Another Daylily

From our yard.

I hate to say from "our garden." 

We don't really have a garden in the true sense of the word, 

just a few nice flowers here and there.  

And soon, some nice tomatoes!

Back Doors ~ No. 3

Hemphill, Texas

Wisteria

Since my mom has been sick and in the hospital I haven't had the opportunity to take very many pictures of late so I found this one in a folder from this past spring.  Wisteria vines grow here in wild abandon.  As a child they were one of my favorite flowers ~ until I became allergic to bees!  They seem to always be surrounded by hordes of bumblebees.  Now, mind you, I've never been stung by a bumblebee but I now keep a safe distance.  My grandmother had wisteria which covered an ugly barbed-wire fence between her back yard and the chicken coop.  It has a wonderful sweet aroma ~ which is what probably attracts all those bees!

Windows ~ No. 1

Hemphill, Texas

It only seems fair that if I have a series of back doors that I give some space to windows, so here's No. 1.

Street Scene ~ Henderson, Texas

Sparrow

I've been away from blogging the past few days due to a family illness.  I hope to visit your blogs soon so don't give up on me!

Rustique

I've always wanted to coin a new word.   I think I've found it.  Rustique:  Pertaining to the oxidation of metal caused by moisture.

Sabine County Courthouse

Constructed in 1906, the Sabine County Courthouse, a beautiful three-story red brick Beaux-Arts Structure, is located in Hemphill, surrounded by the Sabine National Forest and on the banks of Toledo Bend Reservoir.  The first county courthouse was destroyed by fire and this structure, only three years after its completion, suffered a fire which destroyed the top two floors, along with the dome and clock tower which were never replaced.  Sabine County, situated on the western bank of the Sabine River, which creates the border between Texas and Louisiana, shares the same name as its adjacent sister county, Sabine Parish, in Louisiana.  There are only three other instances in the United States where two neighboring counties with the same name share a state border.

Sabine County

This bronze bas relief is part of a marker at the Sabine County Courthouse in Hemphill, Texas.  The marker has been in place since 1936, the centennial of Texas' independence from Mexico and also the formation of Sabine County.  This area of East Texas was considered a borderland between Spain and the United States between 1803 and 1820.  After 1820, it served as an entry to many Anglo-American colonists and travelers and is named for the mighty Sabine River which forms the border between Texas and Louisiana.  This plaque commemorates many of the historic citizens of the county who were instrumental  in the formation of the Republic of Texas.  One such local hero was Captain William Scurlock who had had medical training before moving to Texas.  He served under Colonel James W. Fannin, and because of his medical knowledge his life was spared at the Massacre of Goliad when Fannin and his troops were summarily executed by General Santa Ana after having surrendered.

Back Doors ~ No. 2

Alleyway back door of a retail establishment in downtown Nacogdoches, Texas.

I love the brick and contrasting vines.

Mysterious Doorway

If anyone ever walked from the inside of this building through this doorway without paying attention to where their footsteps led them, they would tumble at least three feet to the sidewalk below.  I'm fascinated by this doorway on the side of a building in historic downtown Nacogdoches.  The wooden strip below tells me that at some point in time there must have been some steps here.  The blackened brick below tells me that at some point in time this building probably suffered a fire.  Maybe the fire burned the wooden steps.  Who knows?

Justice

A statue of the goddess Justice towers over the grave of Judge William Wright Morris (1805 - 1883) in the Henderson City Cemetery.  Born in Halifax County, North Carolina, he moved with his family to Coosa County, Alabama, in 1840 where he taught school, studied law, and was elected judge.  In 1847 he brought his mother and his widowed sister and her three children to Henderson where he practiced law and built a plantation home.  In 1854 he was elected district judge and later served as a Texas legislator and was helped promote the first railroad in East Texas.  Judge Morris remained a bachelor throughout his lifetime.

Wagon Wheel Gate

This idyllic scene is at the farm which belonged to my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Ezra, a couple of miles from our place.  They've both been gone a number of years but their farm is still maintained by their two surviving children.  My cousin Leon has a nice garden planted there, is in the process of taking down an old barn (which I've preserved in some photographs), and has upgraded several of the gates and many of the fences.  He and his wife Nancy are also in the process of refurbishing the 1929 farm house back to its original charm.   My Aunt Ruth had a wonderful soft, rather lilting voice with a beautiful Texas/Southern accent, baked a mean lemon meringue pie, and was a favorite amongst the extended family's nieces and nephews.

At the Edge of the Woods

Daylily

The summer's first daylily on our farm.

Lunch Among the Ruins

Many small towns have holes in their downtown area, reminiscent of missing teeth in a child's smile.  Often these shells have been created by fire or sometimes just neglect.  The common walls with neighboring retailers still stand but generally there is no roof or front or back walls.  This particular spot in Center has been  very ingeniously turned into a lunch spot for downtown workers or I suppose anyone who would just like the stop by complete with decorative artwork by local children along one of the side walls.  Even though the building is just a ruin, it takes on a rather romantic ambiance.

Back Doors ~ No. 1

As I've wandered through small towns in Texas (and occasionally Louisiana) I have come to realize that often back doors are more interesting than front doors.  So here is the beginning of a series called Back Doors.

 Joaquin, Texas

Population 925

Located on the west bank of the Sabine River

at the Texas/Louisiana border

Ayish Bayou Bridge

A road trip over the weekend took me to San Augustine, Texas, a short distance east of here near the Louisiana border.  San Augustine is sometimes called the Cradle of Texas Liberty and has been in a boasting match with Nacogdoches for almost two centuries over which town is the oldest in Texas.  We'll talk about some of that another day.  But since yesterday's post drew a question from Tracy about what was all the green around the old wooden bridge and my answer back to her was "Jungle!" I felt the urge to post a picture of another bridge with lush green undergrowth.  The Ayish (named for the Ais Indians) Bayou rises from deep springs in the north central part of San Augustine County.  Coahuila y Texas was united as one state in the new republic of Mexico in 1921.  Under the alcalde system, in 1824 the settlement of the Ais became a department of Bexar (pronounced BAYER) and in 1927 the settlement became the Ayish Bayou District.  Also at one time known as Fredonia, the later name of San Augustine has been the name of the area since the 1830s.  This bridge over the bayou comes into San Augustine near the railroad tracks and there is a footbridge built by the Boy Scouts down to the bayou and underneath the bridge, which just reopened last year after having been closed for a number of months for needed repairs.  I think by looking at the vegetation you can see why I call it a jungle.  I'm convinced that if the moccasins don't get you, then the skeeters and the gators will!

Dirt Road, Wooden Bridge

About three miles from our house

Doesn't this look like an ideal spot to sit on the side of the bridge, dangle your legs and drop your fishing line down into the somewhat murky waters of Naconiche (pronounced nakka-NEECH) Creek?  (For all you sissies out there, yes, I drove over the bridge!  Three times!)

Thistle Blossom

Sweet William

Sweet William growing under a fence in Keachi, Louisiana

If you Google "Sweet William" you will find images of what most people call dianthus, also known as pinks.  But in this part of the world, these fragrant clusters of purple flowers are called Sweet William.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.