Winding Down

Red-headed Woodpecker on a snag, or wildlife tree

Quince at the grape arbor at Mt. Locust

entrance to the Jefferson College

2-10-15:  David and I visited historic Jefferson College today.  This college is supposedly where the papers were signed for Mississippi to become a state.  It's named after Thomas Jefferson and is located in Washington, MS -- just outside of Natchez.

East and West Wings

Jeff Davis attended it as a boy for a very short time. There are conflicting accounts of whether John James Audubon taught here (we know he taught at Elizabeth Female Academy down the road for a bit).  The tour guides at the college say he didn't teach at Jefferson but sent his son to school here.

there are some wonderful -- and steep -- trails on the grounds

I love trails that have good signage for their trees and plants

muscadine vines

clock reel

Inside the old dorm, which is now a visitor center, is a wonderful old clock reel. These were used to measure yarn.

then there is the old spinning wheel

Above are a few pix from inside the visitor center.

this one is about Mt. Locust

Just finished this Nevada Barr book which took place at Mt. Locust.  She was actually a ranger there for a couple of years and wrote this and Deep South which both took place on the Natchez Trace.  All of her books (fiction) are centered around Anna Pigeon, a Park Ranger, and take place in National Parks across the country.

Loved seeing this post on FB today of my Uncle Norman and Cousin Jim

Henbit

2-12-15:  David, Rocky, and I drove up to Jackson, MS today to pick up my smartcard.  Ok, I know that is some sort of irony.  Not far from Mt. Locust on the Natchez Trace, we saw a beautiful, healthy looking coyote dart across the road in front of us. We've heard them while there, but this is the first we've seen. We also saw lots of pastures with the above flower growing all through them.  It was hard to identify just driving by.  So when we stopped at the Battlefield at Raymond on the way back I was able to get some closups.

Henbit -- not exactly something farmers like in the fields, but pretty to look at

found the home of the Mississippi Braves

We enjoyed the drive back home and took part of the Grand Gulf Byway.  Really a pretty drive with several pecan groves.  Trees along the way are leafing out. Spring is right around the corner!

Battle of Raymond

small battlefield at Raymond, MS

Chamberlain Road

2-14-15:  David and I had a Valentine's Day lunch at Cotton Alley Cafe and took an afternoon drive down Chamberlain Rd.  Many parts of the road looked like they'd just been carved out of loess bluffs. Would've hated to meet someone because one of us would have had to just back down the road.  One of the big treats today was seeing a huge red-tailed hawk on the Trace with his "landing gear" down.  Beautiful site, but no camera.

but we did meet Ranger Rick and his dog, JR

When we got home, I walked around MOLO and tried to id the trees on their map of the grounds.

the Jonquils are everywhere

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Quince beside the grape arbor

Trillium -- would love to see this bloom

Yellow Poplar or Tulip Poplar

One tree I've not ever seen is the Yellow Poplar or Tuliptree.  I'm used to a smaller Tuliptree which has gorgeous purple "tulips" and is in the white poplar family.  This Yellow Poplar is majestically tall and is supposed to have yellow blooms.  Can't wait to see pix from Ranger Jacob after we leave!

2-16-15:  Wow!  Just when we thought spring was arriving, the temp dropped from 66 to 39 between 1:30 and 2:30 pm today!  The Trace is closed due to ice from Tupelo on north.

see the rectangular holes the pileated woodpecker created?

2-19-15:  We had a new visitor behind the camper today!  A pileated discovered the tree that is marked to be taken down.  We drove up and it was hammering away on it.  But as soon as I shut the truck door it flew away.  (it has returned a couple of more times, but no pix)

2-21-15:  David and I finally had a movie date! We haven't been since the big fight in our theater in Wichita.  Today we went to see American Sniper.

2-24-15:  Brrrr!  Winterness!!

3-1-15:  Our Edith had to be admitted to the hospital today for a broken back.  She fell in the dining room from those stupid chairs with the wheels rolling out from under her.  Uggggh!

3-5-15:  Well, the icy mix has finally hit the southern terminus of the Trace! I actually posted the wonderful pix that David took on my last blog under Feb 5.  I'll fix that one of these days.

this was the site of one of William Johnson's barber shops and is now the African American museum in a former post office

the ceiling and balcony of the historic bldg that houses Darby's

3-6-15:  Knowing that we will be leaving this gig a little early so we can help Edith once she gets out of rehab, we decided to hit a couple of places in Natchez that have been on our list.  First of all, we went to Darby's for some wonderful fudge for us and for her! Yum, yum, yum.  If ever you're in Natchez, this is a must!

Then we went over to Old South Winery to try their muscadine wine.  I'm so trying to like wine for health purposes.  Just can't seem to acquire a taste for it. But we did some taste tests and found a pretty mild red one that I could choke down called Miss Scarlet.  David chose Blue Bayou, a white one.

I was more intrigued with their freshly pruned muscadine vines!

river cane along one of the creeks on the Trace

more river cane -- stayed green through the winter

Rocky and I took a stroll through the pasture in front of Mt. Locust this afternoon.  There is one lone bail of hay left and Rocky explored it bottom to top!  Hey Andrew and Asher: Rocky says "HAY!"

Amazing book -- great movie, too

Finished the above book.  I highly recommend it. Just had to shake my head......and cry a little.  Hard to fathom.

calling in the other parent

can you see the other eagle coming in for changing of the guards?

3-8-15:  I've been keeping up with the Hanover, PA eagles' nest cam online.  So fascinating.  They are incubating 2 eggs.  This is parenting at its best!  One parent stays on the nest all day while the other is out hunting.  Changing of the guards occurs in the evening. It's a little hard to know for sure with the cam angle, but it looks to me like mom (the bigger one) is the one on the nest at night.

a little snow doesn't stop these parents

devotion

Isn't nature grand????

3-9-15:  Today is our last day of work at Mt. Locust.  We have totally loved it here!  We've learned so much interesting southern history (and some of it was not pretty), became acquainted with some new-to-us nature, found out that the NPS and Ranger Jacob treat their volunteers like royalty, and that, no matter how slowly the deep south folks move (and they do move slowly), they are sweet as pie!!

check out this bad boy, as Jacob calls it

Ranger Jacob set it up for us tonite to do a little stargazing

Jacob using the remote to aim the scope

 Got in some stargazing tonight with the newly acquired telescope that Melrose is sharing with Mt Locust.  We learned a little about the scope and a lot about the star locations.  A recent visitor suggested that we use an app called Star Chart.  So we loaded that and it really gave us direction on what we were looking at!  Thanks, Ranger Jacob, for the wonderful night with the stars!!

White or Alcoholic Flux occurs after a rain from wounds in a tree

some of the trees have watering holes for the birds

you can find boiled eggs at POS at convenience stores

evidently, "Lips and Chips" (as in potato chips)  is a deep south snack

these are everywhere you turn at Walmart

David and I tried these:  NASTY!! and STANKY!!

after a few days of trying to find out which family member "Annie" was, we learned she was a volunteer's dog

and there's this -- found at Mt Locust -- thinking it's not a wild bunny

a hint for the hubs

gold and white? or black and blue?  

ok, not Mississippi and not quirky, but mighty cool!

Above are a few last minute quirky Mississippi pix!

3-10-15:  Today we are hitting the road and heading to Texarkana.  Sad to leave, but we know we are needed at home right now.  And feeling blessed that we are able to go.

Much Love from the Trace,

Galileo, Anna Pigeon, and Raymond