We have so much for which to be thankful. Our fall season has been delightful. Today, it will be 71 degrees. I am thankful for family, friends, and those I don't know but have the opportunity to see and sometimes develop a relationship.
The sasanquas and other camellias are such a nice blossoming green plant which I enjoy.
Compliments of GiantOmelette.org and 64 Parishes magazine - The town of Abbeville in south Louisiana celebrates each year around All Saints Day with a giant omelette. I'd say "only in Louisiana" but there are at least a half dozen other places in the world that do it in their way. Make sure you watch the videos.
The Dairy Barn overlooking Buhlow Lake in Pineville is being saved, but it is lacking an important part, that being a new red roof. Progress has been made replacing the siding, but when the contractors tried to purchase new red shingles, they found that they are no longer being manufactured. The funding is there, but no shingles.
Much progress has been made since the photo below from 2018 before the north wall was replaced.
This is the most wonderful time of the year as new growth appears. The jasmine takes on a bright green as the vines begin to grow again. The autumn fern, having stayed green throughout the winter, has new fronds which open with a beautiful copper color. Mondo stays darker green but shows that it is ready for the heat of the approaching summer. Ligularia leaves are fresh green and broaden, some to 8" or 10" in diameter. The live oak, having finally shed the old leaves, provides the shade that the plants need and we appreciate as temperatures steadily work their ways from 70s to 80s and then beyond.
All of this contributes to enjoying living life in Louisiana.
As we anticipate the coming of spring, a brief look back on the beauty of trees and gardens in backyard is refreshing.
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| Coral Bark Maple - 2/15/22 |
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| Camellias - 1/10/22 |
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| River Birch - 2/21/22 |
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| Trees at foot of yard - 1/14/22 |
Yesterday we made and enjoyed the very BEST red beans and rice we have ever tasted. That's all I'll say.
We looked forward to this small but very enjoyable trip to Ocean Springs, MS. Our last time there was in 2017 for our anniversary. We spent two nights in Ocean Springs and one night returning at the Southern Hotel in downtown Covington, LA.
Ocean Springs used to be a quiet, charming town but has become a town bustling with tourists and daytime traffic. One benefit to us is more good restaurants. We enjoyed a great dinner at Maison de Lu - a 2" thick bone in pork chop covered with a fine sauce preceded by smoked salmon for Judy, and seared salmon preceded by crab cakes and shrimp for Dave.
Of course we visited our favorite museum, the Walter Anderson Museum of Art which we have been visiting over the years since it opened in 1991. Then we visited the Shearwater Pottery which has a great history thanks to the Anderson family who have been making pottery there since 1928.
After enjoying Ocean Springs, we visited downtown Covington staying at one of our favorite hotels, The Southern Hotel. Our main focus was dinner at the Ox Lot 9 restaurant of Chef Jeffrey Hansel. We had the good fortune to be seated at the Chef's Table such that we could enjoy the activity of those preparing the fine meals.
Enjoy the photo video (best viewed on computer vs. phone)
Having lived in the southwest suburbs of Philadelphia as well as in Rochester, NY, I know what cold weather and snow and ice are. When the polar vortex visited the south, primarily Texas and Louisiana, it hit hard. With no snow removal equipment or salt or sand, we were at the hands of Mother Nature.
Family in Houston experienced the greatest impact with loss of power and water for several days during the cold. Here in Alexandria, we had almost a week of below zero temperatures, had intermittent power for a day, and lost water pressure for a few days with a boil advisory for a week.
Our house is raised, of pier on beam construction, so the pipes are exposed as they run under the house. To avoid frozen pipes which would burst and lose lots of water, we had to keep all faucets, inside and out, running for most of the week with a small stream.
On Sunday night, Valentines Day, it started sleeting and snowing. Then we had a good bit of icy rain. It was dangerous to go outside with risk of falling. I have heard many stories of friends who tried. I wanted to take some pictures of the early mess, but I didn't dare go out until Wednesday. The sun was doing its best to melt some snow and ice.
