Saturday Evening Shuffle

Sarah's Birthday was on Tuesday which isn't the best night for a party but we still managed to have some cake, ice cream, scotch and a game of bocce ball with a small group of friends. On Saturday however, it turned into quite an event. Ivan, who DJed for us came over early Saturday morning while Sarah and Nadene went to yoga class. Ivan and I had to go find a big set of speakers... the Salvation Army Thrift Store came through for us. Fast forward --- people started trickling into my house around 8:30; everybody was wearing their dancing shoes. By 10:00 old standards by The Supremes, Buddy Holly, The Isley Brothers and their comprables had the house shaken'. Around 2:00 people were pretty tired and started to head home. Somehow shoes were lost so I had to let people borrow shoes so they could walk/bike home. It was a swell time.

A Quick Sunday Hike

This past weekend it rained all but for a few hours on Sunday morning. That's when we took the opportunity to go explore part of DeSoto National Forest just a few miles north of Biloxi. A friend had shown me, on an aerial, the place to pull of Hwy 15 where a trail head is. The first quarter mile of the walk is through a pine savanna that was burned last year. From the forest floor were a number of wildflowers, grasses and shrubs trying to reclaim themselves. The elevation started to drop. The forest quickly changed from airy pine trees to a dense canopy of magnolias, american holly and swamp titi; in the distance you could hear rushing water. Soon, the trail made an abrupt turn to the right (north) just atop a fifteen foot tall sandy bluff held together by a massive network of tree roots and moss. The trail took us another half mile north, winding through and around a number of small streams and forest ponds until we found a great little sandy beach. The sands are bright and the water is like iced tea. The tea color comes from tannin, a natural dye produced by the large number of oak trees. I fly fished a little but the storms started rolling in so we headed out. I'm looking forward to going back.

Wet Pine Savanna

I've generally been drawn to landscapes of hilly terrain, like in north Alabama where I grew up, or vast open spaces of the desert where my fondest memories are from family camping trips there when I was a kid.

I've recently become more and more drawn to the depths of the flat south Mississippi wet pine savannas, marshes and bayous. These landscapes, generally seen in passing while speeding down the straight and narrow roads, appear so flat; they seem to lack depth. It's once you pull off the side of the road and walk through the initial growth along the roadside that these landscapes open up.

A few weeks ago some friends and I went exploring through a wet pine savanna that a local ecologist had told us about. Three different types of pitcher plants grow there. That was one of our main reasons for going. The wet pine savannas of this area are generally knee height grasses dotted with pitcher plants, a native sunflower and a few other smaller, unassuming wildflowers. Then above it all are the dark green patches of wax myrtles, swamp bay magnolias and longleaf pine. Each having a distinct smell, wax myrtles smell like lemons, swamp bays smell spicy and sweet and pines don't smell like Pine Sol. Mingled amongst it all are saw palmetto who's colors within the plant change throughout the year.

The day we went through the above savanna a huge storm rolled through that forced us back to truck.

NoLa29

This weekend to celebrate my 29th we went to New Orleans. Well, on Friday night we stayed in Biloxi and had swanky evening at the Project Lounge. On Saturday we went to New Orleans, taking Hwy 90 instead of the interstate. It was much more scenic. We saw things such as a giant rocking chair (actually on a different road), turkey vultures in a tree, Fort Pike, some amazing clouds, and then we got to New Orleans, had dinner and met up with some friends for a night of dancing. The music was a close comparison to Philly's renowned Crmp Yr Hr DJs (thank you for the mix CDs Rick). On Sunday there was time for brunch, a little bit of shopping, a stop by some friends house and taking pictures in some old industrial areas of NO. We got back to Biloxi and was welcomed with a birthday dinner at some friends house and some time for sittin' on the porch.

Exploritoring to Exstormitoring

Yesterday was going to be a day of exploritoring. I was on the search for a giant rocking chair, one that is about 40' tall. I know it is out there, I've seen pictures of it. It resides somewhere around these parts. I didn't find it this weekend but perhaps the next.

On my way back into Biloxi it started exstormitoring from the north across the Back Bay of Biloxi. I parked the truck and took a few pictures while a couple guys continued to fish. I was a bit concerned for them, but they didn't seem too phased. After sitting there for a few minutes I headed home and not more than a few minutes after I got there the tornado sirens sounded. Lighting flashed and my lights flickered. They storm diminished after about 30 minutes and I finished cooking dinner.

New Sidewalk

This past weekend I finally got to pour my new sidewalk. Over a month ago Sarah and I made the forms for each paver and we finally got to put them to use. It took about 4 hours to mix the concrete, pour and screed. Not so bad. After letting the concrete set for 24 hours I was able to take the forms off, put in the edging and fill in with gravel.

I was really hoping to used crushed oyster shells because that is the only truly native aggregate on the Mississippi gulf coast, but crushed oyster shell is hard to come by these days. This is due to the fact that the oyster shells have to go back into the waters for other oysters to attach themselves to grow on. Its kind of an artificial reef/oyster bed situation. They have to do this because all the silts from poor development practices up river(s) are washing into the gulf waters and covering the naturally occuring oyster beds.

Anyway, I went with a mixed aggregate - its called "Alabama Jubilee". How could I not use it with a name like that?

There is still some clean up to be done. I'm looking forward to this fall when I can pull out the over grown shrubs and replant with some of my favorite native species.

To Make Things Flat

A co-worker and myself have found a quick and interesting way to make small metal objects flat. I won't tell what the process is but you can hear it and feel it. It is a lot of fun. We do this when we need a break from writing, researching or drawing. It all started with a Show Biz Pizza token but now is mostly focused on the nails, screws, bolts and wire that I find on my morning and evening walks around East Biloxi. I'm amazed there aren't more flat tires in this city! Upon suggestion from some friends, jewelry might be the next thing for these objects. Who knows?