is all about playing and exploring his newfound freedom of toddling.  Mary Ruth, on the other hand, is at that perfect age of learning about nature and she loves it.  

  One of the highlights was the feeding of the two pelicans.  It did not take long before Mary Ruth decided to name them. The Brown Pelicans of the Bayou have always been called "Old Gus" for as long as I can remember but Mary Ruth decided that the two needed individual names so the second of the pair became known as "Cinderella".  Hey, this worked for me.  Gus and Cinderella now reign as King and Queen of the Bayou.  It is great but being as both male and female pelicans look the same, I can only hope that they are named correctly.

  After feeding (and naming) the pelicans, her daddy showed her a baby shrimp that he caught in the minnow trap.  At first, she was having no part of holding that weird looking thing!  She soon warmed up to the idea and shyly put out her hand.  The shrimp laid quietly in the palm for just about two seconds before it flipped (as shrimp are prone to do) and slid between the pier boards.  This caused Mary Ruth to burst into a fit of giggles before settling down to the task of naming the critter.  "Tiny." she quietly murmured.  "Tiny."  Well, at least that was appropriate!

  Next came a baby crab.  Since she had held a shrimp, her dad thought she might like to hold the crab.  NOPE!  THAT WAS NOT HAPPENING!  I let the little critter crawl up on my finger to show her that the crab was not out to eat her but she still was not convinced.  The crab never made it to her hand before it, too, scooted between the pier boards back into the water.  Since she had named the other critters, I knew it was best to ask if this one to had a name.  I was not disappointed..."Yes, it was named Crabby!"  Alrighty then.  Crabby, it was.  

 So, Old Gus, Cinderella, Tiny and Crabby all live in the Bayou and all are probably back at home telling their friends about the cute little girl named Mary Ruth!  I know for a fact that the first two are going to miss their friend when she heads back to her home tomorrow.  This mawmaw is going to miss both tykes terribly.  The Bayou is going to feel so very lonely.

The Wannabe Lazy Day

  This was one of those days when I did not feel like doing a thing but did more than what I intended.  I had good intentions of doing nothing but work on gourds but other things kept getting in the way.  The morning drudgery of laundry, cooking and cleaning were what started the whole mess.  If I had only ignored the clutter in the house, things would have been great...maybe not from others' point of view but at least from mine. The chores multiplied to even getting a jump on the holiday cooking. Since I have to make not only the usual dishes but at least a few vegan ones, I figured the best thing to do would be get some of the basics behind me.  The sweet potatoes are ready to go and two cornbreads were thrown in the oven.  These were baked in Mom's castiron skillets so they will be extra tasty.  The cornbread will be used as the main ingredient for the dressing for Thanksgiving dinner.  The sweet potatoes will be mashed and made into pone for the same meal.  We usually do the traditional meal that my folks did each year so most of this comes naturally and no written recipes are needed.  Still, the chores added up until most of the day had passed with nary a gourd being cut.  Not good as I still have ten on order.  

  I did manage to slip away to the pier this afternoon even if it was for only a moment.  A constant splashing made me curious so on one trip to the woodpile to restock the stove, a quick dash down the hill was made. The splashing was caused by a number of Brown Pelicans that were diving for the little mullet that abounded in the relatively calm water.  The White Pelicans have yet to make their appearance in the Bay this year. The Browns stay year round but seem to move in large bunches now. Eleven were to be counted next to the pier but my presence made them a bit edgy and they moved toward the Bayou.  One pair hung around long enough to let me take a couple of photographs before they, too, took flight.  So, it was back to the woodpile to restock the old wood-burning stove.  It was needed to ward off the lingering chilliness. 

 

Violet demands it!!!!

On many occasions I have said that while I am out roaming about the hillside, I ponder some of the great mysteries of life. Deep thoughts such as why clouds look like pillows or how fish know to grow scales instead of fur occupy the brain. These things are of such great importance and if I could ever solve the mystery clouding them, I would indeed gain universal recognition! Today's thoughts turned toward another of these enigmas.

