More Mardi Gras Pix

People here decorate their houses, cars, whatever...just like Christmas. Too many Balls to count. It's party...party...party!! Geree, You would love the colors and decorations.

Beads,Moon Pies,Floats,and Fun

Beaded necklaces are the symbol of Mardi Gras. Everyone wears them, and everyone tries to get even more from the partiers on parade floats who literally toss out tons of the trinkets to onlookers as they wind their way through the downtown streets. Beyond the beads, float riders also let fly candy, toys, stuffed animals, souvenir cups and, as an appropriate salute to southern cuisine, moon pies.

There is a trick for gathering more treats. Many of the parades pass the same location twice, or close to the same location two or three times. If you look at the parade routes beforehand, looking particularly for where a parade might pass within a block of its return route.

Mobile Mardi Gras

Mobile is not only recognized as celebrating the first-known American Mardi Gras celebration in 1703 (yes, even before New Orleans), but also as home to the "America's Family Mardi Gras" delighting both young and old from around town and across the nation. This magnificent celebration lasts for over two and a half weeks and culminates on Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent.
For weeks, the streets of downtown Mobile are filled with the sights and sounds of live marching bands, brilliant-colored floats and of course teeming crowds of parade goers. The floats are glowing spectacles manned by masked riders festooned in satin and sequins, and armed with crowd-pleasing "throws" such as beads, moon pies, doubloons and candy. Mardi Gras must be experienced to be fully understood and Mobile is the perfect place.As a major holiday in parts of Europe and South America, the celebration dates back to 1703 when the tiny French colony of Mobile observed North America's first Mardi Gras. The Cowbellion de Rakin society took loudly to the streets in 1830 armed with rakes, hoes and cowbells plundered from a hardware store, and no doubt later kept the feast with whatever food and drink they had. Although they marched on New Year's Eve and not Fat Tuesday, they were a true antecedent of Mardi Gras in Mobile and the first mystic societies, which were later formed in the 1830s. Later, in 1857, the Mobile members of the Cowbellian de Rakin Society traveled to New Orleans and assisted with the formation of the Mystic Krewe of Comus, to this day New Orleans' most prestigious Mardi Gras society. From these early roots grew the wonderful Mardi Gras celebrations found today in the Port City.
The stress of the Civil War brought an end to the annual festivities in Mobile. After the war and under Union occupation, the city was disillusioned and discouraged. On the afternoon of Fat Tuesday in 1866, Joseph Stillwell Cain set out to raise the spirits of Mobile. He donned Chickasaw Indian regalia, called himself "Chief Slacabormorinico," climbed aboard a decorated coal wagon pulled by a mule and held a one-float parade through the streets of Mobile. Mardi Gras with all its frivolity was reborn!
Cain founded many of the mystic societies and built a tradition of Mardi Gras parades, which continues today. In fact, he is remembered each year on Joe Cain Day, which is the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. Known as "the people's day," Mardi Gras revelers decorate anything they can push, pull, or drag for the Joe Cain Procession and parade, which is as much fun to watch as it is to ride. Cain himself participated in each year's festivity until he died at age 72.

Friends and Neighbors.

It's Mardi Gras here in Mobile. Fat Tuesday is the 24th the next day is Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season begins. Many parades and balls and a special daily report in the paper. Fat Tuesday is even a Holiday here. Such excitement!

February Flowers

Grande under the camellia bush...digging! A delicate pear blossom.

Something that comes up every year. I don't know the name. A red camellia above. The bush that Grande was digging under.


Another view of a pear blossom grouping. These are tiny and so delicate looking. Beautiful. It was a sunny blue sky day today. Wonderful.

Morning Mist on the Bayou

In these pictures, I tried to show the heavy mist/fog that comes in low over the forest and bayou. Late at night or early in the morning is the best time to see it. After dawn is begins to leave. It is very heavy and wet to walk through and gives off an supernatural like light. The pictures show some of the out building one of the giant old oak trees, and our Southern Door Bell--the pig.