NOLA Flora & Fauna 006 - Leaning Oak

Please click on the image for a larger, more-detailed version.I promise I will get away from the Oak trees soon. I think I could have a whole album called "New Orleans Live Oaks" separate from the "Flora & Fauna", and have a paragraph to write about each one.

This tree is in the Garden District, at 7th and Prytania. I took this photo in March of '06, when Katrina / Rita cleanup was being executed with reckless fervor and wild abandon.

You see that there is a note affixed to the tree. It is in a clear plastic 3-ring binder sleeve to protect it from the weather and it reads:

ATTENTION:

DO NOT REMOVE THIS TREE.

THIS TREE HAS BEEN LEANING IN THIS MANNER FOR OVER 50 YEARS AND DID NOT MOVE OR TAKE ON ITS CURRENT POSITION AS A CONSEQUENCE OF WINDS SUSTAINED BY HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA.

FURTHER IN LATE OCTOBER 2005, THIS TREE WAS INSPECTED BY A LICENSED ARBORIST EMPLOYED WITH BAYOU TREE SERVICE, INC. WHO DETERMINED THAT THE TREE WAS HEALTHY AND POSED NO THREAT OF FALLING OVER.

SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT THE OWNER OF 1506 SEVENTH ST. AT 585-XXXX OR 451-XXXX.

THANK YOU

Eloquent; concise; polite; stern.

Just as some businesses survived all of the weather disasters of 2005, yet still had to close because the customer base moved away, imagine the panic these people felt to have this amazing tree that survived not only the 4 major hurricanes of the past century, but untold numbers of storms in the century or centuries before that, at risk of being brought to the ground by some mouth-breathing government worker.

I suspect that if the author had his or her 'druthers, they'd quit their job and stand sentry on that upper gallery with a shotgun. I would.

There are thousands of these trees in New Orleans and the city and private citizens pay lots and lots and lots of money to keep them healthy, mostly to Bayou Tree Service, Inc. I see their trucks everywhere, always.

And that's good.


Also in this photo: along the fence across Prytania Street you see a handful of elections signs. In the Mayoral election following the storms, there were literally dozens of people vying. You couldn't swing a dead cat anywhere in NOLA without hitting some kind of campaign propaganda.

NOLA Flora & Fauna 005 Carrolton Oak

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Today's pic is a 3-parter. This is a lovely Live Oak on Carrolton Avenue. You've surely noticed by now that this album will be absolutely lousy with Oak trees. But they are truly breath-taking.
This is how you notice that New Orleans has seasons: Brown, crunchy moss or lush, green moss.

NOLA Flora & Fauna 004 - Resurrection Ferns

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These are called Resurrection Ferns (ones that grow from random places- cracks in steps, walls, etc) after a good rain.

People often ask me what my favorite thing about New Orleans is (because I annoyingly somehow find a way to work the topic into every conversation I have).

I have one reply: "If you stand on a street corner for any amount of time, something will settle on you and start growing. A spore will land in your ear and you'll have a 3" fern growing out of your head by the time the bus comes."

The rich delta soil spits out life in alarming volume. When the city is gone I will come fish its ruins, because it is the city that will not stop giving.

NOLA Flora & Fauna 003 - Treehole in Fence

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There's a different attitude toward nature in New Orleans.
First of all, it's best not to anger it. You see that this is not a big or fancy or exotic tree, but we're still making way for ducklings, here. I see a lot of stuff like this in this town.

NOLA Flora & Fauna 002 - Sidewalk Roots

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In the Gulf South, nature wins every time. It will overwhelm you. Should man leave this place, all trace would vanish, be swallowed whole in moments. Allowing us to live there is a gracious act. But in the mean time if a tree decides you don't get a sidewalk, you don't get a sidewalk.

NOLA Flora & Fauna 001 - Oak with Spanish Moss

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You don't see too many trees full of Spanish Moss any more. Maybe Katrina & Rita washed it away. This Live Oak is on Constance Street between Henry Clay & Calhoun, right by Audubon Park. The brick wall you see is the South wall of Saint Clare's Monastery. Behind the tree is the The John J. Hainkel, Jr. Home and Rehabilitation Center.