This makes me happy

Flooding in Memphis

This link will take you to a NASA site which shows the Mississippi River in Memphis before and after the flooding. Very dramatic.

Flooding in Memphis

Historic Flooding on the Mississippi RIver

Mississippi River Water Diverted to the Atchafalaya River via the Old River Control Complex and Morganza Spillway in Louisiana   by Wilma Subra May 8, 2011   The rising Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River water levels will reach record flood state levels in Louisiana by the week of May 22, 2011. The spring flooding along the Mississippi River was increased due to excessive rainfall in the middle Mississippi River Valley over the last couple of weeks.   Thirty percent of the flow of the Mississippi River is diverted into the Atchafalaya River via the Old River Control Complex northeast of Simmesport, Louisiana. The increase in flow of the Mississippi River has resulted in increased quantities of water being diverted into the Atchafalaya River via the Old River Control Complex. The increase in quantity of water has resulted in increased flooding along the Atchafalaya River from the Old River Control Complex southward to Morgan City, Louisiana. Low Sill Structure of the Old River Control Complex with water roaring through the open gates. On May 7, 2011, the Low Sill Structure and Auxiliary Structure of the Old River Control Complex, carried the largest portion of the Mississippi River diverted flow into the Atchafalaya River. The water roared through the structures and the structures vibrated.   Pelicans floating on the water feasted on fish in the river water as it exited the structure and fishermen in boats and on the bank caught fish down stream of the structure. Pump jacks pumped petroleum products into storage tanks and service companies drilled new wells in the area around the Old River Control Complex. Tug boats and loaded barges were docked along the Old River on the Mississippi River side waiting to travel through the locks to the Atchafalaya River. Mississippi River water roaring into the Atchafalaya Basin after passing through the Old River Control Structure. Downstream of the Old River Control Complex, east of Melville, the Morganza Spillway waited to be opened to transfer additional Mississippi River floodwaters into the Atchafalaya Basin. The Morganza Spillway has only been opened once since it was constructed. The Morganza Spillway was opened in 1973 to lower the river stage on the Mississippi River.   The Morganza Spillway is scheduled to be open on May 12, 2011. The Morganza Spillway in conjunction with the Old River Control Complex will transfer 50 to 54 percent of the Mississippi River floodwater flow into the Atchafalaya River and Basin. The opening of the Morganza Spillway is to lower the Mississippi River stage downstream in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas and reduce pressure on the levee system.   The increase in quantity of Mississippi River flood waters being transferred into the Atchafalaya River Basin will result in extensive flooding in communities throughout the Atchafalaya River and Atchafalaya Basin and in back water areas. The Morganza Spillway waiting to be opened. On May 7, 2011, the roads in the area of the Morganza Spillway were filled with people moving their belongings and furniture out of the area to be flooded when the Morganza Spillway is opened. Trucks were hauling sand to communities to be used to fill sandbags. People were observing the height of the water on the Mississippi River side of the spillway. Egrets were feeding along the edges of the rising waters. Combines were harvesting ripe wheat from the fields that will be flooded by the opening of the spillway.   Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of agricultural crops will be destroyed in the fields when the Morganza Spillway is opened. These crops consist of corn (2 to 4 feet in height), sugar cane (2 to 3 feet in height), soybeans (6 inches) and unharvested ripe wheat. In addition homes and businesses will be flooded, agricultural land will be covered with river silt and seafood species in the coastal areas will be damaged by the fresh waters from the Mississippi River. The damage and destruction will be extensive and wide spread. Corn fields in the Atchafalaya Basin. Future progress reports will be issued as a result of the opening of the Morganza Spillway and the opening of the Bonnet Carre spillway on May 9, 2011.     Learn More About Us! -LEANWEB.ORG- -LMRK.ORG-

 

The things that are New Orleans

I found this on a NOLA-related blog and love it.

give me a king cake smear

give me a beignet kiss

give me a french quarter morning that looks just like this

give me the endymion krewe
give me the times-picayune
give me a drunk and lazy crawfish boil in muggy sticky june

give me a six pack of dixie
give me some assorted abita beers
give me a city where it only snows once every 10 years

give me a green neutral ground
give me a mardi gras ball
give me a medium rare burger at my grand old Port of Call

give me a glittery drag show
give me the streetcar line
give me the House of the Rising Sun
give me a Tchoupitoulas sign

give me a shrimp and oyster poboy
give me lovebug season in May
give me my New Orleans-
I will definitely stay.

Mississippi River Cams

Rock Island, Illinois

http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/MVRCams/RiverCam.asp

 

St. Paul, Minnesota

http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?nid=3742

 

Wabasha, Minnesota (very nice)

http://www.wxow.com/Global/link.asp?L=481451

 

Waterloo, Iowa

http://rivercam2258.viewnetcam.com:50000/nphMotionJpeg?Resolution=640x480&Quality=Clarity

 

Vicksburg, Mississippi (scroll down on page)

http://web.vicksburg.org/Vicksburg/Default.aspx?tabid=264

 

Baton Rouge

http://files.wafb.com/skycam/skycam.jpg

 

New Orleans

http://www.nola.com/rivercam/

 

 

Before I Die

This is a heartwarming and ingenious idea.  Candy Chang (http://candychang.com/before-i-die-in-nola/) describes this project on her blog: 

It’s easy to get caught in the day-to-day and forget what really matters to you. With support from old and new friends, I turned the side of an abandoned house in my neighborhood into a giant chalkboard to invite my neighbors to remember and share what is important to them. Before I Die transforms neglected spaces into constructive ones where we can learn the hopes and aspirations of the people around us.

