We are moving the big houseboat every few days and spending hours exploring and photographing the early wetland spring. Parking the WETLAND WANDERER by anchoring the bow and then floating is my favorite way to secure the boat, but recently CC thought he should tie the boat's stern to a tree on a ridge because the wind was high. I was getting lunch when I heard him urgently call for me to bring the camera quickly. As I stood on the stern of the houseboat, I snapped his picture holding four baby alligators. The gator hole he came upon was in a muddy ridge bank. CC excitedly said that he had seen about 10 hatchlings and a year old sibling sunning around the hole. Kneeling down to release the babies CC was stunned when momma popped her head out. Boy, can CC move fast when he has to!

Our next parking place was a quiet canal with high ridges and deep water in the Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge a few miles south of Houma. We nosed the big boat on to the shore. This way we could hike around. We jumped off the boat to tie her to some trees, and I immediately saw who else liked to wrap around tree limbs, SNAKES! Meanwhile, all the cold-blooded reptiles are out soaking up the warm suns rays and preparing to enjoy the spring.

Hiking on the dry land near our boat we also noticed hundreds of little frogs and numerous turtles rooting around. Speaking of rooting, did you know there are wild pigs around? We saw a mud hole dug into the ground that CC said was a hog wallow. We saw pig tracks, and CC encountered a large wild hog, as he stood quietly photographing two gators. They were once farm hogs that escaped, and over generations they grew tusks for rooting and became wild! Oh my!

Another spring fling is the onslaught of MOSQUITOES! These guys are mean! I now really appreciate the spiders, dragonflies, and birds that eat these pests! Speaking of birds, the marsh is full of them very early in the morning. Counting 15 eagles and seeing one beautiful nest in a mornings journey was pretty exciting. Officially there are 70 nests in Terrebonne Parish, and I believe it. The size of a small car, these nests are used year after year by the same eagle pair. They are built at the top of the tallest tree in an area. The three that we have found near us are cup-shaped. These birds are very hard to get close to but are easily spotted as they stand sentinel in the top branches of trees! The marsh is an Ornithologists dream! My favorite birds that we have recently observed are bald eagles, barred owl, great horned owl, osprey, wood ducks, ibis, egrets, herons, piliated woodpeckers, red shouldered hawks, and common morehens. The list goes on and on!

Your marshmission team is witnessing an explosion of new life. The natural eruption of spring is occurring all around. CC and I are so fortunate to be seeing all this wonder. However, the Barataria Terrebonne area that we are exploring is losing land faster than any other place. My sincere hope is that future generations will experience the awesome beauty that now surrounds us. It is the job of mankind to protect the many ecosystems that are found on our planet. The mammalogist, ornithologist, herpetologist, ichthyologist, entomologist, zoologist, botanist, ecologist, and environmentalist all understand the critical time our south Louisiana wetland ecosystems face. The question is, will our state and nation step up to the plate and make decisions that will help restore and rebuild the unique habitats that remain. Young people educate yourselves, get your parents involved, and be an advocate for coastal Louisiana wetland preservation!

 Most visible living things that are not animals are plants. Plants are defined as green organisms that have no power of locomotion, are self feeding through photosynthesis, and have cells with walls. Animals, on the other hand, are defined as organisms that are capable of locomotion and capturing their own food and have cells with no walls. To sort out all the millions of plants and animals around the world a smart Homo sapiens named Carolus Linneaus figured out a method of classification, or taxonomy. He divided living things into the plant, animal, and three other kingdoms. The system also gives each plant and animal its own two-part name (binomial nomenclature). To have the same two-part name is to be of the same species. For two animals to be of the same species, they must be able to breed and pass on to their offspring their own characteristics.

Think of a deer; in English we say deer, and in Spanish it is an el venado. But a mule deer from the western United States is a different species from the white-tailed deer I wrote about last week. Thus the mule deer is called Odocoileus hemionus, and the white tailed deer is called Odocoileus virginianus. In this way zoologist around the world are sure that they are talking about the same species of deer.

The three kingdoms in addition to Animalia and Plantae are Monera (single-celled organisms, such as bacteria), Protista (organisms like algae), and Mycota (fungi, such as mushrooms). To learn more about taxonomy check out a zoology or botany textbook from a library.

We are seeing so many cool critters now that it is warmer. I am working on my interview with an alligator, but they make me a little nervous, and I really wanted to tell you about binomial nomenclature! ADIOS AMIGOS (that is Spanish for good-bye friends)!

Annie