Duck! a Lafreniere Park scene

There must have been some good eats down below for these three ducks to "duck" in unison  --  A Lafreniere park in Metairie, La.

Orange you going to yell?

One more time for good luck. I just had to have one last laugh about the Irish Italiam parade this past weekend in Metairie. Carrot anyone? You laugh, but if you were there you would have been yelling and screaming -- "Throw it to me." Oh you were there? And you were.... Well then you don't need me to tell you how much fund it was.

--steve buser

Irish Italian Parade, Metairie, Louisiana, Carrots

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Irish non-stewing

These carnival revelers deserve a gold medal. No, not the thronging crowds on the ground -- the party animals on the floats at the Irish Italian Parade in Metairie this past weekend. They were throwing beads and trinkets and plush toys for sure. But, mixed among all that was potatoes, humongous carrots, onions, cabbages, garlic -- whatever comes out of the garden. Despite all of that, there seemed to be few errant throws. Everyone's spirits were high until the end of the parade.

We had French Fries from some of those potatoes tonight (delicious) and some of the cabbage with sausage (the sausage was from our refrigerator). The fun just keeps going on.

--steve buser

Irish Italian, parade, Metairie, Louisiana

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The Irish Cup

Sometimes you hit the mother lode. Like this, a stuffed animal AND a 10-pound bag of potatoes.

You got to figure that is cause to celebrate anywhere, especially in the environs of New Orleans. In this case, the environs are Metairie -- the next door neighbor to New Orleans. The occasion is the Irish-Italian Parade that rolled down Veterans Boulevard and Severn Avenue today.

Full Disclosure statement--I have to disclose that the frolicking femme in the photo is my wife, Linda. Her triumph trophy catch means we will probably be having a lot of stew, and baked potatoes, and french fries, and hash browns and.... for a while. Not to mention the six heads of cabbage we came away with, and enough carrots to keep a herd of rabbits' teeth clean for a month.

Two and a half hours of floats rolled by in front of us. Two and one half hours of laughs, smiles, partying, screams of excitement and ecstasy..... I was ready to get home and vegetate. (Sorry, freudian slip)

--steve buser

Irish Italian Parade, Metairie, Louisiana, FLoats, throws

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Excercise time

Okay, class, this is today's exercise. Stand on one foot. Make a claw out of the other. Now reach down and scratch your belly with your nose.

Come on. I am hearing too much complaining. If this tri-colored heron can do it, you should be able to do it too. This is the easy part. Next we will flap out wings to balance ourselves while we switch feet.

Just another day in the life of a heron -- doing what seems impossible. This was at Lafreniere Park in Metairie, La.

-- steve buser

Feathery picnic in the park

Lafreniere Park -- the old Jefferson Downs race track reconverted to a outdoor wonderland -- is the scene for these two American white ibises (ibi?). The hot weather was no problem for them. They were shore-line fishing for bugs and minnows and the like. The 155-acre park features soccer fields, Frisbee golf, and of course, the man-made swampy nature habitat for birds, nutria, alligators, rabbits and more.

By the way, Jefferson Downs met its end in the last major storm to hit New Orleans before Katrina -- Betsy in 1965. Now this is the largest park in Metairie, the next door neighbor to New Orleans.

You'll probably have to double click on the image to enlarge it to be able to see this -- the ibis has its nostrils up by the foot of its beak. That is so it can breath even when it's feeling around underwater or poking holes in the ground for food.

--steve buser

Beignet bandit

If you've never had a beignet in New Orleans, they are what's not left on the plate. Essentially a square donut covered with a generous dusting of powdered sugar, they are a favorite of all New Orleanians -- everybody from Louisiana even. Oh, heck, let's make that the world.

Here, my grandson Sullivan, the pile of beignets vanished, gets in every last lick of the powdered sugar. This is at the Cafe Du Monde at the Lakeside Mall.

The bustle of Christmas

Enduring fancy
Local restauranteur Al Copeland has been for decades a colorful part of Christmas in New Orleans with his decorations on his Metairie lakefront home. This year was no different -- crowds pass by in cars and gawk in slow procession (note the traffic cones at the bottom of the picture). Many disembark to get an up close feel for the bright and busy display.

As you may notice, the display does not tend toward the mono-color lights that seem popular these days.

--steve buser

Lagniappe ( a little something extra )

Your guess is as good as mine as to why the four poles were in the middle of the lake. But they were just one of the actors in this scene. Another was the black swath of a weather front stretched thin on the horizon.

Today on Pixel Eyed

Lake loomer

A three-building complex of towers, the Lakeway complex greets you on the drive into New Orleans coming across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. You can see the buildings from nearly 2o miles away and whatch them grow as you get nearer and nearer.

You are actually entering unincorporated, but urban, area known as Metairie when you come off the Causeway. This section from the Lake to Veterans Boulevard is often referred to as downtown Metairie because the highway is lined with tall buildings and the Lakeside Shopping Center, one of the busiest places in the region. That burst of businesses is because it is one of the few large shopping centers that survived the hurricane intact.

The Lakeway complex includes Three Lakeway shown above. The 34-story building houses the Marriott hotel. Views out over the Lake and toward downtown are spectacular. The building is about 7 miles from downtown New Orleans.

--steve buser