Last hurrah for a season

With the heavy rains we had last week, large sections of Houma were flooded, enough so that we made national news...at least on the Weather Channel. We hadn't had this much rain since Hurricane Gustav. Of course, our problems were small compared to what is happening on the Red River of the North, between MN & ND, where major flooding is occurring. And it just seems bizarre that Lori and James were delayed in returning to their home in Loveland, CO after visiting Julie, Matt, and our grandchildren in Indiana, because of blizzard conditions in Colorado.

With the heavy rains, the canal behind our house, which remains dry most of the year, became swollen, and the perimeter of the lake in our neighborhood more than doubled. The larger permanent canal that goes back a mile to the swamp from our lake became fully navigable. Most of the year, it is so clogged with aquatic weeds, that it is almost impossible to kayak on it. So, being literally able to launch my kayak from the back of our house, I couldn't resist the temptation to do one last hurrah, before I hung the kayak up for a season. I went all the way back to the swamp from our house, which I have never done before. It was a bit of a rush to do this, not knowing what to expect along the way. At one point, something made a very large splash next to the kayak, obviously something I approached by surprise. It could have been a large nutria, a large fish, or an alligator. Whatever it was, it raised my adrenaline level, even though I didn't actually have a chance to see what it was. Once I reached the swamp, I could have navigated my way to the Intercoastal Canal and beyond to the Gulf. More likely, I could have gotten very lost. I returned home and hung up the kayak in the garage for a season. As shown in the picture that Judy took during the day, neighborhood kids took advantage of the flooding as well, since school was cancelled.

Kayaking during alligator mating season

This evening, while kayaking on the "lake" in our neighborhood, a kid that was fishing told me that he saw a pretty good sized alligator in the lake...the first one he had seen this spring. About this same time last year, while kayaking in nearly the exact same location, I saw an alligator staring me down and not swimming away from me, and I started feeling rather vulnerable. At that time, one of the neighborhood kids said something like, "Mister, you're pretty brave paddlin' around in that little kayak during alligator matin' season." I swear that before I got to shore, I got bumped no less than three times by something. At the time, I was dead sure it was that alligator, but I admit my imagination was running pretty wild by the time I got to shore. I don't think I've ever got out of a kayak faster than I did that day. It was a good two months before I even thought about going out again. This year, I will simply hang up the boat during alligator mating season which is basically the April - June timeframe. I'm doing this even though I know that if precautions are taken, I have a very low probability of experiencing a confrontation, based on everything I have read online. I don't mind gliding by alligators, enjoying their presence after the mating season is over, but until then, well...I'll just enjoy them from the shore, keeping my paddlin' drumstick-looking arms well out of from their domain.

During mating season, the male alligators can get pretty aggressive, and they put on an unusual ritual to intice a mate.

Effect of aquatic weeds used as mulch on potato growth

Late last fall, I put mulch from our compost pile over the entire garden. I then harvested some aquatic weeds from the canal in our back yard, and added them just to the front half of the garden area. I then added 13-13-13 NPK fertilizer over the entire garden area, then tilled the garden with my Mantis tiller. I planted the winter garden. After harvesting it, I planted potatoes on three rows in early February. From the picture above, taken by Judy today, it is obvious that the potatoes planted on the end of the garden that received the aquatic weeds as part of the mulch, are growing far better than those on the other end. I'm not sure what the aquatic weeds may have contributed, but the benefit is pretty amazing. Our "lake" is badly overrun with algae and other aquatic weeds, so there is no shortage of aquatic weed mulch that I could produce. Lakes overrun with aquatic weeds is a sign that significant amounts of fertilizer runoff (particularly phosphorus) from homeowners gardens is occurring. We just bought a composter that arrived late yesterday. I'm still putting it together. I'm not sure what aquatic weeds we have right now, beyond plain old algae, but I'm pretty sure the dominant species I used in the garden last fall is one called Southern Naiad, based on online pictures I have seen of it.

Happy birthdays are in order

Happy birthday to my wife. Last night, we went out and had nice buffet dinner. In Cajun country on a Friday evening, especially during Lent, this means all-you-can-eat seafood. I especially enjoyed the boiled shrimp. The shrimp are hugh down here. Judy got some nice birthday cards and several phone calls from family and friends.

Tomorrow is Lori's birthday. Happy birthday to Lori as well!

I spent the better part of the day planting our garden. The only thing that we have in the garden that carries over is three rows of potatoes planted in early February that are just about ready to flower. Everything else was cleaned out to make room for today's planting. Today, I planted beans, cowpeas, corn, tomatoes, peppers, and spinach. Later on, I will transplant a few vine plants, like watermelon, canteloupe, cucumbers, and squash. It's a bit risky to plant them right now. Judy ordered some edamame soybeans that we are going to try for the first time. Soybeans are supposed to be pretty healthy, and the edible ones are quite tasty. We'll see what happens and report.