Tis an Easy Saturday Afternoon.

 Tis an Easy Saturday afternoon, there is a constant breeze floating through the Garden District today, the Sycamore trees are letting  go blooms, they are flowing on the wind  and brown puffs of small delicate blooms today, air is full of pollen it's like fine dust...  I'm smoking a chicken on the Egg, deboning it and making a smoked chicken jambalaya tonight for supper ..... March is just around the corner .. ... time to catch up with the family down south in the Felicianas ..  

I have been reading Harnett T. Kane's, Deep Delta Book Country, published in 1944, First Edition, with a note on the second page " War Edition. This book is produced in accordance with the Conservation order of the War Production Board .  Kane was a New Orleans born Literary Master, writing numerous articles for the Times Picayune.

I've been reading a lot lately, mostly, subjects involving Louisiana History ....   Kane is famous for writing Louisiana HayRide; which chronicled the corruption in the days of Huey Pierce Long.      

Today Out for the Walk

 Today I was out for my walk,  I try to do at lest 1.5 miles at a fairly good pace, knowing my left knee has some cartilage damage,  however today on the walk, I had to stop for a moment, I recd a text that my old friend B. Luster Owen, a noted artist had passed to his Greater Reward, he was only 67.   He died. of what I can say was a broken heart and too much alcohol. he lived Life in the Fullest Extent,   His ex partner had long been passed away years ago, but BLO broken heart was not from any lost of a partner, but rather his heart was broken by himself, owing to alcoholism and his having chased all his friends away ..   

Such Talent .. Such creativity.... I am glad over the years I have some of his work...     I knew his parents etc...  

So, as I was getting the call on BLO, I noticed I was in front of a Red Swamp Maple Tree (Acer rubrum).

That is the second sign that Spring has arrived in Louisiana blooming of the Red Swamp Maple .... this morning the mosquitoes were out in numbers... 

Spring is Almost Here....

 When I was out for my walk yesterday I saw the first of the flowering bulbs, beginning to appear...

Sometimes ........ I wonder

 Yep..... It's Sunday before Noon here....   Sometimes I wonder who all these folks are visiting my lil blog ... especially when it comes from my region, I have a infrequent visitor from Baton Rouge... its the state capitol of Louisiana... its a city that  I came out in, its the City that I called home for a few years... its the City that I have spent a lot of time in.....   its the City that I still have friends in.... 

On a recent telephone conversation with my sister, we discussed the possibility of my coming home and living near her... she's in her mid 60s, widowed, with her three dogs and nice home...    As my world shrinks here in the Lil City by the Red...I am thinking of just moving back to be near her, my brother and the entire rest of the members of my family..  .. Maybe.. Its worth contemplating for sure.. just the thoughts invoke good vibrations .in my old mind.

A Morning....

 The morning temps seem to be hovering around 35 degrees.. a bit chilly, especially with the breeze..  now as we progress to the mid afternoon .. it is getting up to 60 to 65... . next week its projected that one afternoon temp will be 81..  the crawfish production should zoom .. other than that .. all remains to be the same.....

Today is Ash Wednesday, at time of. the year in. the Episcopal Church that one should remember the trespasses,  seek forgiveness, but (and there is always a but) to perform good deeds, to help the neighbor, to remember a elder who is shut in, to look to one's self and improve another's life by a small measure...   

It's almost the beginning for Spring.... almost. 

As You Can See On my walk today around the neighborhood..

 As you can tell... Im not the greatest when it comes to trying to design my blog...  I'm just not that good at it.. I should have left well enough alone.. but I did tinker with it and I will try to fix my blog list as the days go forth....    At Lest I didn't erase anyone.. that is the only best thing I didn't do...   

Happy Mardi Gras..... Atonement for your Sins by doing good Deeds tomorrow..and receive the ashes. Will I.. nope I am not going to walk down to St. James and do any of that.. what I will do is try to be nice and cordial to all folks and try to help out at the local kitchen here... 

