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Hazel and I made our weekly Sunday morning trek in the rain yesterday to survey the progress on the dam on Orton Road. A shoulder has been defined on both sides and rock has been placed @ the tops over the cemented dam walls. As you can see an Orton employee drove across the road while I was there. It appears that the next step will be paving then marking! Never mind the road. Take in all the beauty that is the Swamp in all of its Autumnal glory on a dismal and dreary late October day. If you look closely in the forefront of each of these pics you will see the massive head of a most welcome visitor!  My heart seemingly stopped and I caught my breath watching the wake being pushed by the girth of this gargantuan Alligator making its sinuous way toward Hazel and I. It was only then that I realized it was none other than my Popeye Gator (aka Beau). Hello Old Friend!  Hazel wasn't nearly as ecstatic as I was to see my scaley scuted Dragon friend, especially in the rain. She stopped in her tracks and bristled, blinking up @ me. Don't worry, we were high up on the road bed and he stayed a considerable distance away in the water. I didn't tarry long because there was a mix of cement dust that formed a slurry on the road top in the drizzle. In fact, we didn't even walk up to the curve because of it. I had to get that muck off of my Hazel's feet and coat. My hoodie worked just fine. I had to convince her to walk in puddles on the way back to the truck and then toweled the rest off. At first my girl didn't quite understand me trying to get her wet but she happily obliged Splashing in and out of every mud hole we came across.  Yes Popeye I can see you ole Buddy, ole Pal...  Till Later My Gator... Thanks for lifting my spirits and putting on me on Cloud Nine! Oh how I missed your presence.  My Swamp is slowly recuperating from the onslaught of flooding resulting from the massive clear cutting and invasion of asphalt and concrete connected to unchecked development in my beloved Brunswick County. The lesson to be learned here is that Nature shall and always will prevail and create her own wetlands to remediate those destroyed from the loss of protections once rigidly enforced by the Army Corp of Engineers here in NC. This has been our warning shot. Will we pay attention? Some of us will... What about you? Do you hear the message the voices in the wind and the waters are speaking of? If not, I suggest you listen a bit more closely and pay rapt attention as if your very life depends on it. Because it does...  Happy to report that the work on the road over the dam on Orton Pond to Brunswick Town is coming along. Compared to the disheartened feeling that overcame me the last time I visited I'll take hope any time! Two major washouts remain on the far end but dirt has replaced the chasm that once existed. Water still remains in the pond but of course the level has dropped drastically. I spotted three of my scuted friends but none of my usual buddies. Mixed emotions there but at least a few survived the torrential washout downstream. I wasn't quick enough to catch one as it submerged when I took aim with my camera.   Hazel Mae surveys the progress and changes to one of our favorite spots on earth. Thankfully the presence of the quieted heavy equipment doesn't seem to bother the local egrets who have arrived in force to take advantage of foraging in the newly churned up landscape downstream of the spillway. I am certain there is a veritable buffet of foodstuffs available for the picking. Their raucous Pterodactyl like cries pierce the air and lend an eerie and unsettling prehistoric flavor to the atmosphere - just like a Swamp should feel. I'll leave you with this…  It was a day for Dragons, both the extraterrestrial and amphibious types. What a rarity! To say I was in Heaven was quite the understatement. It was the Sunday before TS Debby paid a visit to Brunswick County, making it all the more monumental for me. As always, the prismatic but tattered winged blue dragon cast its spell of calm over my jangled psyche. As it lit upon on my hand, I could barely contain my excitement. Talk about lucky! This sun bleached old sky pilot whose translucent wings bore battle scars from winds, rains and predators lent me it's time worn courage to face this next coming storm. I had come to check on my favorite Gator on TS Debby's approach. I found him basking in the sun on his little beach totally unconcerned by all the hype being thrown my way on the TV and radio. I absorbed his calm as well, wondering how many tropical systems this ancient warrior had survived... My old dragon seemingly communicated to me to just chillax, to ride it out and trust my own survival skills as we both have faced much worse and come out stronger ... My Dragonfly zipped and zagged, returned to the pond side darting in and out of the grasses and brush and then back to me. This magical creature came back to me 5 times to light and rest upon my hand and foot. I felt so privileged! I was filled with such a sense of gratitude and awe as a second wild one kept circling and landing on my finger. Was it attracted to my Spessartite garnet ring, my favorite color of Orange or the warmth of my finger?? Who knows? Who cares? What mattered most was the special bond I feel with nature was exponentially multiplied in my mind on that day as I communed with my Popeye Gator before yet another storm was forecast to hit my beloved Cape Fear region. I left with an indescribable sense of peace that totally overwhelmed me that day. Like a grandfather tired from entertaining young children, my Popeye Gator let me know that he was bored with my visit by closing his eyes to rest before the storm kicked up. I took his advice to go home and get some rest myself. No more storm prepping. It was going to be ok. There is so much to be learned from Nature, if we only simply choose to watch and listen and feel. And, most importantly, to trust our ownselves.
 Till later My Gator...  |
