Country Roads Lagniappe

This is a continuation of a day trip my husband and I recently made to Columbia, Mississippi, which is located in the south central part of the state. If you missed the first part of the story and would like to read it before you read this post, you can click on the following link: A Place Called Columbia, Mississippi. It was a gorgeous sunshiny day, and we traveled the back roads from Vicksburg, which took us through several small towns and communities in rural Mississippi. I would like to share a few of the pictures I captured along our journey of things and places you typically see when you explore off the beaten path of the interstate highways and travel the back roads. As you enter the city limits of a small town or community, you'll usually see a welcome sign beside the road and a water tower in the distance. I love photographing water towers, especially old ones, but the Newhebron tower was bright and colorful against the brilliant blue sky and we went in search of it to get a closer look. On our way to the tower, we passed the Newhebron United Methodist Church. Isn't it pretty! If you have the time to get off the highway and explore these little towns, there is a very good chance that you will find something of interest. This next town is Prentiss, the county seat of Jefferson Davis County (which means that a courthouse is nearby). The courthouse is usually easy to find in the center of the downtown area. As we drove around the courthouse, we came across this pretty little house still decked out in its Christmas finery. There was a sign in the yard identifying it as the Dumas House, ca 1906 ... Sawmills are a familiar sight along the rural highways in south central Mississippi, and we passed this one near Georgetown, on MS Highway 28 ... Water is sprayed over the logs to keep them from drying out and splitting, and also makes the logs easier to cut. This makes for interesting pictures on icy winter days. Old barns always catch my eye, and I spotted this one not too far from the sawmill ... It looks as if it would have fallen over a long time ago if it wasn't wedged between those trees ... For some reason, this old horse trailer was calling out to me, and I captured it with my zoom lens from the highway. We passed this next bit of lagniappe, if you can call it that, on Hwy. 27 between Georgetown and Crystal Springs. This supports my theory that you never know what you're going to find when you travel the back roads. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like. When I first saw the signs, I thought they were inspirational messages, but as I got closer to photograph them I realized that they weren't quite what I was expecting. This sign was my favorite ... While researching some of the places and things I captured in pictures during our trip, I came across a very valuable and interesting source of information &#151 Landmark Hunter &#151 a huge database of historic and notable landmarks of the United States. Categories include battle sites, courthouses, cemeteries, houses, farms, and monuments ... and even water towers, just to name a few. I was delighted to discover it and I'm sure it's going to become my favorite research site in the future, especially when planning our "off the beaten path" adventures. I love to photograph old bridges, and was excited to come across this old abandoned bridge over the Strong River on Bridgeport Road (between MS highways 28 and 478), in Simpson County. My discovery of Landmark Hunter led me to a similar website called Bridgehunter, and I found this bridge listed, but there wasn't much information available on its history. Historical, or not ... I found it fascinating. Isn't it amazing how those little pine trees are growing up through the bridge ... Not too far down the road from the bridge on the outskirts of Crystal Springs, Mississippi, we saw a billboard sign advertising Four Seasons Garden Art, and it was the last stop for the day. I hope you will join me next time for a walk-by photo tour of five acres of the most amazing outdoor gallery of garden statuary, pottery, and elegant fountains in the South. UPDATE:   I recently received a note from the mother of a girl scout named Sarah, who came across this blog story while she was researching engineering designs while working on her “Think Like an Engineer” badge.  As a special request from Sarah’s mom Michelle, I would like to pass along a link to a website she shared which features a treasure trove of information on everything you would ever want to know about bridges, including the history of bridges, construction and types of bridges, and even includes stories about famous bridges from all over the world.  If you have an interest in bridges … or even if you don’t … I think you will find the website fascinating.  I hope you will check it out for yourself!  [September 14, 2020] History of Bridges  April 14, 2022 – Post Script: I received a note today from a library media specialist in Maine (I'll refer to her as "Mrs. G" for privacy) who thanked me for the information on bridges included in this post. Her library is hosting a "Future Engineers" workshop this month, and the link about bridges I shared in my post was instrumental in leading her students to some beneficial sites in their research. One of her student volunteers, Amanda, came across a website she was excited to share with me. Amanda's father is a civil engineer, and the following link is to a page featuring the architecture and engineering designs of bridges:  https://alansfactoryoutlet.com/the-architecture-and-building-of-bridges/ I appreciate Mrs. G sharing Amanda's contribution to their project with me, and I'm pleased to add it to this post. I'm sure other readers interested in the history of the design and construction of bridges will enjoy the article. And thank YOU, Amanda, for your interest and enthusiasm in your project and for sharing your research. You are indeed an inspiration!