While on the pier, I noticed a small flock of Pelicans flying overhead. As I sat watching the seven birds in their graceful flight...the mind started to stray. "Why do birds fly in a V formation?" Is there some great law in the Avian World that mandates a certain formation shape? Perhaps different formations for different size birds? I usually see smaller birds flying in a huge mass during their migration. I figured that this was more for safety against larger predatory birds as it would most likely confuse a hawk to see a gigantic group of birds flying toward it. Yep...I think those little birds are pretty smart..but what about the V pilots? Most of the birds that I have ever seen in V formation are large migratory birds like the pelicans, geese, cranes or ducks. Why? I had always heard two different theories on the subject and sat pondering which was accurate. The first theory was that due to aerodynamics, each bird would cause an upwash that would help lift the bird behind. Later in the migration, the lead bird would fall back to the rear and actually be able to rest a bit while still on the wing. Makes sense! I am quite sure that occasionally during the long flight, the lead bird might need a bit of rest! The other theory that I remember from years ago was that the birds would fly like this so that each could have a clear view of what is ahead of them. Now, this makes a lot of sense as well! Think about it, we might have a lot of birds smacking into buildings or trees if they could not see where they were flying! Once I was back in the house, I did a bit of research and found that through studies, scientists now believe that both theories are correct! I did find out that there was another possible answer to the question. It seems that this formation could also help the birds to keep track with all others in the group. It is sort of like why fighter pilots fly their jets in the V formation. It helps them with communications and coordination of the group as a whole! Whew! Now that eases my mind tremendously! A great mystery of life is solved! Then again...perhaps birds fly in this formation merely because the leader's name starts with the letter V! Any other leader's name might create havoc! Just imagine if say Gus decided to lead the pack. Migration might never occur! I could hear the conversation now...."Alrighty, folks! This is Gus, your leader! Today, we migrate. You all will pay homage to me while in flight. Everybody....into the G formation!" There would be a great uprising as the other pelicans panicked. G formation would be nigh on impossible to obtain. In steps Violet to salve everyone's agitation. "I think I will be leader! V formation, everyone!" And Violet would immediately be voted as leader! So perhaps this is why birds fly in V formation! Violet demanded it!

Spider Webs and Cast Nets!

~"The difference between utility and utility plus beauty is the difference between telephone wires and the spider web."~Edwin Way Teale

You know..Edwin Way Teale said it all when he said this. I was out and about early this morning trying to get another photograph of the sunrise. It did not happen..no sunrise this morning. Oh, I imagine it rose..I just could not see it for the fog that engulfed the Bayou. There was a complete "white out"! I could only see maybe twenty-five feet in front of my face! I was just thankful that I did not need to drive anywhere in this pea-soup! But despite the blurriness of the world around me, I could see beauty! There are spiders that make webs in the marsh every night. This morning those webs were dripping with jewels of fog droplets. I was mesmerized by the strength of the webs and by the intricate lacework that the spider had spun. Some were so off-kilter in their design that I made the assumption that some intruder had torn the web at some point. The spider had obviously made hasty repairs and had not bothered to match up the lines of the web. Hopefully, the poor trapper still caught supper and did not go hungry. Life must be hard for a marsh spider..what with high tides, birds and marsh critters constantly smashing their traps to smithereens. I can only think that a lot of patience is tested each night as the webs are rewoven.

Later when the sun did make an appearance, I was thrilled to see the number of Pelicans in the Bay! While on the pier earlier, I could hear the constant splashing of some diving bird but was not sure if it was Pelicans. I counted eighteen beautiful fishermen diving for Mullet this afternoon.

Speaking of Mullet, for some reason the Bay is full of these fish. It is a little "out of season" for them but I am not complaining! I have been going down in the late afternoons and casting the net to catch a mess. The first two days yielded enough for me to give my oldest brother some and then the third day, I decided enough was enough! I needed a mess of fresh fish! I caught six nice Mullet and then threw the net over a hefty sized Sheephead. I cleaned the Mullet for supper but the Sheephead managed to gain a reprieve and was let loose! The Sheephead is a spiny fish and is quite difficult to fillet so after its photo ops..it was slipped back into the water. Perhaps another day it will become a meal..but for today, it attained freedom.

Spider webs and cast nets..sort of alike when you think about it!

Flights of Fancy

I was thinking today about things that fly and just how hard it is to actually get a clear photograph of things in flight. At least it is difficult for me as I seem to have problems keeping up with them! I can get them in focus and before the button is pressed..their gone! Poof! I was trying to photograph a beautiful Red Tail Hawk but before getting the camera focused well, it was so far up that it appeared as a little dot. Not exactly the picture that I had in mind. So I went back in some of my pictures to see just how many "on the wing" pictures I have actually succeeded in taking with some clarity. Not many! I had a few but it seems that all I can get are blurs! Flashes of color zooming by me at warp speed! Now I admit that I am getting up there a tad in age but this is ridiculous! I should be able to press a button in the time it takes a bird to fly a few thousand feet!!!!

This first one is a Seagull that was diving after some minnows in the Bay. The picture is clear enough as you can see the feathers quite well. The problem..it has no head!!! From the angle that I was taking the shot, the head is not visible at all..MY BIRD IS HEADLESS! This will never do! Birds most definitely need heads!

Then I caught this Pelican! Or almost caught this pelican in flight! It came crashing in for a landing creating the biggest splash imaginable! I often wonder about the Pelican's method of fishing but it works as this one succeeded in catching a nice size mullet!

There are these two! I am not sure that you can call this flying..it is more like jumping awkwardly! At least this was slow enough for me to catch the leap! These two were on the pier when one decided that the view from the bench would be better..that was until I decided that my bench needed to stay clean and shooed it away!

Here we have Cormorants on the wing! A trio was flying over early one morning but they appear as silhouettes. The lighting was not the best as the sun had not risen yet. At least I did keep them in range!

This young Osprey looks more like it was falling off its perch than flying in for a landing! At its young age, perhaps its flying was about as steady as my aerial photography!

This is the type shot that I love getting! This Osprey came in right above my head and screamed the whole way. It was as if the bird was telling me to get my camera ready! Maybe it really wanted a "glamour shot"!

