Category Archives: ecology of place

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To get to the city unfortunately, means going through our airport for most visitors. A more disappointing experience would be hard to imagine, since the food and leisure space there is pitiful. On top of that, the politics of the selection process for the concession contracts give us a constant reminder of the old boy corruption that we live with here.
I say the corporation that runs the airport should be advised by the entrepreneurs that run places in the French Quarter, who work constantly to serve the locals and tourists. Okay, maybe not the folks who run the French Market, but those little shops and restaurants that actually work to bring joy and pleasure to travelers and residents alike.

To get started, let’s get at least 1 place in each concourse that is open before 7 a.m. and serves a decent cup of coffee in a city that loves the stuff.

Concessions

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St. Anthony’s Garden’s archaeological dig and garden

The high winds of Hurricane Katrina managed to displace two large oak trees in St. Anthony’s Garden behind the Cathedral, dislodging 30 feet (9.1 m) of ornamental gate, while the nearby marble statue of Jesus Christ lost a forefinger and a thumb.

Restoration of St. Anthony's Garden at St. Louis Cathedral..

The garden restoration is finally underway….This video link tells its fascinating history (albeit a bit hokey with the fuzzy recreations) and about 14 minutes in, tells about the dig that started the restoration. Nice to know it was a flower market at one point, and how many toys they found in the excavation…And that the earliest structure in the French Quarter ever found in a dig was uncovered. And that fruit trees and native plants are being used.

<http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=5507649944314471148&hl=en&fs=true

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Not so Fresh Quarter

The ongoing marsh fire in New Orleans East is menacing many elderly and asthmatic citizens of New Orleans and may continue for another day. Rain is forecasted over the weekend, but this is a not a simple brush fire, but one that exists above and below ground, making it harder to extinguish.
This is not the first time in recent memory smoke or smells have hit the old city hard, and is at least the third major event since August 2005 (warehouse fires during the levee breaks on the waterfront and the oil spill on the Mississippi in 2008) and of course, who can forget BP’s destruction of the gulf, endangering health far and wide when their shoddy oil rig exploded in 2010.
Interestingly though, the city’s air is quite clear and clean most of the time, which makes the overwhelming smell and sight of thick smoke this week even more unbearable, especially in the drip of summer.
The French Quarter seemed to get a whole bunch of the smoke and made those old houses useful as chimneys for a few hours. Lucky for the residents of the Quarter, there are plenty of air-conditioned bars and restaurants in which to escape…
Story

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Tree Inventory underway

Using a wonderful suite of tools from the U.S. Forest Service, the French Quarter block by block community will begin to create a tree inventory. Contact me at my name at gmail if you would like to help.
Dar Wolnik

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Overheard in French Quarter:

Bus stops; Why have them? Are there any buses that come through here?

I like you because you’re like me. cynical.
I’m not cynical, I just give constructive advice! Do you mean, like when I called you a hipster?

Oysters off the shell? eeewww. That’s like putting a whole animal in your mouth…

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Grand Duchess floats back to town

The last time I heard from the GD was during the French Quarter Festival, when her neighbor delivered a message to me from an alert Duchess, who spied me from her balcony. That post
As I know that the Duchess locks up her house for the summer and takes long trips east and west (“never South or North my dear; there’s been entirely too much traffic in THOSE directions over the years”), I was surprised when I noticed the curtains blowing out from her 3rd story. I rang the bell and was admitted warmly by her live-in, Miss Maude who looked fresh as a daisy in the 96 degrees, as all true New Orleans ladies do.
I knew to wait for the Duchess in the cool, darkish middle room on the second floor, which is where she receives guests in the summer. I sat in the large wicker chair after making myself a lemon ginger drink from the tall pitcher, mixed together with ice from the bar freezer and mint from her glorious garden.
garden description

I could hear the muted chatter from nearby streets and feel the fans churning above me. The second floor seems cooled by old-fashioned architecture and strategic breezes rather than too-large air conditioning machines (as the Duchess calls them).
I sat relaxing and cooling and opened my eyes when I smelled verbena. The Duchess had entered and was shooing one of the fattest of her cats to the next room. Soon after, she sat in her usual straight-backed chair across from me.
“I am surprised to see you home in the summer, Duchess”
We believe that in moments of high drama, our citizens need us to be alert.
“I assume you are referring to the historic river levels?”
We are referring to the Mississippi and Atchafalaya river levels, yes. It is our wish that no one suffers on behalf of the village’s residents, but unfortunately, this time some will suffer to save the old city. We hope that our cousins in the Louisiana provinces know that our gratitude and empathy rises to them at this time
“Do you believe the levees will hold?”
We have personally inspected the levee in our village and believe it is safe. However, I cannot vouchsafe for the other villages surrounding ours and hope their royal servants are taking their citizens safety seriously.
“Duchess, I do not believe the other neighborhoods have a Duke or Duchess such as yourself that watch over them.”
(She looked at me sharply as if to gauge my seriousness and then shook her head sorrowfully)
If that is true, our concern is profound for those places. We hope that someday they can restore a personage to serve their needs.
In any case, we must all remember that water is both our saviour and our curse. We cannot control the mighty rivers forever, so must live in such a way as to not draw their ire and still prepare for the days that the water will change its course. We have been thinking a great deal on this subject and offer these decrees:

All villagers must teach each other basic swimming techniques.

All villagers should keep a flotation device available.

The staff of Loyola Avenue must ask for widow’s walks or wrapping galleries to be built on all new buildings above one story.

Second and third floor windows must have an exit path.

Those villagers with means should store expandable ladders of 15 feet or more on second floors or in attics. Rope ladders are more useful but must be inspected regularly for strength. (DW-I mentioned the usefulness and long life of nylon rope, an idea which pleased the Duchess and she begged me to insert the word nylon to the decree above.)

All villagers should make the acquaintance of at least one neighbor who seems to be alone and then to be responsible for that person in times of environmental or federal crisis.

After her decrees were stated, she rose, bade me to follow her into her library and showed me a brass bell and a beautiful old oar from a small boat. She told me they had been given to her by a grateful river pilot many years ago. As she went to ask Maude to show me out, I noticed an first English edition of Mark Twain’s “Life on the Mississippi” near the items and surreptitiously opened it to find this confounding inscription:

To the gracious lady downriver who watches over us all. Mark Twain

To read the original post explaining our Duchess:
Duchess