Interlopers of the Southern Wild

Last weekend, we went on an air boat tour of Bayou Barataria, not far outside of NOLA (though it felt 1000s of miles from civilization, in many not-so-good ways; oh, hello, The South!). Though the tour itself was far less than tasteful, the scenery was delicious indeed. I didn't know that the WPA created the systems of canals in the wetlands of Louisiana. I thought, extremely naively in fact, that they just kind of existed, that they were made by nature. I don't have reason for that naivete, considering I have read the novel Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, about the man-made canals in the Florida Everglades. Anyway, we made our way through the brown sludgy water, lined on both sides with lush cypress trees, palmettos, and swamp grasses, covered with a hearty layer Spanish moss, only to encounter a modicum of wild life, including tortoises, herons, pelicans, and baby gators. It was beautiful and unique. I'm glad we did it, but I don't feel need to go back.

 Two baby gators on each end of the log: