I spent the night near Reelfoot lake along a canal that cuts through fields on each side. About 3 am the coyotes started calling to each other with some uncomfortably close. It was an eerie crescendo chorus of yelps and howls that while pretty cool is also creepy. After a few minutes it felt like they were closing in on us. I was afraid Murphy might go native on me. I stood up outside and beamed the horizon with the front lamp from my bike. Abrupt silence. Never heard from them again. At dawn we are awakened by the sound of gunfire. Several shots nearby in the field across the canal. Murphy likes gunfire because it means downed gamebirds to him. I figure out that it is dove season when I see scattering flocks flashing in the early light each time a volley of shots erupt. Good morning.
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| The vine that ate the south. |
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| Kudzu |
These southern lands have problem with invasive species that make our milfoil in Minnesota look pretty wimpy. Kudzu is a vine that I am told was introduced by highway departments down here as a means to stabilize road cuts from erosion. Yes it does that really well. It also has taken over the place. It grows in profusion where ever it takes hold. I see hillsides and valleys that are carpeted with a 3 foot thick layer that shrouds over everything including trees, signs, power poles, roads. The landscape becomes a weird Dr. Suess-like land of fluffy green lumps emerging from a green blanket. It is impossible to penetrate. The interwoven lacing of tough vines would require a chain saw to cut a path. Then there are the famous flying Asian carp. They are in Reelfoot lake. I am told some lakes you can't even power boat on for fear of being knocked out of the boat. Once again they out compete and eat the other species to starvation. Closing lock and dam no.1 in Minneapolis to stop them from getting into the upper Mississippi was a real good idea. Ironically, when I toured the Reelfoot Lake Visitor Center I learned something. Inside are exhibits that date from 1983. One discusses the lake ecology and show a black and white photo of a beaming biologist holding up a "white amur carp" (aka asian carp) that was proudly being introduced into the lake as a means to control algae.
While not something I would call invasive I am being affected by what I would call an infectious exposure. That is the southern drawl. Since Kentucky the drawl has gotten thicker and more difficult for a Yankee to understand. Now I have some southern relatives in Georgia who while transplants from the North, have mostly acquired what I would call "southern" accents. However, compared to what I am hearing now they speak the King's English. I would imagine that as soon as I open my mouth I sound like some national network broadcaster. I am pegged right away as a yankee. I am told that a yankee is a northerner who visits but a northerner who stays is a "damned yankee".
It is all in fun of course. I think.
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After traveling over 1,200 miles along the Mississippi River trail
I finally met someone else doing the same thing. Bill came
cycling up behind me one afternoon so we stopped to chat.
He is 69 years old and from Washington state. He also had never done
anything on this scale. He is traveling with his wife driving
a support vehicle ahead and staying in motels- hence no gear. Loaded down as I am
I was soon in his rear view mirror. |
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