Today's Adventure

Yesterday my sister told me she had dug up 12 or 15 Redbud trees for me and said she would bring them out to me and help me plant them.  I asked her to come on and have lunch with us.  We got the trees set out before lunch.

Remember me blogging about the timber company cutting their trees behind our house?  They left this little stand of pines where an old cemetery is located.  I have been wanting to walk up there exploring and today was the day, because Helen likes to explore as well as I do.  Today the weather was perfect for being outside.

She is exclaiming about these Cedar trees they cut, but didn't harvest.

The terrain was very rough and we had to pick our way and rest a bit now and then.  Helen is 81 but spry as can be!

We are almost there and see that there has been a fence around it but it is down in places.

I tried to make a picture of all the grave markers except the ones that were just marked with native stones.

This man was well known and I remember my Dad speaking of him often.  Looks like he lived to age 95!

Many of the markers have Masonic emblems on them.

A deer hunting club has some of the land leased for hunting and we saw lots of deer tracks in the area.

Helen is trying to read one of the markers.

You can see our house and storage building from the top of the hill.  For the trip back, we took a dim road made by the equipment and instead of going straight home, we went the long way around and made a side trip to find a pond that Jeep had told me about.

It may seem strange to some, but we had a good time exploring close to home.

Going to HamFest

Each year in January or February there is a HamFest in Jackson, MS for Amateur Radio Operators. It happened today and we left at daybreak to attend.

It was a very beautiful daybreak as the sun touched the purple/gray clouds with shades of orange.

About 20 miles from home we saw two deer at the edge of a field.

We stopped at quickly as possible, and when they saw us they scampered away.

  St. Dominic's Hospital is one of the first things you see going into Jackson from the north.

Jeep and his good 'HAM' buddy are sharing a little fun!

Here's an idea of what it looks like at HamFest.

Tables are set up all over for people to display  equipment, etc. they want to sell.

There are a few tables of things that appeal to the ladies.

Dorothy and Jeep

Jeep bought a tag with his radio call sign for the front of the van.

By noon we were tired of HamFest and met Jeff and Cheryl at the Cracker Barrel for lunch.  Can you tell that Jeff is a 'chip off the old block'?

We drove down I-55 this morning, but came home via the scenic Natchez Trace Parkway.

This was made as we came through French Camp.  I like the split rail fence.

They have all kinds of ancient farm equipment in the yards around some of the log buildings.  I should mention the the Council House Restaurant here is a wonderful, rustic place to eat!!!  We had a very nice day and always enjoy seeing the people we know and meeting new ones.  Now we are ready to call it a day!

Backyard Birds

The Goldfinch is a favorite, and by Spring he will be a brilliant yellow.

We saw our first Robins yesterday!  Can Spring be far away???

I rarely see the Brown-headed Nuthatches, but caught this one a few days ago.

Bird on a Wire.  Well, it's a cord holding the sock full of thistle seed that they like so well.

A few Doves come around and eat the seed that fall to the ground.

I think this is a Chipping Sparrow.  

Another Goldfinch, just because they are so cute!

Female Cardinal waiting her turn at the feeder as the rain fell this morning.

School Days

This is an old picture made in front of Bellefontaine School, Bellefontaine, MS  about 1943.  This is the first and second grade students.  Jeep is the third boy from the left and I am the fifth girl from the left.  It was about this year that Jeep started 'claiming' me as his girl friend.

The sixth girl from the left is my best friend, Billie.  We started playing together on our first day at school and remain good friends today. 

Our sweet teacher was Miss Clytee Burton.  She later became Mrs. Curry when she married her sweetheart, who sometimes flew over the school at recess and did aerial acrobatics to get her attention. 

There were two and sometimes three grades in one classroom.  Although I'm one year older than Jeep, we were in the same classroom at this time.  The teacher encouraged us to get up before the class and one day Jeep and I got up and sang "Phillipino Baby"!  Thinking back, I know Jeep was doing most of the singing!!

Those were happy, carefree days!  We could bring a sack lunch or eat at the small lunchroom, which was a seperate little building.  We had long play periods (recess) at mid-morning and in the afternoon.  I remember the great see-saws,  a flying-jenny,  and teeter boards, which were placed across a mound of dirt in order to send our partner up in the air.  There were a few mishaps, but you haven't lived until you have had the thrill of playing on the teeter board!

When we DID have a mishap, we went to see Dr. Arnold, who had a tiny office at the edge of the campus.  I had a bad fall onto the pavement when I disobeyed and climbed up and walked around a concrete support on the porch.  I had to be taken to see Dr. Arnold, who patched me up.  There was no way to send me home, so the teacher took the children's coats and made a bed for me on one of the tables.  I still have a few scars from that fall.

 We also enjoyed getting to spend our nickels and dimes at the store, which was just acorss the road from the school.  We were not allowed to cross the road but we could stay on campus and call the store attendant and she would walk across the road with a few miscellaneous candy bars, gum, etc. for us to choose from.  I can still hear the chorus of our childish voices calling, MISS IVEE., MISS IVEE!!!