Mr. Ed and Jean(the boat ride)

When I finally got home from "the ten week hitch", Peg and I were blessed with a visit from our dear friends the Radigans. Among the many gifts my sweet wife has given me is a couple of new friends that I nightly thank God for the privilege of knowing. They graced our lil home with a visit and we just had too much fun. We did all the usual things we love to do and brought them along. We went for a boat ride through the bayou lands of south central Lousiana. We had fun zipping down the bayou munching on cold fried chicken while the Radigans tried to hang onto their hats. Peggy sat up front pointing out the sights, when we slowed down moving along leisurly enjoying the view. We showed Gene a beautiful water hyacinth bloom and explained how that innocent-looking flower was responsible for so much misery in the swamps. We also pointed out some of the little camps that people have parked here and there along the bayous. I love these lil houseboats, as they have lots of character and I think they are much cooler than the store-bought variety. The resourceful Cajuns always manage to find something that floats, and build a camp on it. Limited only by their imagination and spare change, they always impress me with the style and character of the camps they come up with.



It was a wonderful day and all I can say is: AAAAAiEEEEEEEEEE!! Ma`, son of a gun we had big fun on da bayou.

The Ten Week Hitch

Well, it was a long hitch to be sure, but the days have a way of slipping one into another in a pleasent blur, and 'fore ya know it, time passes by. That's a danger when ya ride long hitches, ya tend ta let the days go by without really savoring them. I have to be constantly vigilant or else I'll go days without taking any pictures. I forget that not everyone sees the things that I am privileged to see; take this sunrise for instance. It was my first day at work and I must say this hitch started off right.

When the weather gets rough, seagulls ride on the barge, instead of chasing behind in our wheel-wash. I never tire of watchin' them as they bob their heads and strut, and do lots of interesting things. They seem to have a greeting and pecking order, so to speak. Ya can tell who the leaders are. I can watch 'em for hours as they strut about on the barge, but every once in awhile I get an urge to kinda pick on 'em, and blow the horn to make 'em fly away. The only bad thing 'bout that is, the sound of the horn scares the poop out of 'em.

I just love lookin' at the flowers in the Spring and early Summer. There are several beautiful wild flowers in the swamps and I love seeing them. This hill caught my eye one morning as we passed by. The big advantage of driving a 'tug' is that ya go slow enough to enjoy the scenery as it slides by the wheel-house windows.

I am thrilled to tell yall that the American bald eagle has returned to the bayou country of Lousiana. They were, like all big birds, almost wiped out by DDT, the insecticide they used years ago. It is finally dissipating from the enviroment and giving the big birds a chance to return to our area. When I was a kid growing up in the swamps of South Lousiana, ya never saw eagles. Imagine my Joy, that now ya seldom go a day without seeing them.

I was pushed into the bank one morning, waiting for a bridge to open, when I saw this young egret fishing for breakfast. As I watched, he musta caught 20 li'l fish, like in this picture. This made me wonder how he can stay so skinny if he catches like that every day. Heck, I gain weight just by passin' by the bakery in the grocery store.

It was a long hitch, no doubt about it, but it sure ended pretty. This last picture was taken the night fore I got offn' da' boat. I felt like it was God's way of sayin' "See, it wasn't that bad, now was it?"

Why I Do What I Do

Often times I'm asked "How can you be away from home for so long", "Why drive a boat" or one of the other questions we 'boat crews' hear from time to time. It's a tough question to answer 'cause, like all things, it's a complicated and many-faceted answer. So, here are some of the reasons I do what I do:

Let me start by sayin' I tried other things. I worked my way through college on the boats 'cause it was a great place to earn money and not spend any. Room and board are included in ya pay, and also, it helped keep me outa trouble. After I graduated college, I tried workin' as an electrical engineer out of state for awhile, but my heart wasn't in it, so I went back to the boats to be close to home. I was promoted to personnel manager and regional statistical coordinator for the South-Eastern states. I Spent 3 days a week jettin' around the country teachin' statistics seminars, and Mondays and Fridays doin' payroll and office work, scheduling and interviews, etc. for the marine division of the company I was workin' for. Sounds cushy, I know, but livin' outa a suitcase, wearin' a tie, and hotel food ain't my cup o tea. I finally got outa the statistics gig and took on dispatchin' duties at work, which kept me home, but then the phone started ringin' at all hrs., and the beeper had the nasty habit of going off right before I _______________ , ya get the idea.

