Ten Things I See Every Day in Louisiana

Yesterday morning, I left New Orleans early for Thibodaux for a BTNEP meeting, where smart people talk about good coastal conservation and education. I really, really like that organization (plus they were great hosts for Paddle Bayou Lafourche, the highlights of which were shown to the group, including our bayou yoga which everyone seemed impressed by).

As I drove just over an hour to Nicholls State University for the meeting, I noticed all sorts of things that I'm really enjoying about the springtime drive. Magnolia trees have finally blossomed, and I smell jasmine nearly constantly. I have come to love the winding roads along the bayou, and the sun was shining and the clouds were so fluffy against the bright blue sky. I laughed as I saw a car drive by without a front bumper-- a common sight in and around New Orleans, where people are terrible drivers. It made me think, what things do I see every time I leave Zimpel Manor?

In New Orleans
1. cars without bumpers
2. live oaks lining the streets
3. busted up streets and sidewalks due to said live oaks, among other things
4. people sitting on porches
5. fleur de lis bumper stickers (often on windows because of said lack of bumpers)
6. shotgun two family homes
7. streetcars
8. people standing near intersections, asking for money
9. people exercising on the neutral grounds
10. beads in trees

In South Louisiana, including but not limited to New Orleans
1. bayous
2. sugarcane farms
3. drive through daquiri shops
4. Catholic Church
5. Baptist Church
6. A different Catholic Church
7. Another different Catholic Church (bonus: St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, which confuses me every time)
8. GIGANTIC live oak trees off in the middle of old plantation land, totally unencumbered by power lines or houses, covered in Spanish moss
9. roadkill armadillo
10. people fishing in ditches and bayous along the side of the road

ok, ok, ok, more about South Louisiana because that was a lot of Catholic churches:
11. person playing or blasting music that includes some combination of accordians, fiddles, and/or French language (ok, today I was that person)
12. farms stands full of things that don't grow in New Jersey till July or August
13. old plantations
14. burning piles of tree trimmings or crop residue (sometimes it's just old junk, too)
15. unintelligible signs that I have no shot of pronouncing correctly (French? French pronounced in English? French spellings of German names? NO ONE KNOWS. Well, someone knows, but it isn't me.)

Truth is, I see and hear and smell and enjoy many more things than this every day. I'm constantly looking around, seeing and learning and experiencing new things. All kidding about roadkill armadillo  and missing bumpers aside, Louisiana is lovely.