An "Off the Beaten Path" Adventure

I haven't had time to go on many photo shoots recently, but a couple of days ago I left Vicksburg, driving East on Old Highway 80, and had a very pleasant morning just "looking for pictures waiting to be taken." I found several on Highway 80, but, unfortunately, had to leave them there because traffic conditions prevented me from stopping on the side of the road to capture them. Needless to say, that soon became very frustrating, so when I reached the small village of Bovina, Mississippi, I veered off the beaten path to explore the back roads of Warren County — and I wasn't disappointed by what I found. I am always inspired to see that the spirit of patriotism can be found just about anywhere ... This old country store is at a crossroads, and I would have loved to have gone inside, but thought better of it. I took these pictures from my car, and while editing the pictures, I found several things I would have liked to have gotten a closer look at (you can click on the picture, if you'd like to get a closer look, too) ... I always loved the old Bovina water tower, and captured this picture of it back in January of 2009. That old tower is long gone now, torn down in the name of "progress," and replaced with a bright, shiny new blue tower. Progress is a good thing, I guess, but, in some cases, it surely isn't as picturesque. And speaking of picturesque ... you probably don't think of a muddy creek or river as being pretty, but, as I crossed a bridge over this muddy river, I could see beauty in the contrast of the blue sky and the starkness of the trees along the water's edge, and in the swift current of the river's muddy waters. It was a very peaceful moment as I stopped to snap the picture, and listened to the wind in the trees and the sound of the river moving under the bridge. Some of you may recall this picture of two blue chairs which I captured in May 2009 ... I came across the chairs again on my latest adventure, and here they are as they look now ... Not quite as inviting in January, but I think they still make an interesting picture. Here's another picture I took that same day in May 2009 ... I was glad to see that old chimney still standing ... Just a few yards up the road from the chimney, I happened to notice this old rail car sitting way back off the road, almost hidden in a wooded area on the edge of a pasture (I took these pictures using my zoom lens, and you can click on them to enlarge them and get a closer look) ... I took those pictures from my car, and as I was sitting there on the side of the road, the owner of the property pulled out of his driveway and stopped beside my car when he saw me taking pictures. I explained what I was doing, and he very graciously told me that his father had been a vice president with Illinois Central Railroad, and had bought the rail car many, many years ago. I wish I could have asked more questions about its history, but he was stopped in the middle of the road and I didn't want to keep him. I was delighted to capture the train car, but as I passed by the owner's house ... I noticed this old family cemetery sitting on a hill next to the house ... I'm going to save its story for next time, and hope you will join me to find out what I discovered about it.

Fencerows and Wildflowers

This is a continuation of my recent photo shoot along some of the country roads near Vicksburg. My first story featured a visit with some delightful Jerusalem Donkeys that were grazing near the frontage road along I-20, between Vicksburg and Jackson. If you would like to read that post, you can click on the link.

After I left the donkeys, my attention was drawn to the colorful fencerows which were covered by tangled masses of Trumpet Vines and all kinds of wild berry vines. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you would like to get a closer look ...

The colorful red and gold leaves reminded me that Fall is just around the corner.

I enjoy photographing trumpet vines, and always find something new and interesting about them.

I love the way the sun filtered through the petals of the large trumpet in the center of this picture ...

The sunlight was filtering through the leaves on this row of trees, too, and I did a double take as I passed by them.

There was no traffic coming, so I backed up and captured them quickly with my camera.

I pulled off the road to photograph the next fencerow. I'm not sure what the name of this plant is, but I think it's pretty.

I love the way the little tendrils curl around the stem ...

Just down the road a bit, I noticed this big guy enjoying a quiet moment in the midday shade.

I tried to get him to look at the camera, but he didn't even flinch, and rudely put me on ignore.

One of the things I love most about my photo shoots is that I almost always learn something new about the subjects I capture in my pictures, and my "fencerow" shoot was no exception.

This time I learned what these large green pods are ...

When I showed my pictures to my husband, he said he thought they were Maypops, so I checked Google images and, sure enough, I found pictures that confirmed he was right — they were, indeed, Maypop seed pods.

I was glad I had picked a couple and brought them home with me so I could see what was inside them.

And here is what I found when I cut them open:

Seeds inside the green pod ...

Seeds inside the dried pod ...

According to Wikipedia, Maypop (also known as Purple Passionflower, Wild Apricot Vine, and Wild Passion Vine) is a fast growing perennial vine with climbing or trailing stems. The Maypop has large, intricate flowers and is a common wildflower in the southern United States, found mostly in thickets, near riverbanks, and near unmowed pastures, roadsides, and railroads. It is the Tennessee State Wildflower.

The flowers are large and showy, and normally bloom in July. Here is a picture I found on the Internet of a Maypop bloom:

[Photographer: Norman G. Flaigg]

I wish I had known about Maypop vines in July — I would have loved capturing pictures of some of those gorgeous blooms.

I hope you enjoyed taking this little adventure with me. Perhaps you can get out this holiday weekend and explore the changing season for yourself. There is definitely a change in the air here in Mississippi ... and it's a good one!