Kayak swamp tour II

A little over a year ago, on November 28, 2009, I took the most enjoyable trip in my kayak that I ever taken.  Today, I revisited the same area.  The scenery was a bit different this time, being later in the season.  The two most notable differences were that there was less foliage on the cypress trees, and, because the water level was much lower, the cypress knees were much more exposed and impressive.  Enjoy the photos.

Shortest day of the year packed with happenings

For being the shortest day of the year (Winter Solstice) and reportedly the darkest in over 300 years (Lunar Eclipse on the shortest day), this was quite an eventful day.  So what all happened?  In the course of 24 hours, I got to see the lunar eclipse.  I got to see UConn Women's Basketball team win their 89th game in a row, eclipsing the long-standing men's basketball record held by John Wooden's UCLA team.  I got to see the 2010 U.S. census results for the first time.  I got to see the long-awaited new road in Houma connecting Hwy 311 to the strip on MLK Blvd, where we do most of our shopping, finally open today, cutting almost in half the time it will take us to make the trip to the strip.  And, to top things off, I got the kayak out, brushed off the cobwebs, and took a 4-mile round trip journey on Bayou Black.  The background scenery and wildlife on these kayak trips never disappoints, which makes me wonder why I don't go more often.

Pictures from Thanksgiving trip

Due to low batteries, I only took one picture of a view we will have from our not-quite-finished home near Tracy City, TN.  The picture didn't come out as well as hoped, with the camera focused on close up trees and the backdrop being somewhat out of focus.  It least it shows that a lot of clearing of underbrush across the highway was generously done in our behalf by the developer, which gives us the view we had hoped for when we purchased the property. 

We traveled north to Plymouth, IN (25 mi. south of South Bend in northern Indiana) to be with Matt & Julie and our grandchildren, Allison, Lauren, and Megan at Thanksgiving time.  The day after Thanksgiving, we joined the family in traveling to a tree farm near the school where Matt works, where they picked out a very special tree.  I took a picture of the grandchildren in front of it.  Over this past weekend, the Bertassos had a lot of snow.  We felt fortunate that we didn't have to contend with the white stuff while we were there.

Thanksgiving Holiday at the Bertasso's

Starting tomorrow, we will be traveling to Tennessee and Indiana.  While our original plan during our Thanksgiving Week trip was to start furnishing our new home in Tennessee and to move our pop up trailer inside the carport (presently on a neighbor's property), it appears that neither will happen on this trip.  The house is not quite finished yet, and we cannot legally enter it until it is finished and signed off.  While in the vicinity, we will take time to meet a few key people, winterize our pop up, and that's about it. 

So, the main thrust of our trip has changed to visiting Julie, Matt, and our grandchildren further up the road in Plymouth, Indiana.  We are excited to be able to be with family during Thanksgiving.  It's been a while since we have had that experience.

Country living in Houma

It seems strange that in a mid-sized city, we would be able to wake up to views such as these as these pictures depict.  We are fortunate to be able to live in a city, yet have the amount of open space that we have. 

Sugar soared to a 30-year high today

On Tuesday, raw sugar futures topped 30.6 cents a pound, rising to their highest point since 1980, when prices jumped to nearly 45 cents.  To get a sense of the dramatic increase in world sugar price, I have included a link to a more recent (post-2002) trend line. A sharper than expected drop in Brazil's estimated production is largely responsible for this spike. India's decision to withhold their domestically produced sugar from the international market is another other factor supporting the world price of sugar.  Here in Louisiana, the harvest season is well underway, and harvest conditions have been good to this point.  Tonnage is down but sugar content in the stalk has been well above average, so the growers are getting an average amount of sugar to the mills even though they are harvesting less cane.  Profitability is better than it has been for a long time.  I'm very happy for the growers and millers alike.

Lexus going sugarcane green

Toyota's Lexus CT200h small luxury hybrid will be the first car outfitted with a sugarcane-based product called bio-PET, also referred to as Ecological Plastic.  The product's initial use will be in the luggage compartment liner.  However, the material may also be used in the manufacture of other interior plastic-based parts of the car, including seats and carpet.  Check out the the story at crispgreen.com.