WINDING DOWN FEBRUARY IN LOUISIANA...

Welcome back!

Well, things are winding down for this trip to Louisiana. Let me update you on a few things.

The pine tree felling next door continued on Saturday. We apparently reached the point where guiding the fall became a bit more critical. So... we watched the worker lift himself in the bucket to attach a rope which was then attached to the scoop of the Bobcat which was "in place" to guide the falling tree.

That one worked out pretty well. The next photo, however, is what I call "The Steel-Toed Boot Tester" tree. Understand it was NOT the tree doing the testing. However, while one worker was sawing this tree, the other had the Bobcat scoop pushed up against it to guide its fall. Let's just mention here that a Bobcat driver has difficulty seeing what is directly in front of the machine, especially if it is on the ground. Uh-Huh. The Bobcat's track caught the worker's foot albeit briefly. The bad news: It obviously hurt!! The good news: The worker had his steel-toed boots on. It could have been much worse. They both took a good long break before returning to continue the work.

Little Bit Update! The little dog adopted by Carolyn is doing well. Carolyn has adjusted to a demanding four-legged critter that insists on attention. Little Bit has settled in to the new location and new routine. All is well.

Mardi Gras Update! In case you live in a cave somewhere, Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is this coming Tuesday. That means all festiveness and frivolity reserved for those who have only a 2-day weekend to revel has taken place this weekend. There were parades and chicken runs and galas. I'm glad this part of the world found SOMETHING to do between major holidays!! :)

Cultural Search Update! Remember the dinner and play evening we scheduled? Well, it was a hoot. Dinner was less-than-stellar... but we weren't going for dinner. It was edible and what one would expect from a community theatre group. It provided time to meet and greet one's tablemates (the four of us were at an 8-topper). The play was hilarious. There was a large cast, nine in all. There were two "standout" performers who kept the audience in stitches!! I must tell you that both of them had me nearly falling out of my seat with laughter. While neither had a particularly "large" part, they certainly received the most laughs. I hope to see either or both of them in future productions.

I leave Louisiana on Monday the 23rd to return to Texas for a short while. Bills to pay, things to do... you know the drill. Unless something exciting happens in Texas, there may be several days between this post and the next.

Until then...

THIRD DAY WAS THE CHARM!!

Welcome back!!

Well, our neighbor was wondering how the third day of pine tree cutting would go. Why?

Day One I have already shared with you. That saw the demise of one of the Camellia shrubs... but it's hard to avoid some collateral damage when one is felling such tall trees. Susan L. took the news fairly well and we agreed it was better to hit the shrub than the house.

Day Two (Thursday) started well. It was a beautiful day... until the wind picked up. That is what resulted in the demise of a section of the fence. OOPS!!! A pesky gust of wind hit just about the time the tree was felled. The damage was NOT due to the entire tree (trunk) falling on the fence. This damage was simply due to the LIMBS of the tree hitting the fence. Remember... I told you these trees are soft but not light!

The photo was taken after the tree limbs were removed and the best attempt at "straightening" the fence had taken place. :)

Today (Friday) was the third day of cutting. All held our collective breaths waiting for what it might bring!! After all, Days One and Two had seen less-than-perfect cutting days... actually, felling days.

The good news. Third Day was indeed the charm. It went without a hitch and the fence guy even showed up and repaired the damaged fence area (to the relief of five little dogs who have not had the opportunity to hit the back yard for a day!). It's all good.

Finally, I apologize to the Louisianans who are familiar with the next item but I just had to share it with those who may have no idea what they are looking at!!! :)

Need a different angle? Try this:

Nope. Not an anal-retentive or even creative dog. (I know how some of you are!) These are sprinkled all over the yard. They are "crawfish chimneys" or "crawfish hills." Yep. Those little guys are so ubiquitous, they set up housekeeping everywhere! When I was a kid, we would beg my mother for a little piece of bacon and a length of string to tie around it so we could drop it down the hole. We would pull it up EVER so slowly, hoping to see the crawfish reach the top and become our pet!! Don't ever believe those little crustaceans aren't smart... or at least prepared to survive. They would hang onto that bacon all the way up... until they saw two little kid faces staring down at them!! That's when they would let go and my brother and I would sigh loudly, determined to try again. We did... for a while.

So, pardon a moment of regression but the newly built "chimneys" made me chuckle.

Until we meet again...

TIM.....BER....!!!!

Welcome back!