On My walk today around the neighborhood the Purple Magnolia, (Magnolia lilliiflora) which is native to southwest China are blooming .... So keeping with the Walk... and speaking of flowering plants, shrubs, and trees...  here is the Purple Magnolia as it is commonly known here....

Rain and a Lil bit Chilly... and One More Camellia

 The rain came all day yesterday, I flicked back and forth between the Super Bowl and Stanley Tucci on CNN... for some reason  I was a lil bit emotional when watching Tucci on CNN.... maybe it reminded me of family, or family/friends.. combined with the camaraderie of how he tells a story. I found myself sniffling and chocking up, teary eyed on some of the scenes ..  Now as far as the Super Bowl, I didn't care who won, or but just to say I did catch a few plays and the end of the halftime show..

This morning I woke up around 5am .... . It was a chilly fog outside, as the morning light was cutting through the fog, I noticed next door, the pink Camellia japonica had started to bloom.. its next to the Crimson one that is right out my back door, on the adjacent property.  It is a light pink and the shrub is as large as the one I had previously described yesterday...The temperature is in the lower 50s today, with wind gust and its is overcast with a grayish tint to the sky.... with the chilly fog it makes it a typical Louisiana almost Spring day...   

But here is the Pink Camellia japonica, which I like very much because off the delicate nature of the pedals:

As we begin to have a slight Spring Weather

 Today the temp got up to 71 degrees, the one of my favorite Flowers which is located out my backdoor began to bloom, its a Red Camellia japonica. This is a single pedal, not a double, not ruffled, the shrub, which is about 10 feet tall, and was pruned through the years to be almost a tree, has blooms, not many, its shaded out by a large hackberry tree,   but I love the Crimson Color ...and since it rained all day, I think its fitting to have taken the photo showing the rain.... 

Late Night Post

 Its seems that as I grow older and have to admit that I am for the most part retired from public life, I quest for the contact with the outside world, that be it, either here in the state that I have lived in for my 70 years, but also the outside world.  I have had a very privileged life, I am grateful for that, but being the old Sagittarius that I am, I feel a roaming that I need to explore more within this state and beyond... I have a urge to roam, to wander in the early morning hours... to visit old friends, to drink wine and watch the Sunsets in Abiquiu, NM to hike the narrow Goat Trails near there, to paddle the bayous here near my home.... to Get out of the House.. Thus To Live ..... To See Life as it is .... upfront, true, with meaning ... 

The Ramblings of an Old Man.... for sure.... It could just be the Quest for Memories for that last quarter of life that I feel I am approaching... But it is to LIVE... for the Moment ... LIVE for the Present.. not the Past. 

Days of Almost Spring

 As we head to Mardi Gras, (and it's really early this year), Ash Wednesday is also Valentine's Day. One must remember its the South and Spring is just around the corner, The Swamp Maples will be budding out with their Crimson buds, the Red Bud trees will be casting their pink blossoms and the bugs will be swarming for sure..  Louisiana will be in full bloom here in another 30 to 40 days ..  

On my daily walks, I will have to catch the Purple Magnolias blooming those lavender pedals ...  and soon the Yellow Pine Poplin will be whispering as the winds of March hurl those yellow clouds towards us.  

Yep, Spring in Louisiana is almost Here  

Tis Almost that Time of the Year...... Mardi Gras

 Well here is the big weekend.... there are two balls this weekend here in the Lil City by the Red.... and Then on the 11th of February .. we have the big parade along Texas Ave... It just happens that Ash Wednesday is on Valentines Day which I the 14th of February ..   It will be fish on Fridays during Lent..  Time to Repent, but as I have always made the effort to do good for some one who is in need.... either serve at one of the local kitchens, or try to help a person in need ....   Not sure doing this Lenten Season what I will be doing .... but it will be helping somewhere in the neighborhood.   

Mardi Gras is early this year and with the drought here in Louisiana, crawfish production is down..   which means the cost of a platter is going to be up there.