Derenda Grubb

It was not ashes, but tons and hundreds of thousands of tons of timber loss resulting from Hurricane Rita.

These stacks of timber were waiting to be shipped out and converted to various by products such as bags of mulch. It seemed to make us feel better to know that our beloved trees were not going to be totally lost forever. They would in some way find a new life. There were other stories of "another life" for our beloved trees as well, but that would be another blog.

This blog pertains to the land that you see inundated with timber, all on a beautiful location immediately off Prien Lake near the I-210 Bridge. This area has now been refurbished into the lovely Prien Lake Park that you see here. Camera and clouds did not provide the photo quality I had hoped to provide. Perhaps by next week...

The Public Park, operated by the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, is now officially open to the public with multiple pavilion facilities accessible for parties, weddings, etc at a small fee.

To celebrate the Grand Opening of OUR new park we will be attending Movies Under the Stars each Friday for the next month free of charge.

Attendees can bring their blankets or lawn chairs and picnics or purchase food from O'Charley's Restaurant on site. Once comfortable the movie will start at 7:00 PM. Over the Hedge (children's choice) Grease, and Singing in the Rain. Sounds like a great way to relax and forget the problems of today. Drop in to see us.

The 12 day annual Contraband Days festival will be held in Lake Charles the first two weeks of May, 2008! These photos of previous years are courtesy of the Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Click here to see more and larger photos of Contraband Days and other scenes of Lake Charles.

This year marks the 51st anniversary of this festival that brings in 100,000 people by land and air.

The name and theme of the festival are based on the legend that Jean Lafitte & his band of buccaneers hid along the waterways in Lake Charles and that the Contraband Bayou (worth a boat ride to see the beautiful homes) was the famous pirates favorite local place to hide his silver and gold treasures.

There are approximately 100 activities associated with the festival...The Tour Lafitte, family nights, numerous concerts and the Contraband Days run are just a few.

The afternoon that the pirates take over is the official kick off and always a fun event as the city is overpowered by The Buccanners.

This popular festival has received many accolades. The Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals has selected Contraband Days as "Festival of the Year" by the for three of the past seven years. It has been featured in Louisiana Life and Southern Living i as well as many regional tourism guides.

This is the introduction to what will be an ongoing series, Here, and on Derenda.com, I introduce visitors to the beauty of Southwest Louisiana. This is familiar territory for me! One of the many joys of my teaching career and as the sponsor of the W. W. Lewis Middle School Science Club, was to introduce students to nature. What an outdoor classroom I had then and still enjoy today. In a separate post, the ravages suffered during hurricane Rita will be discussed. For now, the most important thing to say is that the Creole Nature Trail has been reopened. I was pleased to have been in attendance and even more pleased to bring you these photos.

Sulphur is less than 30 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico and is considered the Gateway to the All American Creole Nature Trail for which I willl dedicate a yet-to-be determined number of blogs. For now, know that this National scenic byway should be put on your "must visit" list. And, if you are a birder...well, you probably already know about the sanctuaries provided by the cheniers.

Most of these photos are courtesy of the Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors's Bureau as well as several talented photographers. To see the proper attribution, simply hover over each photo. While that satisfies the attribution requirments, I want to go a step further and recognize the photographers. Toby Armstrong, Jim Dunn, Don Elfert, Victor Monsour of Monsour's Photography, Peter O'Carroll.

There will be times when my commentary will be minimal and times when I will tell a story, or give kudos to those who contribute to making Southwest Louisiana a better place. These "beauty blogs" will be interspersed with my other post that focus on my real estate listings (also beautiful!), general economic conditions (looking good!), and market reports (favorable) you may have already noticed.

Of course, if you are moving here and want a first hand tour, give me a call. Sure, I'll show you real estate in Lake Charles and throughout Southwest Louisiana. And, I'll welcome you to my world.

Louisiana is experiencing a far different labor atmosphere than much of the nation.

Where other areas may be experiencing layoffs, we have a shortage of skilled labor and are in a hiring/labor-luring war with Southeast Texas for technical and industrial labor force, as discussed in length on the front page of the American Press Sunday, March 23, 2008.

The Lake Charles area is in need of everything from engineers for the expanding and new industries, aeronautical technical skills, carpenters, mechanics, and on and on.

If you have a skill, you can find work in Southwest Louisiana. While the pay scale may not be the same that you have been paid as you are accustomed to, the cost of living, including property taxes, will probably be far less meaning you may well retain larger portion of your salary in our area.

Plus, today's news announced that the average income in Louisiana had increased by 10.5% over 2007. While some would argue that some of this is due to Road Home funds, the strength and promise of the diversified economy in Lake Charles and all of Southwest Louisiana is such that I feel our future is bright. This is an easy prediction to make with links to articles such as this site selection on-line article.

And, of course, we offer a keen quality of life. In fact, the LT. Governor's office has named Lake Charles as a certified retirement community.

Lots of work and lots to do in Southwest Louisiana.

Come join us.

Based on the previous 12 month approach as outlined in this article found on Realtor.org, I researched data from the MLS system of the Southwest Louisiana Association of REALTORS to produce this absorption rate chart. Please note that this chart reflects all price ranges.

With the exception of MLS area 80, which is Sulphur, the areas listed are in Lake Charles. Because this is a new offering, bear with me as I create these charts. For now, I'm detaling the 5 most active areas as defined by 2008 sales activity. Areas like Moss Bluff will be included soon.

For more specific information relative to your area and price range or other paramaters, give me a call.

Lots to Blog about from Southwest Louisiana....