I haven't really mentioned industry around here. Unfortunately, the timber industry, which is the primary industry in this area, is suffering. Logging firms are laying off workers and drivers. The Boise Paper Mill, a major employer here, is cutting back heavily as the need for timber products lessens due to the economy. Needless to say, pine trees are EVERYwhere including the yards of many folks. Pine trees are even harvested from large acreage and replanted for future harvesting. It's a serious business.

I tell you this to explain the photos I took today. Our dog rescue neighbor, Susan L., has a number of pine trees remaining in her yard. Many on the street have cut theirs down over the years. A soft tree in a good strong wind (think Hurricanes Rita and Ike!!) can come tumbling down on one's roof in a heartbeat. Just because they are soft doesn't mean they are light, either!! Those suckers are heavy and will bring your roof down to your floor.

Susan L. decided the pines in her yard were just too darned much trouble (they lose their needles and drop their pine cones keeping one busy for a few months!) and posed a potential danger. She has hired a crew to come in and remove the pines. This is how the side between us looks today.

I will revisit this scene in a couple of days.

Here is how it works. You put one guy at the base of the pine tree with a chain saw. You put the other guy in a Bobcat putting pressure against the tree to help it fall in the proper direction. Got it?

Now... when all goes according to plan, the saw finishes its work, the Bobcat gives a little nudge, and voila!!!
(I hope you all appreciate the time I spent waiting to get this shot!!)

The tricky part is keeping the trees from falling on the lovely Camellia shrubs that fill this backyard. I am sorry to report that this particular tree... yes, the one in the photo falling... landed dead center atop one of the Camellia shrubs. I know Susan L. is not going to be happy about that. She's not home right now so she doesn't know this yet. Sigh. Of course, better the Camellia than the house!!!

So... I hope those of you who are not familiar with pine trees and logging and all that goes with it have learned a little something today. I thought it was interesting to watch them come down... and it is VERY noisy when they fall!! That whole thing about a tree falling in the forest and nobody around to hear... I'm questioning that now. These things sound like .50 caliber rounds going off in your ear when the final wood splits and they hit the ground.

Until our next meeting...

YOUR TAX DOLLARS...

Hello, Blog Buddies!!

Today I am going to stand just a bit on my soapbox. If you can't handle it, it's time for you to go surf the Web for something more palatable.

So... it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in SW Louisiana. I decided to take a little drive while others napped. I was cruising some of the back roads I knew as a young'un. Note I had already noticed quite some time ago a plethora (really!) of FEMA trailers parked row upon row upon row in an area I will not mention. (Like no one in this town has happened to see them or knows they are there!)

Thinking this FEMA trailer refuge might make an interesting blog post, I pulled up and took a few photos from the back of the area. (This "area" is a substantial number of acres.) You will see those shots below. I drove a bit further and turned northbound along a dirt road that ran alongside this same area. As I reached pavement, I noticed an entry-like area with a couple of little "huts" but the drive was blocked off with those attractive orange plastic cones. What I could see were many more of the FEMA trailers parked row after row after row. I pulled up into the drive, rolled down the passenger window, and pointed my camera toward the trailers. At that time, a RATHER large individual appeared upon the little porch of one of the "huts", waving his arms at me. I waved back. I'm a friendly kinda' gal. He yelled (which was necessary since we were probably at least 50 yards apart if not more) "You ain't supposed to be takin' no pitchas!" (I am trying to get his rather interesting local speech pattern across to you.) I yelled "Why?" (Note there were no signs posted or anything that made me think there would be a problem with a photo or two.) His sad little government brain apparently did not understand a question of such magnitude and so he responded with "You ain't supposed to be takin' no pitchas!" I am laughing at this point because of the ridiculousness of the situation. Those trailers, folks, belong to US... YOU and ME!! We own them. WE are the government. But I "ain't supposed to be takin' no pitchas" of my property. I won't even start on who is likely paying this person's salary. At that point, this individual begins waving at me and yelling "Bye-bye" as if I am some small child. Rather than risk this person going into cardiac arrest by making an attempt to chase me down, I drove off knowing there were at least 3 more areas where I could get the photos I wanted to show you all the HUGE amount of waste here in Louisiana. I'm sure it is all over Mississippi, also.

Without further ado, I submit to you what some of your tax dollars are currently doing:

1) From the back side, before my close encounter of the government kind. Note the long line of white in the background. Those are FEMA trailers.
2) Further along the same road as #1 above, we find more long rows of white trailers.

