Green String Society

02/02/2020

The marbled crayfish is a wonder of nature. This insect-like sea creature is unnaturally hardy, unlike any other species of crayfish.

11/01/2015

I spend a lot of time publishing the bad in our area. It's time I show some of the good that is being done, and the beauty in our area.

10/28/15 University Lake...more of the same

Wednesday morning was bright and clear! The weekends rain just a memory, except for the high water in the lake.

With the abundant sunshine, the turtles were out in large numbers, climbing over each other trying to find a place in the sun.

Two kayakers were ahead of me this morning, headed the same way I was. I hung back a little to give them some room and so that the birds wouldn't get spooked by too many people in one place. I found out later that they were both first time paddlers, out to enjoy the lake.

One of the major logs was covered in turtles and one Great Egret that feeds there every day. It wandered back and forth on the submerged log, occasionally reaching over the turtles to watch for fish. Once in a while it would plunge its head in the water, trying to catch a fish, but kept coming up empty.

All this was going on under the watchful eye of the Cormorant, perched in the top of a neighboring Cypress tree. I paddled over to get a better look at it and found a Green Heron walking around on the lotus pads. It was accompanied by Two Coots, that were feeding on the small grasses growing among the lotus pads. The Green Heron was busy trying to sneak up on a fish or two, which it finally did. Along with them was Snowy Egret, that was busy using it flash and feed routine trying to flush it prey using its wings. That worked too, and it also caught a fish.

As I started to leave the lotus bed, A Great Blue Heron came flying around a large Pin Oak tree and lit in the Cypress where the Cormorant had been. It sat and stared at me for a while and then settled in and calmed down.

I had a mission in mind and needed to go look for a tire I had seen here the last time I came. There it was against the bank where I had seen it. The only problem was the fact that two small turtles had chosen it as place to get some sun this morning. I hated to make them move, but the tire doesn't belong there.

With it loaded on the kayak, I headed back to the park. Of course the wind was blowing from the south, just like it was when I launched. The difference was that I was now paddling against it going back to the park. Luckily it was only a one foot chop, easily managed in the kayak.

A flight of Cormorants came in from behind me and landed near the park. They were probably looking for a place to rest as they headed south to escape the coming winter cold. They weren't feeding, just cleaning up as they paddled around.

Back at the park, it was obvious that the water level was up from the recent rain. Had it been any higher, I could have paddled right out of the lake.

I left the tire for B.R.E.C. to dispose of and headed home.

10/03/2015

It is sad what we have done to our world. To those of you who continue to clean up and try to prevent this, I commend you.

Plastic pollution kills. An estimated 90 percent of seabirds have eaten plastic; 30 percent have it in their guts, finds this study: http://bit.ly/1IDRf1c Photo: Albatross and gut contents, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Photographed exactly as found by Chris Jordan

09/08/2015

Do you litter? Do you drive? Not for long if you don't pay your littering fine!

People who are ticketed for littering will see their driver's licenses suspended if they don't pay the littering fine or appear in court to protest the violation. The new law will go into effect August 1. Gov. Bobby Jindal signed...

08/30/2015

08/26/2015

They die, we die.

Pollinators are vanishing, and a silent spring could become a horrifying reality. So why won't the EPA do more?

08/24/2015

That 'green string' of life I talk about...

The creative class join forces in a bid to save marine life

06/20/2015

The sixth mass extinction is man made. Don't break the 'string'.

Paul Ehrlich and others use conservative estimates to prove that species are disappearing faster than at any time since the dinosaurs' demise.

12/12/2014

I'm happy the page still exists. Facebook said it had been closed down due to a lack of use.

02/17/2014

Find yourself behind a Louisianan government vehicle, and you will undoubtedly see that high-contrast bumper sticker, a plea in black ink on a canary-yellow background: Don't Trash Louisiana!Litter control varies from parish to parish, but when trash finds its way into an interconnected watershed, o...

11/14/2013

We will destroy ourselves if we don't learn to care about our home.

July 29, 2013, a s***m whale was stranded on Tershelling, a northern island in the Netherlands. A rescue attempt was attempted, but unfortunately the whale died. A young adult at 13.5 meters was taken for a necropsy at the port of Harlington. The s***m whale had plastic in its stomach, an increasing...

