Trekking upon this 10-foot remnant of an ancient giant in the Bodcau Swamp, I remembered many decades ago motoring into the Upper Flat of the Atchafalaya Basin. There I found a shallow lake filled with broad grey pillars standing six feet above the water, each notched to position springboards for the cypress loggers and their crosscut saws. No doubt, prior to logging, the Upper Flat would have had a total cypress canopy and possessed a beauty beyond description.

North Louisiana was more fortunate than South Louisiana in retaining its old-growth cypress. Attached is a scan of an old 35mm transparency of the shoreline of old-growth cypress that was my front yard view when growing up in North Louisiana.

http://www.pbase.com/fredrcox/image/142900579