Outside our door and New Orleans

Our little visitor come almost every day and just picks through the leaves and just gives our cats a little entertainment .

The feeder has become the meeting place for several groups of Cardinals who always seem to in the need for some easy pickings .

Just so brilliant in the sun.

Everyone waiting their turn at the feeder.

One of the females just hanging out in the feeder .

One of the little Warblers taking a rest on what was a really windy day here. One of the few as it has been in the 70's here with hardly a puff of a breeze.

We should have gotten a before shot of the old sign before we rebuilt and repainted the sign. the new one is sparkly and has no bullet hole in it. That won't last to long as we are really remote here.

Saturday was just so nice here, almost 80 degrees so we took a ride to New Orleans . Our first stop as always is the Café for some strong coffee and a few beignets . For those from the north they are similar to an Italian Zepole  or a French Donut .

While we were strolling we came across one of those run in your undies charity runs .

We ere standing where they had to turn and go back to the start and we did see some sights.

All shapes and manor of undress.

This little group received a round of applause as their head wear was totally wrong for a run.

After several trips to NO I have yet to have one.

There were so many street performers that at times I was hard to move through the main plaza areas.

The Iron work on the buildings is just awesome.

So many buildings , so many signs to read.

So many ferns .

Just building after building with awesome Iron work and decorations still left over from Mardi Gras .

And the sign doesn't lie.

Very true.

Just beautiful.

The end.

A couple of days of chasing those Indian Mounds and of course some history

We started out our search  at Poverty Point, one of the three largest Mounds in North America. We had been there 7 years ago and for a State Park they have really done a great job at not only keeping up with every thing but also with so many improvements, The mound was so covered with trees you could hardly see it and now it has been cleared of all the trees and has become a World Heritage Site.

Just some back round on the area.

This shot is from the left side of the main entrance of the mound from the plaza area . The mound was once 125 feet tall and now is just over a hundred. Lots of erosion and farming in two thousand years.

A side view. We were shown the site from a tram ride that we took .

I wish the pictures I took of the crescent rings that the village was itself was on would have been better but they were a bust.

A shot of the map that showed all the Tribes in Louisiana at the time the Mound builders were active.

This one gives you and idea of  how the crescent's were laid out .

So many artifacts

As we moved through the countryside we began  to realize just how many Mounds did survive .

Lower Jackson

A little history of the Baptist movement in the South

Elkhorn Plantation Mound

This is how Poverty Point looked the first time we saw it. These mounds on private property rarely are maintained

And are used for most anything the owner wishes

It's a shame we can't leave the road to get a better look at them but they are all well posted .

This one is the owners front yard.

They are all over this property

So many mounds

These all look good as the owner grazes cattle on them.

And they keep the grass down.

This sign lead us to the fort that was high on the hill over looking the river, The Artillery placements are still very well preserved.

Really over grown

A tree fell on the sign and as with most of the really remote areas they are located I would say the sign will stay that way for a very long time.

This one I a backyard mound and has a little cemetery on it.

The mounds are way out on the property along the river bank

Well farmed over the years.

They are just barely visible

What's really amazing about all these mounds is they are several thousand years old and can still be seen .

this is what's left of the original mounds. The state in the 1930's used all the dirt to fill in around the bridge they built over the river. So now because the Mounds have become a draw they have decided to rebuild these as they are in the middle of the down town main shopping area.

As the Mississippi slowly goes back down , parts of the Refuge are coming back. The water was to the top of the signs. If look at the trees, that is river mud  that gives the lower sections that grayish look.

The access road we were on shows that we would have been under water where we sat.

Add caption100 yards from the Mississippi

All the brush looks painted

We are hoping the rain will was away the mud as all the trees here are ready to leaf up.

There are flowers coming up all over.

So many old Mansions in Natchez.

And why not build your house on top of an old fort

This is what's left of the original buildings . Really needs some help.

How many tugs does it take to push 28 barges up the Mississippi. Two

They are not little ones.

Natchez under the hill from the LA side. The last stop for all the flat boats and barges that came down the river during the 18th and 19th century. When we first arrived here a month ago this was all under water.