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.