With a couple of poles in hand to help balance, I made it to the street. But no camera. Water was rushing down the middle of the street, probably 4 or 5 inches deep with numerous "ice bergs" floating along. I did some breaking of the snowy ice along the curb. It was probably an inch or two thick with several inches of water below. Finally the streets were clearing.
The steps leading to our front porch were coated with about 1 1/2" of ice. I used an edger to break the ice and slid the pieces down the walkway toward the driveway. Things slowly started melting.
The photos you see are from mid-week with the snow and ice, and from after the thaw when temperatures got back to normal in the 60s and low 70s. Our gardens are planted with mostly all greenery except for a few camellias which were blooming nicely before the freeze. There is much lost which will take awhile to grow back or be replaced. Nurseries down in Forest Hill southwest of here were hit extremely hard with greenhouses caving in and plants in the open being frozen.
So far, 2021 hasn't seen much change since 2020. But we received our 2nd vaccination yesterday, so in a few weeks some freedom will come. We plan to just gradually re-enter the social world. We don't need hugs and will use a mask and social distancing until many more are vaccinated.
The photos don't look like much of a storm, but it shut down the area for much of the week.
(select images to enlarge)
Back Yard:
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| Back patio and stone paths |
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| Back of house on right, looking toward sun room |
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| Looking toward back brick fence |
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| Camelia in bloom |
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| Along street after water and ice cleared |
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| Frozen Ligularia, normally green, now brown |
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| Japanese Holly Ferns and Liriope under Live Oak |
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| Frozen Ligualaria in front of Liriope and Autumn Fern |
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| Liriope in front of Jasmine under Live Oak |
I enjoyed making over 500 crosses last year while spending time at home during the pandemic. Check out my blog, crossesbydave.blogspot.com, to see the variety and the beauty of the plain crosses which I enjoy sharing. In ten and a half years in Louisiana, I've made over 3200 crosses; most have been given away to people in Alexandria, LA, around the country and in many other countries.
Four crosses from antique sinker cypress
Making crosses is my favorite pastime. Giving them away is even better.
So finally after four days following election day, Joe Biden has been declared the winner. He was not my candidate, but he won. What a joy it was this afternoon to watch on TV as Americans celebrated in the streets of New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and on and on. After a very difficult period leading up to the election where so many of us were against the opponent of our candidate, the American people have made a decision.
I appreciate the many advances that President Trump made for America. He did so much for our country. His approach and style were certainly not a way to bring our country together. Thank you, President Trump for what you did for us. Now it is time to give those with different beliefs and approaches to governing a chance.
I say again, the exciting thing for me today was seeing Americans celebrating in the streets, peacefully. We can and should come together, accepting the views of those in the other party and acting as statesmen to work toward what is best for the American people.
We can, we should, we must! God bless our leaders and God bless America.
The cabin had a grand covered open air porch where I enjoyed some wood carving, reading, and an occasional nap in a rocker. We both did a lot of reading and never turned on the TV for the entire trip. We played Chicken Foot Dominos in the evenings.
On Saturday, 4/21/2018, our Kiwanis Club held its 24th Annual Crawfish Boil and Raffle, serving almost 3000 lbs. of crawfish. It was a great time. As you watch this video, I'm the guy behind the camera. I worked the beverage table and took the photos. All you can eat crawfish, beer or wine or soft drinks, and a raffle with 5 winners from $500 to $10,000. Tickets were only $100 which admitted two. It was quite an afternoon, raising funds to benefit our Kiwanis Camp and youth projects. |
| Introduction by Judy Curry, (l) Matthew Dunn, (r) Jim Leggett |
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| USS Safeguard (ARS-25) |
As the week unfolded and I learned that so many unfortunate guests would be arriving, I decided to make some crosses. Usually it takes me quite awhile to make a "batch" of crosses, but I eliminated some time consuming steps at the end of the process - staining and two coats of polyurethane with fine sanding in between coats. I figured that the raw wood crosses, in this case heart pine (from the heart) would be very meaningful to those whose homes had flooded and lost so many possessions. So after assembling and sanding smooth the surfaces, and then carving all of the corners, I had 96 beautiful crosses to share with those who were displaced.
