Friday, January 4, 2013

Louisiana Swamp

We recently went for a drive while our coolant unit on our refrigerator was replaced. We started out at Waffle House for some tasty waffles then headed out to Lake Martin outside of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana (about 14 miles from our RV).

There's a nice drive around the lake as well as swamp tours and canoe and kayak rentals. We ended up at this Cypress Lake Preserve boardwalk where we spent about an hour taking in the swamp views. What a different world !

A "grove" of cypress trees.
This cypress-tupelo swamp and bottomland hardwood forest habitat is a relic of the mysterious swamps of the past, with old-growth live oaks and cypress covered with Spanish moss.






These cardinals are so eye-catching...we watched them for at least 15 minutes...they're spectacular.



Cypress knees. The tree puts these up to get more oxygen...supposedly. However, evidence might not support this. Either way, they're pretty cool to look at.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress_knee

Water Hyacinth plant....an invasive plant that clogs the bayous and waterways.http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/eiccr.htm



A swamp dweller...kinda cold when we we visited...about 48 degrees.


Great reflections in the water...hard to tell where the water line is.




This cypress-tupelo swamp and bottomland hardwood forest habitat is a relic of the mysterious swamps of the past, with old-growth live oaks and cypress covered with Spanish moss.


Spanish moss

Spanish moss

Spanish moss



Close up of the fern-like plant covering the water.




Cypress closeup




For more information on this location....

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/louisiana/placesweprotect/cypress-island.xml

and here...

http://www.bayounature.com/Cypress%20Island.htm

Kim and Steve

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