Another view taken in New Orleans?EUR??,,????'?????<Photos courtesy of Coleen Perilloux Landry.

Things didn?EUR??,,????'?????<

The grand trees, many of them 500 years or more old, sat with their roots in water for weeks. Some experts predicted that large numbers would succumb to the effects of flooding and the toxic stew of gasoline, sewage and salt water that accompanied the storm surge.

A little over a month later, the oaks?EUR??,,????'?????<

Coleen Perilloux Landry is the only human member of the New Orleans Live Oak Society. According to the club?EUR??,,????'?????<

From Coleen Perilloux Landry in New Orleans:

My house is drying out. A foot of water can do a lot of damage, especially if you can’t get to it for five days. Mold and mildew take over. My perfume is “Eau de Clorox” these days.

I was in City Park today (Oct. 3) and was like Alice in Wonderland because I was the only person in all of the park. A little dangerous, I know, but I was very aware of my surroundings. I spent most of my time looking for two swan parents and the 5-month-old cygnets which I still have not found.

Overall, considering that many of the oaks sat in water for two weeks, I think they are doing quite well. They all received a severe pruning except for the groves where they were close together and protected one another, sort of like a buffer from the hurricane winds.

I have not been to St. Bernard Parish or Plaquemines Parish but it is my bet that the only things left standing are the live oaks. The Quercus virginiana seems to defy hurricanes.

In Jefferson Parish, next to Orleans Parish, tree survived also. The big oaks lost a few branches, like a pruning, but did not topple over. Some of the smaller oaks, perhaps those 5-10 years old were uprooted. The ancient oaks stood their ground.

Some of them are already putting on flushes of new leaves. I hope the powers that be do not come in with bulldozers for cleanup. Without the live oaks our landscape would be very ugly indeed.