Ranging off topic just a bit, the latest high water on Old Man River has been fascinating...and thus far, thankfully, not worrisome...yet. I guess we'll see over the next few weeks how this pans out not only for those of us here in Stick Rouge, but also downriver...
The images above, which I grabbed off a US geological survey website, show earlier low and high water levels from several years ago (and, just for the record, were taken barely a five minute walk from my humble maison). At present, the river is once again right around the high water mark you see above, i.e., even with current estimates, the crest should be well below the levee top. Downriver, there's the possibility that the Bonnet Carre spillway might have to be opened...if you do a google search, you can find photos of a previous opening, which is a pretty spectacular and humbling example of both human engineering efforts and nature's sheer awesome power.
Anyway...it's difficult to describe, but amazing to see large ships during high-water events, particularly from the perspective of River Road at the base of the levee...ships literally loom over you.
Well, here's hoping that this will merely be an interesting few weeks and not anything more serious. And maybe it'll be a quick lesson for those unfamiliar with the term "batture."
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