Watching the Parade from the Potato Patch

 I was planting potatoes on a beautiful Monday morning.  It was Lundi Gras.  That means "Fat Monday," the day before Mardi Gras.  The revelers were making the most of it.  As I was planting, I heard the French music playing in the distance.  The heifers, LuLu and Elsie, lifted their tails and ran across the pasture at break-neck speed.  They must have been scared.  The craziness surrounding Mardi Gras sometimes scares me too!

The police escorted the floats across LA 26, a state highway near our land.  They blocked off north and south traffic to give the floats a chance to cross.  I should have counted the floats.  It was more than 20, for sure.  The floats aren't typical floats like you see in the parades in New Orleans.  This is Cajun Mardi Gras.  It is more of a country celebration.  The floats are made of old school buses that have been altered and painted or a gooseneck trailer that has been transformed into an Acadian house.  They are very creative and I know a lot of time and money goes into this.  There are celebrations each of the preceding weekends, so it's not just one day.  The revelers are very committed to their cause.

The guy pulling this float is a neighbor that lives down the road.  We purchased all our square bales from his grandpa.  His grandfather is now deceased, but we continue to purchase from the daughter, who runs the operation now.

Most of the floats have barbeque pits on them.  They were smoking and I could smell the BBQ.  It made me hungry!

Most of the floats were flying American flags, Mardi Gras flags, and Louisiana flags.  Many flew the Acadiana flag.  You can see it below - the red white and blue one.  It was created in 1965 at USL. The gold star in the field of white represents Acadian exiles in America.  The fleurs de lis against a background of blue stands for the French heritage of the Cajuns.  Finally, the gold castle against a background of red represents Spanish colonial rule of Louisiana.  That's when the Cajuns arrived. 

Their parade route is long and goes all throughout the country.  They were eating and drinking and listening to (loud) music.

Many of the floats also have Port-A-Potty's on them.  Some call them K - John's.  Get it?

Let the Good Times Roll.  Literally...

If you look at all the cars backed up and stopped on LA 26 while the floats cross the road, that's the closest thing you'll see to a traffic jam out in my neck of the woods.

The house of crazy Cajuns, indeed.

And finally, the parade was over.

The French music faded into the distance as the parade snaked its way into the distance.  And I went back to planting potatoes.