Photos under the Sun

…Plus c’est la même chose.  (Translation: The more things change, the more they remain the same.) My father would often repeat this phrase when I was growing up but I didn’t quite get the significance until I saw a bit of life – many bits, in fact.  So, now I find myself uttering this same phrase all the time.  Back in April, before going to the NOLA jazz fest, we stopped at the Jungle Gardens in Avery Island for a few hours.  I won’t repeat what I’ve already spoken about in my web page on Egrets but I would like to sing the praises of “Dr. Ned” (aka Edward Avery McIlhenny of the famous Tabasco family).  Appalled at the vicious and immoral slaughtering of  these beautiful wading birds for their mating feathers, he decided to do something about it.  With great care and perseverance, Dr. Ned provided a sanctuary and nesting platforms to accommodate a huge population of Egrets at breeding time.  Jim stopped counting at 800 nests.  In the panorama below, those little white crosshatches are egrets busy with their nest, sitting on the nests and feeding the chicks.

[caption id="attachment_591" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Panorama of nesting platforms"][/caption]

As far as using the phrase “plus ça change, etc.” is concerned, here’s the inspiration for that: though I was many, many miles away in very different surroundings and viewing a different situation, the antics and behavior of the egrets were the same as in my neck of the woods.  That, and the fact that some people still don’t get that not respecting our wildlife is a threat to civilization.  More on that in a later post.  For now, let’s take a look at these adorable Great Egrets:

As in my region, there’s the oohing and aahhhing at the cute new arrivals.  In case you didn’t notice the new arrival — that’s the grey-green fuzz ball in the bottom center:

[caption id="attachment_593" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Oh, Celine, he's sooooo B E A U T I F U L!! Yess, yess, yess u is Marcel, u is the most mignon chick in the whole wide world, yes u is!""][/caption]

And, of course, there’s the usual hoopla when the parent arrives with fish for the ever-hungry chicks and juvies:

[caption id="attachment_594" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Here, I come, lunch is served!""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_595" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Oooooohhhhh"; "Aaaaahhhhhh"; "I'm famished, so I am"; "I wonder if it's mullet today?" "I hope it's not sardeeeeonnnees. I HATE them""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_596" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Oh, Dad, I thought you'd NEVER get here.""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_597" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Gimme more! I want more.""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_598" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="And thus, the saga continues"][/caption]

Like I said, the more things change…

[caption id="attachment_599" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""One, two, three: all together now: O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain...""][/caption]

For now, we’ll leave these happy, gorgeous creatures on Avery Island, hoping to return some day.  I’ll be back soon with our Osprey trio from my neck of the woods!