The Belle River landing is really looking good. There is still leveling work to be done, the pavilion to be cleaned up, but in general the place looks pretty good. The tractor, et al, are pushing excess dirt toward the spillway, sort of extending the area. All launch pads are now usable, though the most northerly still seems to be the favorite. The bathroom might be open but I can’t guarantee that. The closed sign has been removed, but I don’t know if that means back in business or not.

Actually, the spillway has risen a little with all this rain. Where the dog and I walk had been dry, but last time I saw water had come back up in the woods a little. We’ve been getting some really heavy rains, often an inch or more at a time.

Last week as we walked, my dog, who is a sweetie but definitely not much of a hunter, scared up a cute little armadillo which ran straight toward me. I was so surprised I just stood there and the little guy ran directly between my feet, making little snorts of fear as it passed. I called the dog, who was still looking in the bushes for the animal and she chased the little fellow until it headed into the woods and disappeared. I have to laugh every time I think of those little noises the creature was making as it ran.

I read Mr. Bienvenu’s Pense Donc column in which he reminisced a bit about the old days before air conditioning. The Pierre Part Middle School where I taught didn’t get air conditioning until the year I retired. Before then we had these huge box fans which we sat in the classroom doorways. They rumbled so loudly we teachers practically had to shout to be heard and the perspiration was splashing on the floor by my feet. After recess the kids would be so hot and red faced, we used to just sit awhile in the classrooms until we cooled off a little bit.

I lived in the Atchafalaya Basin for several years in a houseboat with no A/C and not even any big fans for lack of electricity. Not long ago I was moaning to my husband about the heat and wondered aloud how we ever survived in those days. He reminded me that we just swam a lot and he was right. I used to hold my youngest daughter on my lap as I floated in an inner tube next to the porch. She learned to swim at age two, but until then she and I just spent half the day in the water.

Somehow we managed, even though we were northerners and not used to the heat. It didn’t take me long to discover the benefits of an afternoon rest period! (Now my rest periods have gotten much longer!)

Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be e-mailed at lcooke9417@bellsouth.net.