You know those movies where they are displaying “heat?” There’s usually a shot of a big ball-o-fire sun, it’s usually kind of wavy – sometimes they show just a bleached out scene with a soundtrack of cicadas in the background…everything is kind of still and lethargic.
Do you have that picture in your head? Good.
That’s what today’s walk was like…it was hot, hot, hot. The temperature was in the upper eighties and the humidity monitor was set on “sopping friggin wet.” When I woke up this morning in my tent I may as well have been in a steam room.
But…no matter…this is what our day had in store for us as we prepared to do a 12 mile walk in the Dulac and Dularge Communities.
Jamie Billiot, the Executive Director of the Dulac Community Center spoke to us in circle before our walk began. She told us of the environmental concerns that have been affecting this area for some time and are of great concern to local residents.
One of the facts that really stuck with me was learning that these folks are losing land at a rate of one football field every 20 minutes through erosion. When we were being bussed to our starting point today we actually saw a patch of vegetation as big as a kitchen table floating down the bayou. The reasons for this are two-fold:
One; oil companies have been drilling and dredging and removing most of the minerals from the soil without replacing any of the natural content of the land – thereby making the soil fragile and unable to support itself.
Secondly; while the manmade levees offer protection from rising floodwaters during hurricane season the problem with them is that they also prevent sediment that naturally settles after flood events from replacing eroding soils. Locals predict that much of the land in this community – including what we were standing on this morning – will be gone in twenty years.
Another environmental concern is the loss of the beautiful cypress tree and the creatures that use that forested habitat. The cypress is a freshwater tree, but the erosion is also allowing more salt waters from the Gulf to leech into the bayou waters…killing off the cypress. This was a lot of info early in the morning, and I really appreciated Jamie taking the time to let us know these issues before we began our walk. It always helps me to know what is going on in an area while I am walking…it keeps me focused when my mind drifts or I start to think about how hot it is…all this info reminds me why we are here, so thanks so much Jamie.
The day started off hot and just kept climbing. We were lucky enough to take a break in the shade and listen to Jamie Luster talk to us about some of the local vegetation and there traditional uses.
She showed us the Spanish Moss that was hanging off the trees and told us that this was used as a pain reliever and fever reducer when boiled in a tea. She also said that local women would craft the fibers into skirts. Much later, this plant was used by upholsters in cushions and sofas and that the first automobile seats were stuffed with Spanish moss.
Then she showed us the palmetto plant and taught us how these plants were used to make baskets….so that was all very cool.
We finished up our walk at the Knights of Columbus Hall where we were fed an amazing lunch of breaded and baked fish, shrimp boulets (sp), salad, rice and white beans and desert. It was all soooo good and I am definitely now a fan of Louisiana cooking. Everyone was so sweet to us and I wanted to pass on how appreciative everyone was of the lovely meal and the air conditioning!!
So thanks so much everyone – it was a beautiful day (hey, did I mention we saw a real live alligator cruising along in the bushes alongside us? We did!) and I’m looking forward to checking out another portion of this community tomorrow.
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