Trip to Honey Island Swamp

July 24, 2017July 24, 2017 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

On our third day in New Orleans, we headed to Slidell, LA, to visit the swamp. Many swamp tours exist in the area and some in Lafayette as well. After reading extensively online about the various tours, I decided to take Dr. Wagner’s Honey Island tour early in the morning. Depending on traffic, it is about a 3/4 to one hour drive from downtown New Orleans. For at least half this time, you are driving on a bridge across Lake Pontchartrain.

This little swampy area is right next to the small cabin where they sell alligator souvenirs and you pick up your ticket. This place requires cash.

After boarding the boat which holds about 20 passengers, we headed down the Pearl River. This view looks upriver.

Many expensive houses rise above the river banks. You can see the for sale sign. According to the boat captain, the fancier ones cost about one million. However, for all the elegant houses, there are more just the opposite and close by.

Like this one which appears boarded up. Some appeared abandoned, some in decent repair, some recently used. When we asked how high the water rose during Katrina, we were told that it would be above the roof of a house like this. The tours were abandoned for over a year after the hurricane except for the occasional hurricane cleanup crew who wanted a tour.

This is one of the nice houses along the river, modern, large, well kept.

We saw a large blue heron, wings outstretched, sunning itself on a large tree stump. When the captain tried to get closer, it slowly lifted off and flew away before I could get a photo.

We turned to the right off the river and began to see alligators of all sizes. Because of harvesting for skins, meat, etc., few really large ones remain. More common is 8-10 footers.

Even the boat captain was astonished at the number of alligators we saw. They seemed to be everywhere and one exceedingly large male followed us deeper into the swamp.

Although the water flows rather rapidly on the river, once in the swamp, the water is very quiet. Many different types of trees live here including cypress. Most of the trees are deciduous and lose their leaves in the winter. I was extremely surprised to learn how cold it can get here, below freezing, sometimes even down in the teens. However, the captain said it always rises above freezing during the day.

Most of the really large cypress have been cut down in the past for lumber. Now this is a reserve. The tree on the left is really large and a lot of moss hangs from it.

Hogs, like these, are not native anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. It seems feral hogs can live anywhere. We also saw raccoons. The trees and other vegetation are so dense during the summer, wildlife could be a few feet away and remain unseen.

The swamp possesses a wild, magical beauty.

Grateful

June 15, 2017June 15, 2017 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

Six days ago a huge storm struck, including eight inches of hail, a rain deluge, and high winds. While the hail denuded many plants and bushes, the deluge made my drive a mess.

Although it may be hard to determine the depth of the gravel and dirt and rocks from this photo, many of the rocks are bigger than the size of the fists of both my hands together, large enough to not want car tires to drive over them. The gravel and dirt on the far side of the photo were at least eight inches deep. Luckily I have a small tractor with a bucket and a helpful grandson. He picked up the larger rocks and hauled all of them to the ditch created either side of the steep incline above the cement. The rain had created a trench a foot deep in some places and exposed a pipe to the septic system. He filled parts of these trenches with the bigger rocks.

The next morning I used the tractor bucket to scoop up dirt and rocks and haul them to washed out places in the upper drive. It was impossible to get it all with the bucket given some of the space is not very big or where it was possible to maneuver the tractor. Therefore, I had to scoop it up and remove it with a shovel. It took several tractor buckets full to get rid of what I had to shovel. Finally, this morning I finished sweeping the rest of the fine sandstone off the cement.

After all this, why am I grateful? There was no damage to my house. The hail broke windows in some houses not far away, the wind blew light weight buildings into neighbors’ yards, and some people nearby had roof damage. I only have some tiny damage to the barn roof. It could have been a lot worse. I feel grateful to have escaped with just a messed up driveway.

Why do I feel even more grateful? It occurred to me that I was able to clean up most of this except for my grandson’s help with the rocks–which I could have done but it was helpful. I can still shovel gravel and dirt, a lot of it, lift and carry 50 pounds of horse feed from the vehicle across the barn–about 40 ft or more–and dump it in the container. I can work for hours doing this sort of stuff and feel fine afterwards. Yes, I feel grateful that I can continue to do all these things myself and what is more, usually enjoy doing them, feeling productive and independent.

When people ask me how I do all this, I usually tell them two things, yoga (as well as lots of other exercise mandatory if you live in the country and have animals) and heathy food. My yoga practice began decades ago; I never stopped. I practice it at least three times a week, sometimes more. I stand on my head in the middle of the room several times a week. My favorite foods are mostly vegetables. The only carb I really like is rice. One of my dad’s sayings was, “You are what you eat.” He still ran a farm at 90. Yes, I admit, genes probably help, but without the exercise and self discipline, it probably is not enough. I also meditate daily which does not require lots of time unless you want to spend lots of time doing it. Even 15-30 minutes a day matter. Exercise, yoga, healthy eating, meditating will all make for a happier person. I promise.

