Canoe Cane Bayou

Cane Bayou

If you are going to travel to New Orleans for the Jazz and Heritage Festival http://www./nojazzfest.com/index.php?http%3A//www.nojazzfest.com/music/gala.php in the next couple of weeks, you might want to take a side trip to Cane Bayou. After a couple of days of ear numbing music, excess eating of Cajun food and way too much Abita Beer, the thirty mile trip north of the city, by way of the causeway, may be just what you need. Taking a canoe or flat bottom boat down this pristine bayou will calm your ears and your stomach.

CYPRESS ADORNED WITH SPANISH MOSS

COLOR IS JUST MAKING A SHOWING

The bayou is bordered on the west side by Fountainbleau State Park http://www.stateparks.com/fontainebleau.html and on the east by Big Branch Marsh http://www.fws.gov/bigbranchmarsh/igbranchmarsh/. Sitting low to the water in a canoe is the best way to enjoy this waterway. Just keep your hands and feet in the boat so alligators aren't tempted. They love the smell of stale beer.


Osprey

A pair of Osprey moved their previous year's nest from the water's edge to a dead old growth cypress tree about a hundred yards east. I could just barley see an osprey chick popping it's head out looking for mom and pop.

Proud parent diverting my attention away from the nest.

I watched the male osprey swipe a clump of Spanish Moss from a low hanging tree. He made a wide circle and when he felt safe he dropped to the nest, adding a bit more cushion to the den floor. Even a bird likes comfort.

After being entertained long enough by the Osprey I moved further south, closer to the bayou's exit into Lake Pontchartrain.

An alligator's den sat exposed as the water level was low. I have to admit I was a little more cautious when I came close to the bayou's banks. My small canoe would be no match for an eight foot gator. But isn't this why I come here, for the beauty and the possibility of danger?