Sunday, May 15, 2011

Cypress Reflections

Early morning on Blind River...stillness complete

Timeless images of 500 year old cypress trees along
the river




At the turn of the century, loggers entered

the swamps of south Louisiana, and proceeded

to harvest every healthy cypress tree they

could find. It is one of the great tragedies of

the cypress swamps. These are some of the

large trees we saw on Blind River; however

most of these trees are hollow, crooked, or

damaged, and therefore were not harvested

in the past. They are the "ghosts" of the swamp,

all that is left of a once thriving cypress forest.


Several years ago I met Greg Guirard, an author,

photographer, and naturalist who has written

several books on the subject. You can check out

his website, and even buy one of his beautiful

photography books. His book, "Land of Dead

Giants" details the story of the logging, and is

quite interesting.


I have been thinking about all of this today as I

have watched the Morganza flood gates releasing

their captive overflow. It is going to affect thousands

of people, animals, and the trees themselves. May

God watch over them all.



www.gregguirard.com

"Atchafalaya Autumn"

"Land of Dead Giants"


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