The Magnolia State

All kinds of fun in Mississippi!  We've done some exploring, plan to do some more, and now we're fixin' to enjoy some time with some visiting peeps!

wonderful book, Ladies!

And I've managed to squeeze in some great reading lately.....at work.  Thx for the above book, Linda Sue!  Makes me want to explore the Rockies. On a horse. In the winter.

beautiful day on the riverwalk at Bluff Park along the American Nile

our precious friends, Dee and Tom 

Tom and Dee Walker came to see us on their way to Florida.  This was one of the first couples we met and became friends with once we started fulltiming.  Met them at JCRV in January 2010.

Dee taught me to play Panties

David, me, Dee, Tom

special peeps

We showed them around Natchez a bit, took them to Mt. Locust where David gave them the grand tour, then took them to a brothel at Natchez Under the Hill for lunch. Ok, it's not a brothel any more.  It's The Camp -- a wonderful bar and grill.  We enjoyed a little walk along the MS River, then said our "cya down the road"

Red - tailed hawk near the camper

palmetto is all over the wetland areas

cool tree

trying to identify this plant on the walk down Chamberlain Rd

1-28-15: David and I took a little walk down Chamberlain Rd behind Mt. Locust. Nice and quiet except for the sounds of the birds, including the pileateds. A school bus barreling down through the tiny dirt road kinda ruined the serenity of our walk.  Oh well, transportation must go on.

my first thought was sumac, but I'm not sure

Ranger Jacob, if you happen to drive down Chamberlain Rd this spring, snap a pic of whatever may be blooming, plz!

Even Rocky seems to be enjoying David's history lesson

2-2-15:  Greg and Linda Sue arrived at Mt. Locust this afternoon on their way south for a few weeks. They, too, got the grand tour and then an early supper at the broth....uh, The Camp.

behind Mt. Locust -- see the ding a ling?

Spring is upon us ---- Linda Sue spotted the jonquils blooming by the family cemetery

So excited to have them visit with us a couple of days!  They are our fellow explorers!

2-3-15:  Picked G and L up at their hotel in Natchez this morning and headed for some more history!

Nat'l Historic Site

list of ex-slaves

shackles

Greg and Linda Sue

First stop was Forks of the Road site.  Another brutal piece of history.

deceased baby -- it was common in those days to have a portrait done when a baby died

original songbook on the original piano

selfie with Ranger Melissa at Melrose

this window was also a jib door that was used for clients coming in the owner's library/office

original baby bed at Melrose

Linda Sue looking out over the outer blgs from the 2nd floor balcony of Melrose

Then we took another tour of Melrose Estate.  Other pix of this antebellum estate on previous blogpost.

workamper, Anita, at William Johnson House

After pigging out at Pig Out Inn, we visited William Johnson House, Longwood, and the Natchez City Cemetery where many famous and infamous people from history are buried.  Free Man William Johnson was buried in the "white section" of the cemetery.

Natchez City Cemetery

Century Plant at the cemetery

Longwood Estate

unfinished due to the Civil War

floorplans

ceiling upstairs

notice the corner bricks

the plan for the unfinished shutters were to have them slide in and out of this pocket

octagonal Longwood Mansion

well-preserved for an unfinished mansion

ornate

Longwood Estate

an old loom in the carriage house

unfinished first floor

After a little walk along the riverwalk, we said our "cya's"  to Cousins Greg and Linda Sue.

2-5-15:  Snow Day in southern Mississippi! David got some great pix of the dusting of snow and ice we had on the southern end of the Trace. Loved it. (correction: this snow day was March 5)

Marlyse's grandkids finally got to use the snowman kit I made them 2 or 3 yrs ago

Texarkana had a gorgeous snow! (Remember the persimmon seed, T-town peeps?) Loved the facebook posts from their winter!

Thanks for posting the church I grew up in, Randy King

Central Christian, Texarkana, is lovely in the snow

My sil, Pam did a great job with her snowman kit! Benton, AR had a winter wonderland!

2-7-15:  David and I toured St. Catherine's Creek Nat'l Wildlife Refuge today in the hopes of seeing some of the bald eagles that nest out there.  We didn't see the eagles, but we saw a lot of other beauty!

duckweed or bayroot

Lake Gilliam had an infestation of duckweed

I called Nick, the biologist at the center there to find out about the tiny, red blooms in the waters throughout the refuge -- especially Lake Gilliam.  He said it's most likely duckweed or bayroot, while some is salvinia.  He said the hopes are that it'll be washed away with the next rains.  If not, they'll have to remove it.

We spent most of the day at the refuge.  Lots to see out there and would definitely go back.  Gotta plan that adventure around hunting season.

sure hope he's not delivering this kill to Pig Out Inn

The other day we saw an animal control truck driving through Natchez with a dead dog on its tailgate. (I had to call about that).  Today, we saw a hunter driving through downtown with a dead hog on his toolbox.

Until the next post,

William, Isabella, and Frosty