Water Moccasin - NOT

Bayous and swamps are both beautiful and dangerous. They are also filled with things that look like something they are not to the novice, as was the mistaken identity of this poor water snake. A wildlife ecologist was kind enough to point out my error. Now I have a good resource for other creatures I may stumble into in the wild.

Cypress Knees

A cypress knee is a term used in the biology of trees to describe the distinctive structures forming above the roots of a cypress tree of any of various species of the subfamily Taxodioideae. Their function is unknown, but they are generally seen on trees growing in swamps. Some scientists have thought they may help in oxygenation to the tree's roots or assist in anchoring the tree in the soft, muddy soil. - Wikipedia

Tree Yawn

My wife found this video when we were planning a trip to Arkansas last fall - http://www.aetn.org/programs/bayoubartholomew. After watching it we just knew we had to go explore it for ourselves. I really liked the way this tree looked in this shot as it towered over my wife in her kayak. Almost a little spooky looking as if it's waiting for rogue kayakers to pass by and lean over to gobble up. Luckily we were allowed to pass without harm.

On the Lookout

This guy was keeping an eye on the bayou from high atop a cypress tree.

Cottonmouth

Glad this guy was swimming away from us when we were kayaking in Bayou Bartholomew.

Water World

Taking in the peace and tranquility of the bayou on an October afternoon.

Bayou Beauties

These beauties were on the bank of Bayou Bartholomew in Pine Bluff. The bayou changes personalities from one area to another. In Pine Bluff, the area we paddled through was like a marsh, while the other area we paddled in 50 miles away was more like a swamp. In Pine Bluff there are wildflowers close to and on the banks, along with marsh grasses. Very few cypress trees, and those that are there are very small to those we saw in the other area of the bayou.

Bayou Fall

Fall colors were just beginning to show in the cypress trees in Bartholomew Bayou. This was shot in Pine Bluff in the portion of the bayou that had much younger cypress trees and more marsh like conditions. I enjoyed how these two cypress in their changing colors looked against the background of green trees that were yet to change.