I spent a lot of this winter feeling swamped – with work, that is – so on my recent trip to New Orleans, it was fitting that we took time out for a trip to the swamp!
Paddling in two person kayaks and canoes, we made our way through ever narrowing channels…
Beneath moss-laden trees…
Into the heart of the swamp. We were hoping to see alligators and didn’t have to wait long before we spotted our first one!
In fact, we came across at least five more throughout our journey!
(I think he was sorry I didn’t fall in…)
The activity wasn’t just in the water, though, but in the trees above us, too. During our lunch break, we had a perfect view of a nest of bald eagles!
And when we turned around for the paddle home, a Barred Owl gave us a good looking over.
Far from the noise and merry-making of Bourbon Street, our swamp trip was a reflective oasis in a fun-packed week.
Beautiful! Great pix, I love to do that sort of thing.
Hi Helen,
I was a little nervous about falling in…especially when the guide showed me a book of things we might see (including Cottonmouth snakes and leeches). Eeewww! But in the end the whole day was really pretty magical. I’m so glad we did it!
I’m enjoying seeing your latest creations on Facebook! I hope your Etsy sales are going great! XOX – Joana
On Thu, Apr 2, 2015 at 5:28 PM, JOANA MIRANDA STUDIO wrote:
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I love the photo of the owl. Beautiful! Did you do any paddling or did mom have to do it all? 🙂
Hi Marta,
Ma was the fearless steerer and I went up front “on lookout”. But I was definitely pulling my weight with my paddling. Interestingly, it was a lot harder to steer going “upstream” so we zig-zagged a bit and got stuck a few times on submerged logs and other foreign objects (alligators?) on the way to our lunch stopping spot. (I had images of the African Queen and leeches, but was definitely NOT going to jump into the water to push.) Going back was easier and the sun came out which was also nice.
XOX – Your Sister
On Thu, Apr 2, 2015 at 5:39 PM, JOANA MIRANDA STUDIO wrote:
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Love your moody photos.
Thanks, Norma! I’m so glad you liked the photos. Apparently, seeing a Barred Owl is pretty rare, and that one just flew onto the branch and just sat for the longest time staring at us. He was obviously posing for his photo shoot…
xox -Joana