Wandering in the bayous is a common activity in Louisiana.

Access is easy, either by boat (about any Louisianan has at least a flat boat), either by foot through some of these protected , state or national park bayous that have been equipped.

Strange...
This picture looks like many others, taken in Vietnam's arroyos...

This one is specially equipped
to be accessed by everyone.

These enormous areas of water and greens are thus a peace heaven, only a few miles away from highways crime-driven cities.

OK, let's not be totally glamorous : you could find there a noisy speedboat or visitors not so anxious to enjoy nature...

Actually, you could be very unlucky and have to pass through boxes of Big Macs and cans of Diet Coke while enduring Raped assaults of an ugly Boom Box...

Sweet sound of the Yamaha 
at night deep in the woods...

The bayou, it's magic...

But in general, unless you're unlucky, the bayou is a magical place...

Mysterious...  Strange...

Full of secrets...

Of treasures also ?

Jean Lafitte, where did you burry your pirates' treasure ?

So you've to go there early in the morning, or else on Sunday at mass time ;)

The bayou is empty...

Or actually, it is full !

Full of wild life to be discovered, in silence, patiently, next to the tracks...

Shh !  Silence...  Listen closely...  Observe...

The first...  But not the last !

If you can walk in silence, open you ears and your eyes, you'll be quickly rewarded...

And it will always be different : there is the lizards season, the snakes one, but also those of the flowers, the raccoons, the spiders, the alligators...

Sneaky-snaky-snakey...

Excellent...on a stick !

This last one indeed is the visitors favorite : many just run through the rest to go to the spot where the gators usually show up, ignoring the other animals, or worse stepping on them...

What a zoo !

But who observes who ?

This picture was not taken with a tele, but with a 35mm wide angle...  I cropped the bottom part of the picture to hide my knees (I'm on a wood wharf, a few inches above the water).

A zoo, yes, but without cages and certitudes...

Shall we see something ?  Yes, probably...

What ?  I don't know...  Where ?  No idea...

Open your eyes !  Watch your steps !  Look in front of y...  Too late.

'Morning, Mrs. Spider, you've many friends around here ?

Oh yes, dear, we're about ten thousands in the area, but this month only since there are less visitors.

So please watch our webs : it's made of big strong thread, but with you big dummies...

Not as big as a big mygal,
but around 4 inches, still...

Nice...

Oh !  Look here !

Hello Mister Raccoon, can you clean up a few fruits for my lunch ?

Sorry, buddy, 'just found a Big Mac here with some French fries, so you see...

Beuh...

And by the way, fries are Belgian !  It's not because these Americans say "French fries" that...  Oh, well...  Bye, dude.

Well, I guess you got the point, the Bayou, it's...

Fill in yourselves !

As for me, I adore it.

One more word : the Cypress knees (in French "genoux de Cyprès") are those aerial roots you can see everywhere on this picture

(click on it -as with any picture on this site- to make it bigger in a new window).

The sea press needles.  Er, well...

Ooooh, my beautiful bayou...