Riding the Crawdad Sea

April 12, 2018

What a contrast from farming out west where water is drafted, ducted and ditched hundreds of miles from source to field. Here it rolls right up to your doorstep and at times, over it. Back in Merryville our host Eddie told us how the Sabine River recently flooded above the 500 year flood level spilling into his home. They had removed as many of their belongings as time allowed for and had left the dining room table setting on concrete blocks with their glassware sitting on top. The waters that spilled into their home was far higher than predicted and floated the table off the blocks to near the ceiling only to return to the exact same spot gently as a baby’s kiss, when the waters receded. Not a glass was out of place.

There appears to be two primary crops in this part of Louisiana, crayfish and rice. Both require plenty of water and thousands of acres are flooded to make this work. Airplanes appear to be used for some purpose unknown to me on the crayfish farms and i watched the yellow prop plane make numerous passes over the ponds. Manual and machine labour were also used to tend these habitats. The one machine which I think of as a water tractor seems to be a shallow draft paddle boat that is useful in harvesting the tasty Cajun treats.

When your community is at or below sea level digging graves is a problem as is keeping the dead in the ground. Even a concrete vault will float when the water table is high. The solution is to go above ground as shown in the two photos below.

My family will be surprised to see the two photos just below which show me trying a local favourite at the Karzy Kajun Kitchen. I am well know for my intolerance of spicy foods but I also believe that when in Rome, shoot Roman candles. I have never had Jambalaya before but now that I have I must agree that it is worth braving a little heat to enjoy those savoury flavours. This will not be my one and only time to try this. Gumbo will be next.