Festival International de Louisiane - Day 2

Ville Platte about an hour of Lafayette is home to Floyd's Record Shop.  I got a chance to practice my very poor french is but he was patient.  I had been looking and holding the idea that I would find a scrub board (you know the silver percussive chest plate looking instrument in zydeco music) and it was there.  And...it was mine.  Floyd was pumped because I dropped a load of cash but it was so worth it.  I even bought a Cajun triangle.  Apparently I have aspirations to learn a bit more about percussion.  

After the swamp, the scrub board buy, fried alligator and boudin I settled in for an evening of fine music with Rosie Laddet (la-day) and Her Playboys.  Some of the top photos of are the characters doing the fais-do-do a Cajun dance.  It was awesome to watch!  Rosie hardly had her accordion on when the dance floor filled in 2.5 seconds...literally.  People of all ages dancing, switching dance partners and visiting.  Finish the evening off with Habib Koite and there you have it.  From Africa, to the Delta, to Louisiana and back to Africa again.  A blues trip around the world!

I am very, very, very taken with Louisiana.  Not the first person to feel that way but it is the sheer spirit of the music in the hot sun, the community and all the trials of preserving the Acadian culture (with roots in  Nova Scotia no less).  There's history here which I will explain when it's not 11pm.

Full on Life...

Kat xoxo

I Can't Even Make This Shit Up!

I can't even make this shit up that's just how good it is!!!  When I was a very young child I created my own little bayou.  A slough in tall grasses, murky water and a turtle.  Now I did go and drill a hole in the outer shell of the turtle, hooked a small, long chain to it and spiked the other end of the chain in the ground so I could play with the turtle whenever I wanted.  I know, I know...but I was just a child exploring my environment let's say ;-).  We didn't have trees rooted in that water or 15 foot alligators but today really brought back a flood of memories I'd had as a child.  

An air boat skirted us across the black, calm waters of the Achafalala Basin Bayou this morning.  It was cool (26c), cloudy and calm...the perfect day for photos because the colors are so brilliant.  It was no time at all and I spied this alligator, the Egrets, Mallards and a flower that reminded me of the Wild Rose of Alberta.  Apparently the gator was a small one and definitely wanting to avoid us but I caught this one shot.  As it is above so it is below with the trees of the swamp and the blown moss gave it mystery.  The boat just skims the water and my arm literally a couple inches from the water's surface.  Let me just say that I made very sure to keep my hands in given the first alligator sighting.  Wanna keep these fingers for all the future playing I need to do!  

Then I ate fried gator for dinner...mastery of the environment...NOT!

Kat