Well, 8 unhappy years later when the chance to get back on the boats came around, I jumped on it. "Crazy" ya may say, but if ya do, then ya don't know me. I had an office with a small window that ya had to stand up and 'tippy-toe' to see out of. I started smoking just so I could go out side every once and a while.

Now, I watch sunsets from my "office" window like the one pictured above.

I work for a great company, small enough to know me by name and big enough to provide exellent pay and benefits with great job security.

When ya work for nice folks ya don't mind workin' extra when they need ya. The boat I work on was very short-handed, so thas why I was away so much lately. Like in all things, hard work pays off. I now have a full crew of good guys, and we manage to get the work done and enjoy ourselves while doing it. Ya gotta do somethin' for a livin' right? Well, for me that something is drivin' the boat down the bayou with the blues on the jukebox, my feet on the dash, and scenery most folks can't even imagine out the window.

No, I Did Not Go Down with the Ship

I don't hardly know where to begin. Outa da last 17 weeks I was on the boat for 15 of 'em, and for 1 of my 2 weeks off we had too much fun with company and, well, in short, I aint been bloggin' much. This is something I hope to make up for in the coming days. Bear with us as I attempt to recount the last several months of fun in a series of lil 'update' type articles. Cappy

And Happy Mothers' Day to All Our Friends, Too.

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Pelicans Progress

In winter months when we cross shallow lakes and bays, our propellers ('wheels', in tug-boat lingo) stir up muddy water, which brings to the surface small fishys and 'stuff' as we dig our way along. This attracts the usual crowd of seagulls who follow along behind us, catching any 'goodies' that we wash up in our "wheel wash". In Lake Verret, the local white pelican population has learned the same trick. They follow along in our wake, floating in the turbulance, snacking on goodies. As we continue our trek, we slowly leave them behind, so, after awhile they take wing, fly after us, right up to the stern (the back) of the boat, land and repeat the cycle again and again as we move along. The white pelicans are beautiful in flight, graceful, stately and truly a joy to behold. Their landings, however, are tricky, due to their large wing-span and well..., graceful flights end in comical touchdowns. In this series of pictures, I attempt to show you their typical landing. The pictures ain't necessarily the same bird; just pictures representing a typical pelican approach and landing. I hope ya enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoy taking them. For more info. about white pelicans click : http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i1250id.html ...and for more picture of the Pelicans playing in the wheel-wash, click the underlined title of this post to be brought to an album in Yahoo photos. Just click "slide show", sit back and enjoy.

Spring Square Foot Garden

Peg and I rustled up our sleeves and plowed and planted the "South 48". 48 sq. ft. that is. Our little garden may be small but those of you who have been long time readers of this lil tome know how amazingly prolific it can be. We use square foot gardening techniques which we have adapted to our lil raised garden bed. We plant things densely, water with Miricle Grow, and just sorta stand back and watch it grow. It's very low maintenance once it gets going requiring very little weeding. Just keep reading and as the next few months go by you will be amazed at the stuff we harvest outa that lil patch of dirt. It's been so succesful, we've even noticed some of the neighbors attempting to copy our gardening methods.

Ever Get Dat Feelin' Someone's Lookin' at Ya From Behind?

