My photos won't be the quality I'd like for a while as I am operating with limited resources computerwise.
As soon as I was able I got back into Lafreniere Park. and took this photo, perhaps 5 days after Hurricane Katrina. As you can see the waterfowl are very bewildered. The trauma of the 15 hours of hurricane winds must have been terrible for them. So many of the egrets were hanging dead in the trees. All the people who came every day to feed these birds have evacuated the area and they are learning to fend for themselves. The black swan in center looks very poorly and I am hoping I can get some help in there today to see what we can do. The Park was one of the few places in Metairie that was intact with mainly weak trees felled. The ignorance of our public officials continue to baffle me---they have assigned Lafreniere Park as a dumping ground for all the debris that will be collected. It should have been cleaned and kept as a refuge for the thousands who go there everyday on the walking/running trails and those who just need a quiet,clean place to relax.
I am hoping the National Guardsmen stationed at the Park will listen to my plea this morning and allow some of us to go in with sacks of corn and feed and survey the birds. Granted we need to take care of the people but in the balance of nature we also need to take care of the creatures.