07/13/2013

How to date a beer bottle.
Across the top at the left is the number 15...that is the code for Waco, Texas..where it was made.
Next is the Makers Mark a circle with a capital I in it. That is the symbol for Owens Illinois Glass Company.
At the right is the number 59, that stands for the year 1959, the year the bottle was made.
Why is all this important? I found this bottle floating up side down in University Lake in Baton Rouge, La. yesterday. It has been there since 1959.
Trashy habits started here long ago. It will be years before this inherited habit can be changed...if at all.

03/04/2013

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/576087_10151385137593612_1595362103_n.jpg

02/27/2013

https://www.facebook.com/KeepLouisianaBeautiful?ref=stream

Work with us to stop litter and beautify spaces in Louisiana.

02/27/2013

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bayou-Manchac/311089963611?ref=stream

EBR, Ascension, and Iberville residents working to maintain and enhance the ecological integrity of o

02/13/2013

I saw a post on Facebook about fireflies, that brought this to mind,

In the summer of 2011, I camped in Livingston Parish, La. on the edge of a Crown Zelebach pine tree farm. One night I sat up and watched fireflies for hours. Around ten o'clock there was this airborne, horribly acrid, choking odor, that didn't dissipate for several minutes. I wasn't sure if Livingston Parish had sprayed aerially for mosquitoes or if C.Z. had aerially sprayed their pine trees, but the next night there were no fireflies. They had all been killed by what ever was sprayed the night before.

By the hand of man, in the pursuit of pleasure or profit, we will kill the world we love.

02/05/2013

Yesterday I decided to head out for University Lake a little earlier than I normally do. I got there around 12:30. The skies were threatening rain, but that never stopped me before. I carry extra clothes in my truck for just such possibilities. the lake was fairly calm which afforded me the chance to pick up trash while I paddled toward the north end of the lake. I had no problem filling up the back of the kayak aloong the same bank I cleaned just last week. The wind has been out of the northeast, so all the trash from the east bank has migrated west. Some of it, like the leftover Christmas tree, and the full size couch , didn't end up in the lake by themselves. The trash back fill on the newly installed drain pipe has attracted more trash. Start a trash pile and someone will add to it. The MDMA/Ecstasy test kit didn't crawl there by itself either. Are the fish doing drugs now? As I paddled, I was watching for the Green Heron that frequents this stretch of bank. I wasn't watching closely enough, and managed to spook it into flying from the bank and landing on a floating mass of Water Hyacinth. It didn't seem to happy with me. Quite a few of the birds here take advantage of a nap this time of day., like most animals in the wild. Feeding happens mostly in the mornings and evenings. This pair of Mallards were no exception. Just behind the Chapel on the Lake, under threatening skies, a Great Egret was hanging out in its favorite spot, high in a Cypress tree. Breeding plumage is already starting to appear on this one, trailing off in the wind. As I arrived at the north end of the lake, those skies cut loose in an ever increasing shower. Time for a break and a snack. I always carry Cheerios in a peanut butter jar. I never know how long I'll paddle or how hard it will be. I've been know to spend all day in the kayak, under the right or wrong circumstances. When the shower ended, I left the security of the bridge I was under, and spotted one of the trash problems here....a garbage can full to overflowing. I made a suggestion two years ago to somehow anchor the trash cans so that neighborhood dogs and c***s couldn't turn them over. That seems to have been done, now to get them emptied often. The White Pelicans are still here in numbers, and it seems that they will be for a while. Maybe we will have a resident population. The don't seem to mind the constant traffic or the construction just a few yards from their roost. That guard dog pelican is still on duty, while the others sleep. One of them was into 'low riding'. Must have picked up the habit from the locals kids. There was even an egret or 'crane' as some people call them, feeding along the shore just yards from a rather noisy 'construction crane'. The local Snowy and Great Egrets have had to find other accommodations since the arrival of the pelicans, roosting along the north shore right next to the road. As I made my way back to the boat launch, keeping an eye on the weather, I passed a pair of mallards hauled out on a log for a little drying time. Nearing the boat launch, I was greeted by a Great White Egret feeding along the shore at Wampole beach. There was also a tame Mallard, and a very tame Muskovee Duck taking advantage of the picnic table there. Landing the kayak and emptying my cache of trash and treasure, the skies let loose once again. I took time to gather all the 'trash' that couldn't be recycled and placed it in the trash barrel nearby, collected the things that could and put them in the back of my truck to take home. Things got wetter as I went. By the time I had tied the kayak in the bed of the truck, I thoroughly soaked. No matter, home is only a few miles away, and it doesn't take long to get there. All in all a fun it was a fun two hours.