Baja St. Martin

I emptied the rain gauge on my front porch twice on Sunday, Oct. 25, and that meant nearly 10 inches of rain. It poured down, sheets of rain, pounding rain, blinding rain, a veritable tropical storm of rain. Thank goodness the ground was so dry from the weeks of drought that the excess water drained quickly. The following day, my yard was still squishy and there were some small puddles in low spots (this is a sure way to discover depressions, isn’t it?) but for the most part it was free of standing water.
I’ve heard that the Assumption Water District, which supplies the water to Belle River, is struggling to achieve proper levels of turbidity caused by runoff into Bayou LaFourche where the water comes from. They had been having trouble with getting water since the bayou was extremely low and there were mud flats. In one day, the situation changed to the opposite extreme after almost 8 inches of rain fell washing tons of topsoil into the bayou.
My kids in Pensacola arrived home from Orlando and said it looked like a hurricane had passed at their house with flower pots knocked over, branches strewn about, the usual after-the-storm mess in their yard. It was quite a day for them and us! We needed some rain but a bit less at one time would have been nice.
Don’t forget. Next Belle River Bingo will be on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 10 a.m. Come join us if you haven’t already. Then, on Nov. 17, the last bingo of that month will also feature a birthday cake, compliments of Humana. We have just learned that the November Food for Seniors date will be Thursday, Nov. 12. Double boxes in November and then none until January so come prepared with plenty of room, especially if you pick up a neighbor’s boxes.
My Confederate Rose tree (bush) is in bloom now and it is lovely. You’ve probably heard the story about the white blossoms changing to pink then to red and then falling off. I was told that represented a Confederate soldier beginning full of life, then being wounded and finally bleeding to death on the ground. A nice story.
I was able to join a group of newspaper and TV people recently as they videotaped an episode of Pitbulls and Parolees and The Cat from Hell. The two main characters, Tia Torres and Jackson Galaxy, of the dog and cat programs respectively, were being videotaped as they fed the stray and abandoned cats in the Bayou Corne community. This was my first drive through the now empty Bayou Corne site and it was absolutely spooky, even in broad daylight, to pass house after house, empty, with NO TRESPASSING and KEEP OUT signs posted. The yards were mowed so it was neat, just weirdly vacant.
A Texas Brine person (they own all of Bayou Corne now, I believe) was there and we, the media, were allowed only on one street. The two stars had permission to feed cats on a carport. Torres and Galaxy poured catfood on the driveway and you should have seen the cats come! Dozens and dozens of cats! It was amazing and horrible. I stood a way off with some others and while the cats on the drive were being fed, I could hear plaintive meows coming from all directions.
When we left, we saw more cats – sitting in driveways, coming out from under houses, peering through fences, all watching us pass, wondering perhaps if we were their owners or if we had food or more likely, if we were a threat! I tell you, it was an experience to give me nightmares! The empty houses and the poor abandoned cats! I was told you could go to Facebook and look for The Kajun Kitties of Bayou Corne and find out how/where to donate food. Poor, poor kitties!

Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be e-mailed at lindacooke1939@gmail.com.