More on Avery Island, and here in Benson

Before going back to Avery Island, let’s catch up on a few things.
1. The rat is gone. The exterminator’s trap finally worked, catching a very small rodent during the night Friday. I’m not at all certain it’s the same rat because he was so small, and activity had seemed to stop after our neighbor put gopher bait in the hole. However, the exterminator’s efforts will be rewarded, and we at least have rid ourselves of one rodent!
2. The weather, she is a-changing! Just a couple of weeks ago we had a MAJOR hail storm, lasting about a half-hour. You can see hail piled up against the casita wall and on the roof. Monday we hit 90 degrees on our thermometer, and warmer is promised.
3. We have a new neighborhood bird! This is Cardinalis Sinualus, a Silver Cardinal.
















He looks a lot different from Cardinalis Cardinalis, the Northern Cardinal we saw at Lake Whitney in Texas!
Now, back to Avery Island. Last time we mentioned an egret nesting site, part of what they call Jungle Island.

As you can see, Jungle Island has some other residents.







































When we visited, the nesting was in full swing.



























There is also the Asian Garden.

Through these portals lie some beautiful sights, such as this lady on a bridge.











Just past this stone elephant is a temple, housing a 12th century Buddha.






A sign tells this story:
“This Buddha was built for the Shonfa Temple located northeast of Peking, by the order of Emperor Hui-Tsung, 1101-1125. Its builder was Chon-Ha-Chin, most noted of ancient Buddha makers. The temple was looted by a rebel general who took the statue as part of his loot and sent it to New York to be sold. The statue came to the notice of two friends of E. A. McIlhenny who purchased it and sent it to him as a gift in 1936.”
Don’t you wish you had friends like that?

Stick around some more, and we’ll take you to … where? We don’t know yet, but it’ll be fun revisiting … Our Life on Wheels.