One day this big ole owl flew down and landed on our barge. It was mid-day, so this was very unusual, 'cause ya only usually see these guys at night. Well, I was enjoying watchin' him as he sat there riding down the bayou with us. I called to the crew downstairs to come see him, too. We watched him sit there for several minutes with his back to us, but after a while I guess he started gettin "that creepy feelin" and slowly turned, like only owls can do, and looked right back at us watchin' him. After seein' it was just us sailors gawkin' at him, he slowly turned back and looked ahead again. He sat there for several minutes before flying away seeming unimpressed by his audience, who by the way were thrilled that he came to visit.

Cappy has returned :-D

It was a long boat ride for sure. Ten weeks to be exact. Das a long time to be away from my Baby, but Thank God it's over. I got home Thursday and the last few days have been like a long, deep sigh, relaxin' unwindin and reveling in the company of my sweet Pegody. We have been busy doing lil things 'round da house in preperation for our visit from our dear friends, Mr. Ed and Jean Radigan. They are dear friends of Pegody from Ny State and I have come to love 'em as much as she does. They are wonderful folks and we cant wait to see them again. Lots of stuff going on now that the, errrrrrr honeymoon is over, well not over but..... ya know what I mean.... less intense?? Anyways, lots of yard work, and the carpenters are comin' to do the bedroom etc.
I took some nice pictures while on the boat. I mean, ' stands to reason that in 10 weeks I'da found sometnin' to point my camera at:-)
Well, more to come later; I plan to post lots of short lil comments in the coming week. Das more my style anyways; short and sweet. Unlike 'certain Pegody's' lengthy ramblings:-P Well, better close for now 'fore I'm accused of "ramblin' on" myself. CAPPY

Resurrection Day

I've been running around, trying to get ready for Cappy's homecoming after two whole months, and getting things done in preparation for Mr. Ed and Jean's visit. I'm not sure I'll be able to pull it all together by Thursday; painting, planting, pruning, purchasing, planning, and, practicing my music. (Our group will play for the nine o'clock A.M. Easter service.) In the midst of all the rushing, I made certain one thing I concentrated on, above all, was Peace. I'd never, until this year, spent the forty days of the Lenten Season in daily quiet, thoughtfully considering each day in the Life of the Lord that led up to what we call Easter Sunday.
During this season, too, I think of my beloved mother. I'm still shocked that she'd be 80 this year. Not my Mom...she was always so young. I'm still shocked that she's GONE. How can that be?? My Dad, too. My oldest son.My Grandma. Cappy's Dad, who was his best friend and only true ally in this world, as my Mom was with me.I really, really want to see them again. I long to see them now.

When I was in lonely pain awhile ago, I wrote this to the Lord:

We think of this time...when your badly bruised body was taken down from the rough cross, and you were placed in isolaton inside the dark tomb. The jeering crowds were gone, the sound of whips and tormenting howls were silent. In the darkness was no sound of breathing. As when you were born bloodied, you were planted, once again bloodied...a Naked Seed planted in the earth.
I reflect on times of having to give You, Lord, those that I love, and trust in Your Wisdom, as they, too, were placed back in the soil from whence they came. When all the fervent prayers seemed to go unanswered, when all the medical equipment and staff had stopped, after the mourners had gone home, and I, too, my retching sobs now quiet, had to leave them; my son, parents, grandparents and friends, each alone in their cold silent tombs.
I think of a particular seed that I like to plant each year. Before I can plant it, I have to take a sharp knife and score the skin of it, cutting into it's flesh. For all intents and purposes, it appears dead, a useless off-cast of some thing, not resembling anything of consequence, really. But because of someting akin to faith, I plant it, hoping for something more glorious.
Dear Lord, we know not much about the mysteries that take place in the deep silent places. We know that God's Hand is working at those times. Babies are born after growing in the silent places. Morning Glories arise up out of the soil after spending time in the silent places. You, Lord, rose up Victorious from Death; and from knowing that, which breeds Faith in the deep silent places in our hearts, we trust in You, that not only will our loved ones be changed and raised more beautiful than ever, so shall we.
Faith is like a whisper...