If you want to smile, check out what is on peoples’ bucket lists!

 

A piece of Saturday

warning: this is a post about an extremely small community on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. It may be considered boring. LOL!!!
click on pictures for larger versions

We have our Saturday traditions: breakfast at Sunrise on Second Street (one of the few places in Slidell that make a decent breakfast), then the local farmers' market for good, fresh, inexpensive produce . After that it's up in the air.

Today was the day before Mothers' Day and we were scheduled to have a brunch with Hubby's Mother and sister in Metairie around noon. We had a couple of hours to kill and decided to wander on to the site where - just a few weeks ago - an Amtrak train derailed due to either misjudgement or pure stupidity.

Backstory: A driver hauling a flatbed carrying some tanks from the Textron facilty in Slidell misjudged the speed of an Amtrak train that runs this route every day and straddled his truck across the tracks while waiting for a red light to turn green.

The results are shown below.


This is the engine that was the lead engine on that day. It was covered at the behest of Amtrak officials.


The impact of the accident caused the metal on this car to curl back.






I took this photo to show the proximity of the second engine to the very busy Front Street in Slidell.
I certainly hope that the drive

We discovered that we woke up the security forces at Textron and decided to move on.

I remembered it as being "Train Day" in Slidell. Train Day was created to bring attention to the romance of travelling by rail. There was a tiny "to do" at the Slidell train station that we went to look into. A pretty nondescript place, we got our goodie bag and then proceeded on to walking a few miles around the park to walk off breakfast.

Our next stop was a small park situated on Bayou Bonfouca and the local Amtrak station.

Our exercise proved to be very interesting. Slidell mornings begin slowly and work their way into slow afternoons, which I like.


Carved by Slidell artist Phil Galatas this very cool frog was once a stump post Katrina


This bird makes sure that you keep out of the flower beds.


Another bird on the job


On Patrol








Magnolias are just beginning to bloom and I was frustrated that I didn't have a ladder with me to capture the beauty of their flowers.

Thanks for sharing a few hours of Saturday. Any suggestions, comments are always welcome. Hit the "comments" button, y'all!!! Let us know how we're doing!

St. Genevieve Church Update - May 2011

I've been trying to stay updated on the reconstruction of St. Genevieve Church on Bayou Liberty and I'm excited to post pictures showing the updated construction activity. I haven't travelled past the Church for a few months now due to repaving of Bayou Liberty Road, but I chose that route last Saturday knowing there would not be any construction and was excited to see the new Church taking shape.

First, an artists rendering of the new building.

What follows are the steel beams giving the structure its shape

And here lies the original steeple, painted and ready to once again rise to the heavens.

Saturday in Mamou

I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning than Mamou, Louisiana. This blog post has great pictures of the fun that happens there. Check it out!

Helping Tornado Victims

From The Daily Good (http://www.good.is/) 

Updated, Friday April 29, 1:23 pm EST: Like most every compassionate world citizen today, our thoughts are with those in the southern United States, which has been ravaged by devastating tornadoes. Here's a roundup of how you can help the thousands of families in need. We'll be updating this throughout the day, so check back for more donation opportunities as they come.

United Way of West Alabama: 2720 Sixth St. No. 100, between Lurleen Wallace Boulevard and Capitol Park, 205-345-6640. The United Way could use donations of nonperishable food items, clothes, tarps, and feminine hygiene products. You can also make cash donations, all of which will stay local, by credit card at www.uwwa.org.

Feeding America: Feeding America distributes food to local food banks providing meals to states hit by the tornadoes. Donate to them here.

St. Mark United Methodist Church: 1421 McFarland Blvd., Northport, Alabama, 205-339-5990. The church is currently serving as a shelter for the displaced, and you can send it nonperishable food and clothes. If you're in the area, they could also use volunteers with medical training.

Red Cross: The Red Cross has already set up temporary shelters across the damaged states and is providing meals and medical assistance to families. As usual, you can donate $10 to their relief effort by texting "REDCROSS" to 90999. You can also donate online or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS. If you'd like to donate by mail, send your donations here:

American Red Cross
P.O. Box 4002018
Des Moines, IA 50340

 

The Salvation Army: The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services is also providing food to the displaced. You can donate $10 to them by texting "GIVE" to 80888. To donate online, go to salvationarmyusa.org, and to give via phone, call 1-800-SAL-ARMY and say you'd like to designate your funds for the "April 2011 Tornado Outbreak." You can also send checks to:

Salvation Army Disaster Relief
P.O. Box 100339
Atlanta, GA 30384

To give specifically to Alabama or Mississippi, you can use the channels those states have established for giving:

Alabama's Emergency Relief Fund: The Alabama Governor's Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives steps in when other avenues have relief have been exhausted. Go to servealabama.gov to give money or volunteer time.

Mississippi Disaster Recovery Fund: Like the one in Alabama, this is run by the governor's office, and you can offer up cash or time. Visit mississippi.relief.com.

Portlight (help for the disabled): Portlight is a nonprofit that assists America's disabled, a service made all the more important by a horrible natural disaster. To help tornado victims, Portlight will be identifying those most in need and giving them $100 debit cards. Click here to donate to their cause.

 

A Different St. Augustine Band