11/1-2
11/1
Early afternoon walk with Danny out in Couterie Forest, one of the parks in New Orleans.
Danny gazing out over the bayou.
Stinkhorn mushroom. One of a small group of them. Haven't seen one in years.
Danny on the path.
Palmetto Palm.
Afterwards we headed over to the French Quarter, which I hadn't been to yet this stay.
Day after Halloween.
At Jackson Square.
The Apple Barrel on Frenchman Street. The previous night was the last night in operation for this music and literary hangout bar.
In the Quarter we stopped at The Historic New Orleans Collection Museum to view an exhibit, "Alternative Imprints", about Loujon Press. Loujon was a publishing husband and wife team of Jon Webb and Gypsy Lou. They published in the 1960's and were the first press to publish Charles Bukowski. Writers published in their journal, "Outsider", or in their books included Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Kerouac, Henry Miller, Gregory Corso and countless others..
The first issue of "Outsider". Gypsy Lou appeared on every cover of the journal.
A 1963 letter from Bukowski.
Was a fascinating exhibit to spend time with. Another historic piece of important small press literary America.
11/2
Late morning outing with Poppy to Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, a 20 minute or so drive from center city.
Little Blue Heron.
Black Skimmer.
White Ibis.
Black-necked Stilt.
Also stopped at Fort Pike, at the edge of eastern Lake Ponchatrain. Dates back to 1818. Intriguing labyrinth of rooms and passageways. I was intrigued to learn that there was never a canon fired from this fort in all the years it was in operation.
On the way back to the city we stopped at a seafood place we had passed earlier, Pomes. The name had me thinking of Kerouac's "Pomes All Sizes" collection published by City Lights after his death. We were planning to have shrimp for supper but Chris, the owner, said they hadn't been getting any shrimp for the last two weeks. Not sure why. When I asked him about what else he had that was fresh he mentioned Crabs. I asked how many we would need for a supper for three. Well, he gathered a bunch of them from the tank into a bushel basket and just gave them to us, no charge! A dozen and a half of lively, fresh from the water Blue Crabs! In return I gave him a copy of the book, "In the Spirit of T'ao Ch'ien".
Chris mentioned that the signs were damaged from Katrina. They specialize in crabs, with their slogan being, "If you've got the itch, we've got the crabs."
So, a delicious supper with Poppy and Pat. Boiled crabs, potatoes, onions and corn.
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