3) This is from the front of the area in question. Note the rows of white in the background in front of the tree line.

Folks, I can't even begin to put numbers to this. You are seeing a VERY small quantity of what is out there. To get a better idea of actual size, take a peek at this:

I can assure you there are THOUSANDS of these trailers placed in rows all over this property. I would almost venture to say there are TENS of thousands of them. I know I cannot see the entire area. I have no clue what is out there, unseen from any public street.

For those less informed, the government apparently had to back pedal on its handing out of FEMA trailers when many (if not all?) were found to contain asbestos. Pesky asbestos. So, the potential for damage to young or elderly lungs, etc., created a bit of a problem. I honestly don't know what the government did to "replace" these delightful little trailers when they removed them from use by folks who had no place to go. You might could read up on that elsewhere.

*** Clarification: Just an update. I may have misstated the recall issue for these FEMA wonders. It may have been formaldehyde that was the issue... not asbestos. While it doesn't really matter, since they were recalled to sit and rot, I felt I should let you know you should follow up on the reason if you are that interested.

I'm just offended that I am dismissed like a child by someone who is paid (by me) to hang out in a little "hut" on a lovely Sunday afternoon to "protect" a bunch of molding, mildewing FEMA trailers that will likely eventually rot in the fields where they lay. I can think of a lot of other things I would prefer to have my tax dollars cover. In our current environment, I begin to believe my tax dollars are simply being used to light Million-Dollar-Bonus cigars. Guess the FEMA debacle is no better, no worse.

Pray for your America, folks. She really needs you now.

Until a lighter note...

ANOTHER CULTURAL ATTEMPT!!

Hello again! A Happy V.D. to all of you. :)

Alright. I will not give up. I will persevere. Culture WILL take place.

So, with that said, two of my pals here in La. and I have booked our reservations for the upcoming Impromptu Players' dinner play, "The Marquis Crossing Ladies Society's First Attempt at Murder." Let me state for the record this is a local troupe that has been based in DeRidder for a number of years. They have renovated a building, turning it into a theatre for their performances. There seems to be plenty of local talent to fill the roles needed for three plays each year. I am very pleased to be able to support the arts right here in town!! I will provide my critique after the performance.

On another note, I had a lovely dinner with one of my pals here on Thursday evening. We went to a relatively new restaurant, Cecil's Cajun Cafe', which opened sometime this past summer, I believe. She had noted the reason to go there was not so much the fare but the atmosphere and the ability to chat without excessive noise or overhearing ears nearby. I have to agree with her assessment. The food was adequate (although the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo was tastier than I expected) but I wouldn't write home about it. You do have to realize there are not a lot of dining options in this town, however, so adequate is fine. Otherwise, you would have a drive of about 45 minutes to reach a larger diversity of options. Sometimes you just make do.

So... I hope you all had a GOOD Friday the 13th and you enjoy(ed) your Valentine's Day tremendously. Until the next babble...

THE SUN RETURNS!

Since my drive back to Louisiana on Friday the 6th, it has been primarily overcast. No rain to speak of (which is unusual!) but lots of clouds. A major wind blew through in the wee hours of Wednesday morning (the 11th) making enough noise to awaken me. Still did not hear any rain.

By early this morning, the clouds had all departed and the sun began its rise without anything to distract it. It has been beautiful all day and looks like this fine weather will remain for a few more days.

With all of this balmy weather (in February?!?!?!?), I'm getting antsy about playing in the yard!! Unfortunately, there isn't anything in my aunt's yard requiring play. It is a fully mature yard with fully mature vegetation. I guess I could take up topiary but I'm not certain it would be fully appreciated. :)

So, I will be happy for the return of sunshine here and hope there has been good rain in Austin (which I believe is the case). Funny how there is such a huge difference with only 300 miles in between!

Until next post...

"LITTLE BIT" UPDATE!!

Hello there! I have a "little bit" of good news to report (and apologize for the pun)!

If you will refer back to the January 25th post titled "PUPPY LOVE", you will see a photo of "Little Bit" who had a vet visit the next day. The vet gave this little girl a clean bill of health and spayed her so she would be ready for adoption!!

