PattiZ's Journal

Have you ever poohed out of a tree?  Yep, I did it.  I really had no choice and was quite impressed with myself as I squatted there, bare bun'd.  I felt like a long legged bird, like a Blue Heron, Egret, or Pink Flamingo, no....I felt more like a Loon.  You ask, "Now, why did she climb a tree?"  Please let me explain.

It was fishin' time again, a few years back.  The sun was shining and the fish were bitin' in the shallow creeks that ran into the Bay.  We had a favorite place along the waterway where the thick Mangrove trees lined each side.  The long limbs reached out over the water and their roots entangled themselves in the sand beneath the surface.  The fish would hide there, under the Mangroves, and would fight free many times by tying our lines around the roots with ease.  It was exciting to hook a Snook that swam to the depths and very rewarding to reel one in.

So it was here that I had no choice, it was sudden and urgent.  There was no time to search for a better place and the thick limbs would not give way to land.  Almost by instinct I climbed from the boat and grabbed hold of the low lying limbs of the nearest Mangrove.  I anchored my feet one at a time, each on its own ledge.  I raised by arms and wrapped my fingers around the limbs above to secure myself on my perch.  It was then that I felt like "one with nature" and today, nature runs through my blood.  It went quite well, quick and easy, and before long I returned to the bow of the boat, retrieved my shorts, picked up my fishin' rod, and cast my line back into the water.

 Mangroves (generally) are trees and shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics. (Wikipedia)