The River Connects Us All
Lower Mississippi River Dispatch No 334
Posted Monday, Feb 8, 2016
This River Got a Bad Case of the Blues!

Photos in this issue from a recent water quality sampling expedition by Dr. Cliff Ochs and grad student Abbi McDonald from the University of Mississippi Dept of Biology. Abbi is researching the Sunflower River as part of her graduate work at Ole Miss.
RIP Shady Cat
Shady, you were the best friend the river ever had. You came out of the alley and watched over us, the canoes and the river. We will miss you Shady! Love, all the Mighty Quapaws. PS: please send your favorite Shady Cat story to zoe@island63.com for a special Shady tribute.

February is for Friends of the Sunflower River!
Annual General Membership Meeting
Noon, Saturday, Feb 13th
Behind Quapaw Canoe Company
(in downtown Clarksdale)

10TH ANNUAL FRIENDS OF THE
SUNFLOWER RIVER
MEETING AND CLEANUP!
WHERE? Behind Quapaw Canoe Company 291 Sunflower Ave
WHEN? Saturday, Feb 13th
12pm potluck meeting -- bring a dish to share!
1pm Cleanup
WHAT? Annual membership meeting of the Friends of the Sunflower River. We'll provide the fire and the enamel eatware. You bring whatever you want to share. All welcome to attend. $25 (annual dues) This is a special year, our 10th annual meeting and 15th birthday as a group! Sunflower River Cleanup 1pm meet behind Quapaw Canoe Company (following 12noon potluck meeting). Bring gloves and trash bags and dress for the weather. Barn boots and wool socks are best for the sticky, stinky mud. Canoes or paddleboards provided Quapaw Canoe Company with paddles and life jackets, or pick up trash from the riverbank.
WHY? To love, respect and care for our lonely river, the river with the blues, the loneliest river in the Lower Mississippi Valley.

Now Available: Rivergator: Southern Louisiana

Southern Louisiana -- Mississippi and Atchafalaya River -- 26" x 36"
Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Venice, Birdsfoot Delta, Atchafalaya River
Rivergator: Paddler’s Guide to the Lower Mississippi River
Our newest map is printed on waterproof paper featuring the Mississippi River from Fort Adams through Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Venice, and the Birdsfoot Delta; and Atchafalaya River from Old River through the Atchafalaya River Basin to Morgan City, and then down through the Atchafalaya River Delta. 26" x 36" printed on 70# Yupo waterproof paper. Can be rolled or folded. Good on the river, good framed and hung on your wall! $25/each tax included. Add $10 for S&H Priority Mail.
You can order a copy of the map here:
http://www.rivergator.org/map-shop/map-shop.cfm
A new voyageur canoe is taking shape in the wood shop, and we need your help with bowls, plastic containers and your old rags. Please save for us anytime between now and June, 2016.
1) Needed: Plastic Yogurt/Cottage Cheese (or similar) Containers!
2) ALSO Needed: Rags! (For cleaning up epoxy resin. For wiping down canoes after sanding. For cleaning canoes before applying marine spar varnish)
We are going into the wood shop in and will be building several voyageur canoes this winter. We need your 2 qt (or 32 oz) plastic yogurt containers! Cottage Cheese containers would work just as well. And also any other containers or bowls about that same size for mixing epoxy resin. Your old plastic or metal bowls. Smooth edges and rounded bottoms are best for the purpose. Clean them out and bring to us in downtown Clarksdale, or box and send to Quapaw Canoe Company, 291 Sunflower Avenue, Clarksdale, MS, 38614. It will take us 4-6 months to finish these canoes. Anytime between now and June is good. Save your smooth plastic containers for us until June. Thanks! Free Mississippi River Connects Us All Poster to anyone who brings us cleaned out yogurt containers!

For more photos of the Lower Miss and more reading, go to www.rivergator.org
The Lower Mississippi River Dispatch
is a service of the Lower Mississippi River Foundation
Clarksdale, Mississippi ~ Helena, Arkansas