The Belle River landing is close to its normal parameters but it’s a mess. The parking lot has been scraped clean of the big stuff—logs, trash, et al, but the surface just looks dirty brown. Two of the launch ramps are now in use. Another is possible but still has a lot of water so it’s hard to see where to back up.
The levee batture is not entirely dry but getting that way. It, too, looks a mess with odd items stuck in the grass after drifting in on the high water.
It has been dry for days now. Very, very slight showers of short duration and sporadic. I drove to Napoleonville recently on a sunny, dry early evening and halfway there drove through puddles and drizzles.
I know I told you that my two big Sago Palms were frostbitten all around the bottom near the ground. I had all the dead fronds cut off and the remaining plants looked pitiful. But I’m happy to report that just a few weeks later, the new fronds on both are developing and drooping so the plants look pretty good. A little scraggly, but not bad. I’m so glad because I feared they would just continue to look scalped.
On the other hand, a Meyer Lemon seems to be a goner. I trimmed all the dead, brown branches and what’s left looks dead. My daughter said to do a bit of research before cutting the whole plant down since she claims lemon trees or maybe fruit in general have fruiting cycles. Maybe mine is just in a dormant stage. We’ll see.
The new structure being built just before coming to the Stephensville exit on Hwy. 70 is getting larger and larger. The wooden walls sit atop a multitude of tall, concrete pillars and from what’s there, the whole place will really be huge.
Also, just north of my house before you get to the boat landing there is evidence of at least two building sites. At one, the weeds and small trees have been cleared and piles of dirt recently dumped. At the other site, just a little way, a road from the highway to the river has been made, quite a wide one and I assume a camp will be built in both places.
As I’ve said at times, the space between Belle River and Stephensville will be completely occupied with camps/ houses before long. It’s all pretty much low land, quite swampy primarily where dirt was taken out to build the levee,. That left holes which have been building deterrents but not any more. Now they get filled.
Wouldn’t it be something if the development led to a need for more electricity which led to having the power poles moved to the roadside? Wishful thinking here!
The trash company replaced the wheel on my small rolling cart but they haven’t picked up my pile of cut branches and Sago palm fronds yet. I don’t want to be critical because I figure this is the last area the company will come for big stuff. It will be nice to see if there is any oncoming traffic before I pull out of my driveway.
I think the speed limit for Hwy. 997 (which is what we call Levee Hwy) might be 50 or 55, but I’m pretty sure the big trucks are going way faster. Especially the tankers. Trucks and cars are zipping along, too, making it hazardous, indeed foolhardy to ride a bike on the road.
So I stick to the levee and with late daylight, the dog and I can walk until nearly 8pm. Cooler then.
Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be emailed at lindacooke1939@ gmail.com.
