On Saturday, my daughter organized a celebration of her birthday to be at The Batture. I had not heard of this place and, frankly, have had a hard time remembering the name. Have you ever heard the term?
My research turned up this description: “Batture refers to the alluvial land between the low-tide of the Mississippi and the levee. The word “batture” comes from the French word “to beat,” referring to the land “beaten” by the river. It is a land formed by accretion; as the mighty Mississippi moves on her way to the Gulf of Mexico, she leaves behind deposits of land which, over time, form the batture. Heavy flooding can cause the batture to increase significantly in a matter of a few years. Maps from the 19th century show that the batture doubled in size in less than a hundred years.” (The Law Library of Louisiana)
This space which makes up a 10-acre tract of land has been claimed and cleaned up for a park. It’s amazing, really. Clean! There were people working constantly to clean up after messy guests. (Our grandchildren)
Open space for active children to fly kites, toss balls, play soccer, dig in sand, a natural playground.
Food Trucks! We ate a yummy burger and Brussels sprouts from Bub’s. Grant, my son-in-law, stood in line for more than an hour to get the very last tray of crawfish.
Industrial, modern design along with a small petting zoo, fresh gardens, and colorful Adirondack chairs.
“Front porch of the Mississippi”
I think my daughter chose it because she could have grown-up time talking with her friends while her children played and ate their first snoballs of the season. My favorite part was Sammy snuggles. He’s my youngest grandson (7 months) who still loves to be held.
What new places are you ready to explore this spring?
Reflections on the Teche 
Part of the fun of SOL- “visiting” new places!
Glorious family fotos & a new site-specific word! Plus, your lovely words. Margaret, What joy will you bring us next?
That’s such a wonderful testament to her values to want to have her birthday in this space that has been designated to preserve clean earth for future generations. Happy birthday to your daughter, and thanks for teaching us something about the landscape of Louisiana today. Snowball cheers!
Batture is a new word for me, I’d love to visit it when I can. It looks to be an inviting space to spend an afternoon.
Hi, Margaret. I loved hearing the background of this unfamiliar word. This place sounds amazing…perfect for families and fun. Your post prompts thoughts of where I want to visit this Spring.
Margaret, this sounds like an amazing place to have a gathering where kids can be noisy and adults can enjoy delicious treats. It sounds to me like your daughter knows that being together is the real gift!
Sounds and looks like a great place for a birthday. I can feel Stella’s free spirit in your photo. She’s growing quickly and so is your adorable grandson, Sammy! He definitely looks like a snuggler. Glad you had a fun day with your family. Thank you for sharing photos of your grands!
This is a new word for me too, and I enjoyed learning about it. It sounds like a lovely day of celebration with your family.
Wise choice on your daughter’s part! Having a place everyone can enjoy takes some planning and insight. Also, I really can’t do much to respond to your post because I’m totally flabbergasted by all that green grass and summer clothing! It was less than 10˚F this morning here, and the ground is fully covered by snow.
I love when I learn something new! I have not heard of that term before. Open spaces are hard to find here, especially for children to play. Sounds like a wonderful day!
Teaching us a new geographic term and describing sweet family time- a winning combination! I used to teach second graders vocabulary for geographical features and that made me realize how many there are, and how they teach you about the interactions between land and water. Thank you for “batture!”
Margaret, what fun. I learned so much from your post. “Always a teacher, always a learner” is true about you. Thanks for sharing. The link you shared for their webpage really made it concrete for me.