Weekend Adventure

June 12, 2017 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

This past weekend my family had to return to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to finish some family business. While there, we decided to explore as well. After completing what we needed to accomplish on Friday, we decided to check out the Tulsa Zoo located in Mohawk Park. Tulsa Zoo contains lots of green, open spaces, and some extremely interesting architecture. For example the Malayan tigers live in an area made to look like ancient, abandoned temples.

Then there are animals I have never even heard of before like the siamangs.

I was surprised to see komodo dragons.

The intensity of the colors in the American flamingoes never cease to amaze.

Apparently, the rest of my family liked them as well.

The next day, Saturday, we decided to head east through the Cheyenne Nation to visit Natural Falls State Park. If we had known what it is really like, we would have taken a picnic.

The area above where the falls drop off.

Dripping Springs

Just below the falls another stream enters and then flows down to a lake.

The lake becomes larger as it flows farther. It is a moderate to difficult hike getting to the lake. Fishing is permitted here. This park is also a good place to camp.

While gone, a giant thunderstorm arrived at my house with 8 inches of hail and three inches of rain in a short period. Although the juniper trees look close to normal, most of the deciduous plants were denuded. I have no idea whether they will recover. A few of the small native flowers appear normal. Luckily, my house was not damaged. However, this evening with my grandson’s help I will tackle the drive which is full of about 8 inches, in some places, of dirt, rocks, and gravel. Luckily, after removing the larger rocks, I will get most of it with the tractor bucket and move it back to where it belongs.

Attitude

June 8, 2017 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

Where I teach high school, my grandson attended basketball camp the last three mornings. While I watched and read, I heard the coach give them a little lecture. Apparently, some of the campers were dragging along, not even jogging as they moved across the court. They kept pulling on their shorts, looking down, not listening or paying any attention to the instructions. Coach got fed up, stopped everything, and pointed out their self defeating behaviors.

Basically, he told them that their actions appeared defeatist. Act tired, lag behind, ignore instructions, and you set yourself up to lose. Your actions become who you are. It seems these are also good pointers for all aspects of life. Ability alone will not lead to accomplishment or even happiness. Even the most talented musician, athlete, writer attains little without practice and determination. Being the best a person can be takes work and a positive outlook.

Respect

June 6, 2017June 6, 2017 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

Because I teach high school, I am accustomed to teenagers, their loudness and capacity for rude behavior. Nevertheless, because I live in ranching country with fences and gates, most know you do not go through another person’s fence or leave gates open. The former is called trespassing. The latter can thoughtlessly let out livestock and maybe get them killed. If your neighbor’s dog keeps coming to your property and you call the sheriff’s office, they will simply tell you to shoot it.

Respect applies. If you do not want people running over your property, obviously do not trespass on another’s. Have respect for others as you would want them to respect you.

A big party full of teens started at my neighbor’s about five hours ago. I watched them throwing rocks, running hither and yon, like caged animals on the loose. A fence exists between my property and hers, a very obvious, country style fence with cedar and T-posts and five strands of wire. It is not invisible. I never installed no trespassing signs because they would face her property and in some places exist at the edge of her back yard. I would not be able to see them from my house or barn. After this evening, I will reconsider.

Luckily, I was out feeding horses, doing chores, when several of the teens apparently decided to crawl through the fence and walk toward my house. Because I was outside, I saw them and was able to tell them to get back across the fence. If I had not been home, would they have kept walking, what might they have done? Nothing, hopefully, but with 25 or perhaps more running around, who knows. I kept thinking surely these young people know better. Have they not been taught to respect others? Where were the adults? Did they even care?

This week I will go buy several no trespassing signs and install them at various places along the fence. I feel sad to think I find this necessary.