Well, one of my aunt's caregivers, Carolyn, had been at the house when the neighbor, Susan L., brought "Little Bit" over for the visit. Guess who has now adopted "Little Bit?" (Pretty easy to guess, isn't it?) Yep. Carolyn has taken in the little Pekingnese darlin' for her own. We have been regaled with tales of less-than-appropriate behavior on the part of the pup but even those have been told with laughter. Since the pup is still a young'un, there is hope that some of the mischief will eventually end. We will await further updates on how "Little Bit" is coming along.

Just thought you might want to know. Until more news...

FLORA AND FAUNA... WELL, FLORA FOR CERTAIN

Hello, blog fans! Welcome back!

I returned to Louisiana Friday afternoon. After a good night's sleep, I arose at 6:00 a.m. and headed out for my morning walk at 7:00 a.m. As I was walking, I noticed a number of lovely blooms on some trees that had been bare when I left here on January 23rd. Since most of you know my penchant for landscaping, you'll know that I couldn't resist a little lesson for you all on acid-loving flora in a high humidity environment!

The trees catching my attention this morning are commonly called Saucer Magnolias. The blooms are shaped the same but the flowers can be anywhere from nearly whitish to pink to nearly purple in hue. I took the liberty of photographing one of the next-door neighbor's specimens for you.

I figured while I was taking photos, I should also provide you with a few shots of some of the Camellias in my aunt's yard. These gorgeous, evergreen shrubs can grow rather large and provide a beautiful display of flowers from late fall through winter unless a VERY hard freeze hits and lasts for some time. Since that weather is the exception rather than the rule here in southwest Louisiana, you can understand why folks plant these for winter color.



These are available in a range of colors from nearly all white to a deep, rich, rosy hue with purplish accents.

I grew up with these plants as well as azaleas (a future blog post!) but had to leave them behind when moving to central Texas. They do NOT like alkaline soil, low humidity, and/or the drought conditions more likely there. I have watched many home gardeners purchase beautifully blooming azaleas at the local home improvement stores each spring only to find they wither and die before a month is even up. I blame the stores for even stocking vegetation that will not survive in a specific environment.

So... having spent a lot of years adjusting my gardening/landscaping to the natives of central Texas, it has been pleasant to revisit the really lovely foliage and flowers of the plants with which I grew up.

Take care. It's almost Spring!!

STILL IN TEXAS... FOR NOW

Hello, Blog Buddies!! Thanks for stopping by.

Well, I am still in Texas for the time being. Scheduled departure back to Louisiana is Friday, February 6th. Speaking of which... where did January go? Any of you with the answer to that, please enlighten me!!

While crime is literally everywhere, I am reminded of the difference in a small town (Louisiana) and the big city (Austin, Texas). The day after I returned to Texas, the spousal-unit went to obtain something I had indicated an interest in. It was not available at the usual store he frequented so he had them contact another, relatively near-by, store. It was available there. He headed over to retrieve this ONE item. After parking his vehicle in the middle of the day fairly near the store, he went inside. Upon returning to his vehicle, in fairly short order, he found it broken into and his laptop gone. Thank you, criminal element. Appreciate your interest in things for which you did not pay.

So... this set off the chain of events including contacting the insurance company, taking the vehicle to a repair facility... all of the fun things we had been looking forward to during my short time here. NOT!!!!! The only thing that keeps me from blood pressure through the roof is my belief in Karma. I know, in my heart, this or these individual(s) will have something in the future that s/he values. I also know, in my heart, that valued item will suffer a loss of some type. Whether or not the individual(s) will correlate previous misdeeds with the bad luck s/he or they seem to be suffering is moot. My only regret is I will not be able to witness the loss felt by the presently criminal element.

Getting back to my original comment... the City of Austin Police Department provided a case number over the phone. They do not have the time nor the interest to spend checking out the scene, obtaining the surveillance video tape from the store (guess that's only handy in cases of kidnapping, bodily harm, and/or murder?), as this is a big city and there are more important crimes to investigate. Uh-huh. I'm actually guessing at this, but I would bet a fairly substantial sum that the small-town Louisiana police department would show up, look around the scene, bust out the fingerprint kit (which may have not been used in years), check for surveillance tape availability (probably discovering they know the perpetrator(s) from high school!), and check back with us later to let us know if they have had any luck. Do I know this to be a certainty? No. I just know there are some very great differences between big cities and small towns and I'm willing to bet this is one of them.

So... that's it for now. We are still waiting for the vehicle to be repaired so we can have our own separate vehicles again (that's a whole 'nother blog post!).

Until the next exciting, stimulating sharing of information...