Friday July 16th 2021

It rained lightly off and on overnight setting up a cascade of events that changed my plans for the day. The rain caused me to close the windows and turn on the AC to keep the inside temperature in the comfort zone. Getting used to the drone of the AC delayed getting to sleep a little, but I probably got a better nights sleep overall. The AC noise, the closed windows and being in a quieter part of the campground resulted in not waking up on the same schedule I’ve been on since I arrived here last week. There wasn’t much of the morning left when I got up.

The morning weather didn’t help much. It was cloudy and dull most of the day. For a short period during the early afternoon the sun was out, but tall billowing clouds soon blocked the sun. Thunderstorms with accompanying flash flood warnings were in the area. The forecast was the tipping point that caused me mot to venture out today. Instead I continued to walk the trails in the state park.

Today I found a Great Blue Heron along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. The bird allowed me to get fairly close. It was almost like it knew I was taking pictures and decided to pose for me. First it faced right with a curved neck. The next pose was with an extended neck and finally facing left. This went on for about five minutes before it lost interest and flew away. In truth, I think the food in the water wasn’t sufficient to keep its interest.

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The cloudy dull conditions continued into the evening. Only light rain showers have occurred overhead. The big storms have avoided the immediate area. The high temperature for the day was in the high eighties. I keep trying to understand the subtleties of the forecasts around here. Lake Pontchartrain seems to play a big role in the weather. The storms seem to flow north and south of the lake with a few forming over the lake. It’s all very confusing.