Tuesday, July 26, 2011

My name is mud.

I "worked form home" yesterday morning. Or rather, I had the morning off to blast through a few obligations, enjoy some free time, and sprint to a nearby inlet I'd been meaning to explore.

The channel weaves its way back through nearby neighborhoods and we'd seen it on our afternoon runs. In fact, I usually force a pause in our pace when we jog by. I swerve towards the water like an orbiting moon stone, craning my neck to spot bait fish and egrets, crossing my fingers to see a tailing beast.

Kakis beneath my waders, I practically sprinted to the water. Checked my watch. 11:36.

"Okay, so I should be at work by 12:45.  I need to be at work by 1:00.... That gives me a good 40 minutes if I get changed quickly."

 A quickly as I approached the water's edge, I pulled back on my reigns. Whoa, David. I was sliding and sinking like a, well, foot in the mud.
The water was warm and low. Damn those tides. The bait fish were abundant, but I saw no sign of hungry fish eager to put up a fight.

The muddy water was peaceful, but she was not going to give her secrets to me today. Rather, it seemed she wanted to swallow my boots as the cost of my intrusion.

As cooler weather returns, I hope the speckled trout move up the inlet. If I dare venture back into the water, I'll need a fish to help pull me out.
Along the backs I did get a glimpse at a nice hornet's nest. Maybe wasps... Jay, can a brotha get a little entomology help?


The bigger fish may not call this habitat home right now, but it is definitely a nursery and sanctuary for birds, fiddler crabs, young and/or small fish, and mollusks galore. The shores were lined with exposed mussels.

Digging down into the mud, I think they were awaiting the return of high tide just as much as me.

7 comments:

  1. Oh man I have way too many days like this racked up this season. Still always good to see a morning cast. Come on high tide!

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  2. Before work mudding around. This is all just so great!

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  3. David, Hymenopterans aren't my area of specialty, but for you I went to the trouble of pulling a field guide off the shelf for a scientific name. I knew it was a Paper Wasp of some sort, but wasn't sure if it had a more specific name. It doesn't... just "Paper Wasp" (Polistes annularis). There are several Polistes species known only by the common name of "Paper Wasp." Polistes is a very large genus of wasps with around 300 species total. I'm glad I was able to identify this one beyond genus level for you... I would hate to let you down.

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  4. Colorado - absolutely! it always good to get out and throw a line.

    E - Sometimes just squeezing in a few casts before the work starts can make the whole day go better.

    JAY! I knew I could count on you. I figured the same. We have the the paper variety all over. I hand't seen this variety with the burnt orange coloring. I appreciate the consult. It was really just a test to see if you still swung over to my neck of the woods;) I've been a bit quiet on your side :)

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  5. D, my blog has been a bit quiet lately. Real life just gets in the way of cyberspace sometimes.

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  6. Jay is all knowledgable...yep. If I have two hours...it's just enough time to take the rods out of the back of the car! Ha.

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  7. Jay - I'm about to get very busy starting at 5pm tonight.

    RD - I agree. I'm all about the quick outings. Sometimes it is just the fix I ned to get to the next full trip.

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