Nature Notes
by Bob Thomas

November and December are the months of amnesty in south Louisiana. To be clear, my dislike for the most aggressive alien invader of our woodlands, Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera, formerly called Sapium sebiferum), sometimes called chicken (they allegedly love tallow seeds) or popcorn (the white seeds look like popcorn) tree, transforms into a period of appreciation for the aesthetic beauty shown by the species’ broad spectrum of colors in its fall foliage.

Delta Journal
by Bob Thomas

Ever find an attractive sheen of rainbow colors on the surface of the water? Such sheens are not uncommon in coastal Louisiana, but they may derive from very different sources.