The Egrets here were across the Bayou so the distance thing was not really my fault! I do not have a particularly strong zoom lens so most of my shots need to be relatively close. I do love the way the three of them are in all different stages of flight..from landed to full flight!

The Night Skimmer is so quick that it is hard to photograph. Also, the lighting is never optimal as their name suggests..they hunt more in the evening hours. This one was coming straight for me on the pier so I was able to get a good focus on it!

I love this picture! The Little Blue Heron made the mistake of landing in a tree a bit to close to the Red Winged Blackbird's nest! The Blackbird was attacking from all angles and actually succeeded in driving off the much larger bird!

Finally! A great shot of a Pelican in flight! This picture was taken early this Spring and is one of my favorites! The huge bird was just taking off from the water and was headed right for me! So incredible!

Another hard bird to photograph in flight is the Hummingbird. The sheer speed at which they fly makes it difficult to catch them on the wing! This one was hovering near the feeder as it tried to fend off any newcomers. I was lucky enough to be at the right spot at the right time!

This Osprey was high but the lighting was prefect. It was soaring above the Bayou hunting for its supper late one afternoon. It did not stay long but at least one shot came out well.

This last one..yeah..I know it is not an "in flight" shot but this young Eagle thrilled me enough that its picture had to go in here somewhere! I always get excited when the Eagles make their appearance on the Bayou! They are so majestic!

Old Man Winter

Old Man Winter has come to visit the Bayou early this year. I suppose the post I wrote earlier might actually have been a omen of what was to come. The squirrels and woodpeckers were busy all Fall stocking up on nuts and seeds and padding their nest extra warm. Now, there is frost on the pier boards making my early morning trek a bit treacherous. The dog, Ezzy, is not real sure she even wants to get out of bed before sunrise any more. She would much rather stay put next to the wood-burning stove than go out for a romp on the frosty grass. Still, I head out determine to enjoy as many peaceful sunrises as I can. This morning was no different..I was up and about at 5AM. The coffee pot was sending up the most delightful aroma as I slipped on my boots. I grabbed the heavy jacket and a mug of coffee and down the hill I went. The pier boards sparkled with the beads of frost as the morning light broke through but try as I might, no photograph seemed to capture the beauty. I sat there a bit longer. The sun was up now and to the south I could see a large V-shape in the sky! Geese! Already? It seemed a bit early in the winter for them but we are experiencing some really cold nights. I watched as they came closer and closer. No..not geese but pelicans. Bunches of pelicans! I watched them fly in formation and then swirl about changing positions. It almost seemed like they were trying to decide who was to lead them wherever they were heading. For a good ten minutes or so, I watched as the ever changing pattern of pelicans swooped around over the Bayou. At one point they seemed to collide with each other as they changed formation. I fully expected them to land but eventually they got it together and off they went..eastward. Eastward? Umm..oh, pelicans? Did you choose the wrong leader?

As I headed back to the house to chop some more kumquats for marmalade, a bright flash caught my eye. There in the Black Gum tree was the most beautiful cardinal I have seen in quite a while. Perhaps he is no different than the many others that visit the yard, except this one looked like a picture post card! A beautiful Christmas card! He sat there long enough for the camera to do its job then started fussing at me for not having the feeders filled. Each morning, I fill the feeders..each day the birds eat their fill..each night the raccoons wreck the feeders. This cycle goes on and on. I don't mind though. As long as it brings little bright spots such as this cardinal to my yard, I will continue to dole out the sunflower seeds!

The Watchers!

I cannot make the claim that my dog, Ezzy, is the best guard dog in the world. She is a wonderful watchdog but as far as protecting me from some imminent danger... ehhh..no. She has never grown up into a true dog.. she is a perpetual puppy. She is a full five years old and still plays like she is a mere pup. If you speak to her, she goes into a complete chaotic frenzy, and immediately starts to hunt for her baseball. Play! Play! Please, play! But as I said, she is a great watchdog. She can sit for hours "watching"! That was quite evident the other day. I came out the front door to see her gazing contentedly at boats on the Bay. She was so attentive to the boats that she was oblivious to her usual bugaboo.. the dreaded squirrel. Squirrels are usually her main focus. She chases them from tree to tree in a never-ending game. But not this time..she was focused on the boats. So focused that she had moved to the garden bench to get a better view. It amused me to see that she perched herself on the bench instead of walking to the pier. Yep..she is a fine watchdog! She can watch something until the cows come home!

Lately, I have become a "watcher" of sorts. It is much easier to catch the shrimp that are in the Bay, when you actually have a big school near the pier. Makes sense..doesn't it! Anyway, we have come to watching the seagulls to let us know when to head to the pier to catch shrimp. As a large school of shrimp makes its way into the Bay, the seagulls will follow. They dive countless times to feast upon this moving buffet..screaming all the while. (Occasionally, even the pelicans get in on the act!) When we hear this, we know shrimp are within range of our nets. Watching the water and its inhabitants can mean the difference of a full catch or an empty bucket! A little savviness can go a long way!