Morel Courts . . .

Of late, when we go to New Roads we stay at Morel Courts. It is a quaint place, in the middle of town and has perhaps 12 rooms to rent. All the rooms are non smoking. So it is acceptable to us.

The rooms are small but adequate. All have a TV, bath, double bed and all the usual expected things in a motel room. But they are indeed small dating from another era.

Buddy Morel and his lovely wife Georgia own the Courts. I am sure Buddy inherited them from his spinster aunt Mildred. Mildred was a card playing friend of my mother and an employee of the Bank of New Roads. I a pretty sure she watched over my account all those years I was in the USAF and never set foot in the bank years at a time. Anyway, you have to down hill to the "Bait Shop" and rent the rooms. The Bait Shop is really an upscale restaurant now days,operated by Buddy and Georgia.

The rooms are located along a small area that runs toward the river (False River) with six rooms on each side. I am guessing the sidewalk is about four feet wide, one on each side of the court yard. The court yard runs the length of the area and is about 11 or so feet wide. It has lots of plants and shrubs, a couple of iron tables and a couple of benches. In the middle is a fountain that dribbles along making a pleasant sound. The place is lit at night by four gas lamps (and some embedded spot lights too). Lots of greenery, a couple of Lugustum bushes, a couple of giant red tips and some butterfly lilies. There are some small azaleas, caladiums, a few flowers and some lily of the Niles poking up here and there. All in all, a pleasant place.

We got there, checked in at the bait shop and parked up in front of the courts on Main Street (the usual place to park). We were assigned unit 11 this time, way in the back. I got the suit case out and trundle it back to the room. Stepped in the room and it was like an oven, and I quickly turned on the air conditioning unit. I stepped out and sat down at the rear most table to remain cool while things got cooled inside the room.

A Mocking bird immediately challenged me. It was no more that three feet from me raising cane, jeering at me. I knew immediately, I was too close to a young one somewhere around me. A nest, I thought. So I moved further up the courtyard toward the front and the Mocking bird left me alone. But I watched to see if I could spot the nest. I could not find a nest in either the red tip or the Ligustrum, both tall and stately sticking out well above the roof line of the building.

I saw the parent Mocking bird again with a large insect in its bill. So I knew it was feeding a young one somewhere close by. Sure enough, I spotted a youngster, it hopped up on the table, and was able to fly from the table to the Ligustrum. Later, I spotted the youngster in the Ligustrum, still like it was just another leaf on branch (it was way to big for that but it was smart enough to be still with me close by). Next I saw the parent dive into the tree and feed the youngster.

Later, I found the nest way up front in a Ligustrum. So I guess the youngster was big enough to get out of the nest but not mature enough to fly any distance on its own. It has a few more days to go and moved towards the back of the courtyard where there was a bit more cover for it. There were no cats, so it was safe enough to run around on the ground, hop on tables and leap to the bushes. The parents knew where it was and continued to take care of it.

Life goes on all around us, doesn't it?