Bedtime Reading

June 3, 2017June 3, 2017 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

A habit I acquired years ago, perhaps even during my childhood, is reading just before I go to sleep. Picking the right books remains key unless you want to stay up half the night either reading or thinking about something horrifying or depressing you’ve read. Lately, my reading has not been conducive to sweet dreams. Earlier this week I finished Among the Ruins, an Iranian mystery of sorts, by Ausma Zehanat Khan. It’s fiction but one of the characters writes letters from prison which are anything but cheery. Now I am reading the Pulitzer Prize winner, The Return. Since Hisham Matar never saw his father again after he was captured and hauled off to a Libyan prison, sleep inducing it is not. Last night I decided perhaps for bedtime I needed to find something not exactly boring but somewhat less stimulating. It may take me all summer given that The Silk Roads, A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan is 505 pages. If I get bored with that, I can go back to two books I reread off and on and save for bedtime reading, When Women Were Birds by Terry Tempest Williams and Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz, Selected Works translated by Edith Grossman. Both inspire reflection and contemplation. For those who do not know Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz, she lived in Mexico in the 1600s. She became famous for her intellectual capacity, her poetry, and was referred to as “the Phoenix of Mexico” when women rarely rose to such heights.

What are you reading this summer?

Two Kinds of People

May 31, 2017 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

The novel I finished yesterday described one of the characters as “the kind of man who would find his place anywhere because of how he interpreted the world.” He was the kind of man who saw the world not as a system of barriers but rather a place of common ground, a man with an openness to the world, an openness to the unfamiliar, a man who welcomed the unknown.

This made me think of people I know and how they react, to where they want to travel, if at all, to what they desire to explore, to know. Many of my friends travel little and rarely, if ever, outside the United States. Others, like me, desire to visit places and cultures totally different, unfamiliar, to “know” the unknown.

This lead me to question how these two different types of people come to be. In my case perhaps it started with family road trips, the earliest of which occurred when I was three and my dad drove from northwest Missouri all the way to Monterey, Mexico, and back. I still love road trips.

Which kind of person are you? Why? Is it upbringing, heredity, environment?

Success

May 28, 2017 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

A couple of days ago a friend posted research regarding success and high school grades on Facebook. The research cited indicates that there is no correlation between high school grades and success later in life. The researchers measured success by the amount of money earned. Admittedly they discussed innovation and creativity and claimed school mainly teaches obedience to cultural norms. Although to some extent I agree with their discussion of creativity, etc. and cultural norms. I do not agree that success equates to the amount of money a person earns.

This evening I attended graduation for the seniors I taught this year. Both the valedictorian and salutatorian were students in my dual credit class. To my amazement, in her speech the valedictorian discussed this very topic. She encouraged her classmates to see success as two things. First, she cited happiness and encouraged them to pursue what they love, that for which they feel a calling, a passion, and if they do not have that feeling yet, to find it because doing what a person loves brings that person happiness. Second, she encouraged them to help others discover happiness, to serve. She never once mentioned money.

Cheating, Stealing

May 21, 2017 / Juliana Lightle / 3 Comments

The story that follows keeps running through my mind, disturbing my inner peace. It occurred several weeks ago while I worked. As a teacher I take plagiarism seriously. Repeatedly, I explain that it is cheating and ultimately a form of stealing. Yes, stealing. When students cheat, copy another’s work whether from some famous author or from the student by them, they are stealing from that person, and in reality cheating themselves, cheating themselves from learning what may have proven to be valuable information or a needed skill later in life.

Several weeks ago, a former, talented student asked to observe my classes as part of his assignment from a college class. He sat in on a couple of classes, many of the students already knew him, and I explained his purpose in being there. At the end of the day, while we chatted about the past and his excellent grades when he attended my English class, he informed me that he frequently writes not only his own papers but also the papers for another student, who was also a former student and perfectly able to write decent papers himself. He told me that the student for whom he writes these papers pays him either with money or beer. Too astonished to adequately respond, I kept silent. However, this continues to haunt me, not only because my opinion of the student plummeted but also because he plans to be a coach and teacher himself. Will he later realize the unacceptability of his behavior, how unethical and immoral? Will he change when he becomes a teacher himself?

I also remain unhappy with myself for not saying something to him immediately. My shock really is not an excuse. I now promise myself that if I do see him again soon, I will definitely explain my dismay and sadness with his story. I also wonder why he told me? Regardless, I worry for the future if this is the type of person who will replace current teachers. I also wonder how many current teachers find this sort of behavior normal, acceptable.

Celebrating Earth Day–Photos

April 22, 2017April 22, 2017 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

I decided the best way I should share my reverence and love for nature and this precious planet on which we live is to share photos from various countries, states, and my own little piece of wonder.

The three photos above were taken at Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas about ten minutes from where I live.

Above and below the Rio Grande looking into Mexico.

Four photos above — Big Bend National Park.

Between Marfa and Alpine, Texas.

The Rio Grande north of Albuquerque on the Santa Ana Pueblo Nation.

The above four photos taken in Simien Mountain National Park, Ethiopia. The animals are gelada–the only surviving grass eating primates found solely in Ethiopia. They actually “talk” to each other.