Early morning on Blind River...stillness complete
Timeless images of 500 year old cypress trees along
the river
At the turn of the century, loggers entered
the swamps of south Louisiana, and proceeded
to harvest every healthy cypress tree they
could find. It is one of the great tragedies of
the cypress swamps. These are some of the
large trees we saw on Blind River; however
most of these trees are hollow, crooked, or
damaged, and therefore were not harvested
in the past. They are the "ghosts" of the swamp,
all that is left of a once thriving cypress forest.
Several years ago I met Greg Guirard, an author,
photographer, and naturalist who has written
several books on the subject. You can check out
his website, and even buy one of his beautiful
photography books. His book, "Land of Dead
Giants" details the story of the logging, and is
quite interesting.
I have been thinking about all of this today as I
have watched the Morganza flood gates releasing
their captive overflow. It is going to affect thousands
of people, animals, and the trees themselves. May
God watch over them all.
"Land of Dead Giants"
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