Appreciate all the careful feedback. Glad to get viewpoints other then my own.
I couldn't decide whether to leave the pole in or go ahead and PS it away. To me, it's a choice between what's actually out there in the Louisiana wetlands, thereby making the foto a record, or taking the risk of romanticizing nature by editing out what's undesirable.
It seems the more I look at this, the less I want to edit out the pole. Maybe in this case familiarity doesn't lead to contempt ?