AP PHOTOS: Nature's beauty along Hog Bayou
HOG BAYOU, La. (AP) - From above, Hog Bayou is a winding ribbon of silver, its water moving slowly toward wetlands and from there into the Wax Lake Delta.
Closer up, you can spot the head of a floating alligator, its length a hint of its size and age. Each inch (2.5 centimeters) between the nostrils and eye ridge indicates a foot (0.3 meters) in length, at least until a gator is about nine feet (three meters) long and its girth starts expanding.
Above, an osprey takes off from a treetop, probably hunting for fish. In between, you see a vine so strong that its embrace has created a deep spiral groove in a tree trunk.
Come closer still. See a small fiddler crab scuttling along a log; a skink´s dark and half-closed eye; a tiny green buffalo treehopper clinging, upside-down, to a leaf; a Brazilian verbena flower so small that dozens could fit on a quarter.
Think about poet William Blake´s lines, written in the early 1800s:
"To see a World in a Grain of Sand
A female broad-headed skink with a partially closed eyelid moves along the Hog Bayou, part of the Wax Lake Delta system, in St. Mary Parish, La., Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour."
The Wax Lake Outlet, right, and Wax Lake Delta, part of the Atchafalaya Basin, are seen from 8,500 feet in this aerial photo in St. Mary Parish, La., Tuesday, May 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
An Osprey takes flight from a tree along Hog Bayou, part of the Atchafalaya River Delta region, in St. Mary Parish, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A Buffalo treehopper clings to a leaf, along Hog Bayou, part of the Wax Lake Delta system, in St. Mary Parish, La., Saturday, May 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A quarter, left, is placed next to Brazilian verbena for scale, as it grows along Hog Bayou, in the Wax Lake area of the Atchafalaya River Delta region, near Franklin, La., Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Tendrils of smilax grows along Hog Bayou, in the Atchafalay River Delta region, in St. Mary Parish, La., Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Marsh thistle grows along Hog Bayou, in the Atchafalaya River Delta region, near Franklin, La., Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Spanish moss grows along Hog Bayou, in the Atchafalaya River Delta region, near in St. Mary Parish, La., Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A tree's shape is transformed over time by a vine growing around it, along Hog Bayou, part of the Wax Lake Delta system, in St. Mary Parish, La., Saturday, May 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A wild magnolia blossomed along Hog Bayou, part of the Wax Lake Delta system, in St. Mary Parish, La., in St. Mary's Parish, La., Saturday, May 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Wild lantana grows along Hog Bayou, part of the Wax Lake Delta system, in St. Mary Parish, La., Saturday, May 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A female fiddler crab walks on algae covered wood and rock, along the bank of Hog Bayou, part of the Wax Lake Delta system, in St. Mary Parish, La., Saturday, May 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
An alligator peeks out among vegetation along the bank of Hog Bayou, part of the Wax Lake Delta system, in St. Mary Parish, La., Saturday, May 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
