If I ever moaned about no rain, I take it all back. This is now the third day of rain. The first was pretty ugly with straight line winds, rain which obscured my deck for a while and then just steady rain. But it’s kind of nice. I can almost see the grass growing.
My dog woke me in the middle of the night barking at what I am sure was a turtle flushed out of its egg hole but the weather was so bad I just yelled out the window to the dog and covered my head. Normally I have to get the turtle, toss it in the river to stop the dog but I wasn’t about to go traipsing out in the dark in the rain.
I had a nice Mother’s day, eating lunch with a friend who lives right on a bayou, so we ate while sitting on his covered deck, watching Roseate Spoonbills flying by and a small raccoon shuffling along the edge of the yard. Two small boats went past and my friend said just a way along there was a big tree where the kids had hung a big rope and it was a popular swimming hole.
Just before his house, on the side of Hwy 70 there was a giant dead hog, bloated with legs sticking up. My friend said hogs were common around here and I’ve heard that but had never seen one before. Like all the coyote stories. I have yet to see one dead or alive.
I did have occasion to hear from someone who was noticing that many of the companies hired to do work in the parish, Assumption, at least, maybe St. Martin also, were not from the parish which I guess means that any taxes paid for their work would not stay in the parish. I know the low bidder on a job is the one that is usually chosen but it sort of goes against the “support your local business” mantra.
I realize that a small parish cannot hope to have lots of businesses to serve all needs but haven’t I heard, not long ago, from a politician that one of Louisiana’s problems was it did not attract business because it did not offer sufficient tax benefits to them. Somehow this all seems rather contradictory. There was once a movie theater, a clothing store, a Wendy’s, several restaurants, several bars and a dance hall in Pierre Part. I think there was a fabric store once, several grocery stores. There was also once a small library right here in Belle River. It would be nice to have had the taxes from those stores, not to mention the employment. There is no question in my mind that Assumption and St. Martin parishes have plenty of talent.
And there is no question that Lower St. Martin is growing. Seems like every time I drive to Morgan City I pass more and more new structures being erected. Big houses/ camps, houseboat slips, land being cleared. Not much for sale.
Some walkers at the Belle River Community Center brought my attention to an alligator lying in the shallow water just off the walking trail. They didn’t seem alarmed and were just taking pictures. With the water level up a little, I expect there will be more gators closer to the sidewalk which probably gets warm and comfy during the day.
I don’t seem to have any hummingbirds lately. Is it because there are lots of flowers blooming in the yard?
Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be emailed at lindacooke1939@ gmail.com.
