Honey Island Swamp Tour

On Saturday, we went as a group, except Bob and Karl on a swamp tour. It was very interesting and our guide was extremely informative. He loved his job and the swamp and he made that obvious. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died a few minutes into the tour, but I was able to get a few pictures first. I will be getting more pictures of the tour from other people. The highlight was seeing the alpha male alligator of the area. 15 ft long, weighing over a ton and his jaws close with over 4000 PSI of pressure. An amazing animal. Even more amazing was how these alligators would swim up to the boat and wait for the guide to give them a treat. We also saw a river otter, only the fourth one that our guide had seen in 11 years on the job. Here are some pictures of the swamp, there will be more to come.

In this picture you can see the top of the alligator's head poking up.

The Week of Work

Well, this week we got quite a bit done on Miss Edith's house. When we left on Friday, the whole outside of the house is ready to be painted, Bill and I primed all the new siding and trim on Friday. The walls of one bedroom were all painted, the floor tiles were all done yet and the other two rooms are ready to be painted. I think two more good days, and the majority of it will be done. We are still waiting for Hugo to finish mudding the back room. I was glad I wasnt stuck mudding all week. I mudded on Monday and the majority of Tuesday. I was lonely being shut off in the back bedroom all day by myself. But from Wednesday on, the small crew that had been working elsewhere came to help us finish up as this project is way over budget of time and money. So I worked with Bill putting up 4 by 8 sheets of cement board siding, getting that to look decent and then priming it. A small room had been added to this house in the last little while, and that is what need to be covered in siding. I am not sure what I will be doing this week, but I am assuming Bill and I will be painting the exterior of the house. It was warm all week. In the low to mid 30's. It was nice inside the house though. Miss Edith put on the air conditioning for them as me and Bill were out in the sun. I would have lost weight from all the sweat of the meals werent so good.

The front of the house.

This is the back new room, with the siding on it.

This is Bill "mixing" up a pail of primer.

This is Bob cutting trim for around the doors.

Hugo mudding in the back room.

Karl putting the finishing coat of mud in the parent's bedroom.

The Crew

This is a picture of the current crew. There is quite a range and variety of people. We all get along quite well and have a lot of fun together. This is Buddy, he works for the local restoration organization. He lives in the house during the week and goes back to Meridian on the weekends. He is a very sociable and talkative guy. Lot os fun.

Vicksburg

On Saturday, Karl and Bob invited me to go along with them to Vicksburg, which is on the west side of MS, along the Mississippi River. So, in our fashion, we got there slowly. We took a lot of wrong turns and back tracked a lot. But again, we had fun with that. We stopped at a flea market on the way as well as in Jackson, MS. Jackson seemed like a ghost town. We drove around there for quite some time, not seeing much. When we got to Vicksburg, we went to the information center to see what was around. We found out that we had missed the only paddleboat that day, which was the main reason we had gone out that far. So we were told about an interesting historal war tour. The lady at the center gave us quite a bit of information about the Battle of Vicksburg. Some people may recall it, but it was at the same time as the Battle of Gettysburg, so it is over shadowed. The area is very hilly, making it difficult for the attacking side. The entire battle took longer than a year, which was ended by Grant seiging Vicksburg and starving the city. Im sure you could find more about it if you really wanted to. So we went on the driving tour. There were lots of monuments, some more interesting than others. The highlight was the USS Cairo. It had been sunk by a 'torpedo' and after 100 years was recovered from the bottom of the river and now is on display in the park.

This is a view from one of the streets of Vicksburg, over the Mississippi River.

This is a bunker from one of the battles.

A memorial for General Grant.

A monument for all those who fought in the battle.

The USS Cairo.

First Week of Work

When Wednesday morning came around, we were given our work crews and our assignments. Our job didnt sound too hard, do a bit of insulating, hang a bit of drywall, mud it, paint it, change a bit of siding outside, but we found out it is a big job. We will probably be there most of this coming week. My crew is fun. I am with the two other Canadians, Bob and Karl, younger guys, and Hugo, a veteran, so we have a good mix. We are working on a younger family's house, who have a girl in high school and a five year old autistic boy. The front of this house was remodeled, so now there are 3 larger rooms. Two bedrooms and a living room. We have the majority of it drywalled and all the first coat of mud on and part of the second coat. There is also a small room off that back that is getting finished as well. We have a lot of fun on the site, teasing and making jokes. The first few times getting to and from the site were interesting. It took us over 20 minutes, when it should be under 5. But we were able to laugh about it. Miss Edith, the mother of the family, is becoming more friendly as we are getting more friendly. I think she was overwhelmed by 4 strange men being in her house all day. The evenings after work havent been too lively yet. It is fairly quiet in the house by about 9 or so. Ive been having a great time and I am looking forward to work again tomorrow.

My Room

Hello All. I have finally got time to write on my blog again. I have a picture of my room, as I said would be coming. Yes mom, it is messy.

How y'all doin?

Well, I am here. I am somewhat settled in, getting to know the rest of the work crew, getting to know the area and trying to get used to the heat. We start working first thing tomorrow morning. Tonight is a bit of an orientation session along with getting to know people better. The house that we are all staying in is huge. I dont even know how many bedrooms there are, but the 13 of us fit with a few extra bedrooms. I have already been adopted by a few of the couples. They are concerned for my safety, as well as my bike (which is stored in one of the empty bedrooms). I dont have pictures of our humble accomodations yet, but they will come. I hope everyone at home is doing well and I hope you enjoy reading about my work down here.

4 Days to Departure

Well, I leave in four days. Today I labeled each one of my tools with RVG, so that I come home with at least as much as I left with. I managed to fit them all in the car, surprisingly. And there still is some space left for clothes, my guitar and Ma and Pa. Tomorrow I have to pack clothing and clean up my room. Probably an even bigger job than organizing my tools. Oh well.