Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful!

Okay, enough already! If you are like me, you're tired of all this arctic air we've been "blessed" with the last few days, and it's only the 11th day of January. Everywhere I look, I see shriveled up flowers and plants, patches of ice, and frozen fountains ... and even worse, are the stories about frozen pipes and plumbing woes.

I have to admit that I was delighted during the first few days, and took countless pictures of the ice around our waterfall and a couple of beautiful frozen fountains in Natchez. But now I'm ready for warmer temperatures (or at least our "normal" temperatures for this time of year).

I took a cold brisk walk around our yard this morning, and took a few pictures of the effects the unseasonably cold temperatures have had on our landscaping. At the time I was taking the pictures, I thought, "Oh, how drab and depressing looking," but as I edited the pictures, I realized that the shriveled and faded plants and flowers still have a certain beauty about them, in spite of the toll the cold "in-the-teens" temperatures have taken on them. (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like).

Sasanqua Bloom

It looked like this at Christmas ...

Even Harry, our blue heron looks cold, doesn't he!

In the summertime, this little girl statue is surrounding by lush green Asparagus Fern.

And speaking of "lush green Asparagus Ferns, these are painful to look at now.

Especially considering they looked like this just a few weeks ago ...

The only thing colorful in our yard right now is this urn of ornamental Kale plants, but they haven't grown any since I planted them in December.

Hopefully, my pansies and snapdragons will survive the cold snap and will start growing soon.

I'm sorry if I sound like I'm whining about a little cold weather. I know it could be a whole lot worse, and I'm truly thankful that we don't live somewhere like this ...

Wow, looking at that picture certainly puts things into perspective, and makes me appreciate being able to walk around in my yard and see my shriveled up and faded little plants.

My heart goes out to those of you whose world is covered with snow and ice all winter. I wish I could send you some of our Mississippi sunshine. It's supposed to be plentiful today.

Natchez Lagniappe

Saturday was a cold and dreary day in Vicksburg (and probably everywhere else within 500 miles). We decided to get out for a while and drove down to Natchez, which is about an hour's drive South from Vicksburg. Actually, the main reason for going was to go to Fat Mama's for lunch and get some hot tamales. They are well worth the drive, especially on a cold day. So, we bundled up our daughter and granddaughter and off we went.

After eating lunch, we drove around Natchez, showing them the sights, and as we drove by Memorial Park downtown, I caught a glimpse of the fountain and was delighted to see that it was frozen solid. Even though the temperature was around 26 degrees, I couldn't wait to get out and capture this rare and beautiful sight with my camera.

This is my favorite ...

When I was editing my pictures, my only disappointment was that I didn't get some really close up shots of the statues' little ice-covered feet and hands. I guess that was because my little hands and feet felt like they were ice-covered, too!

Here are a couple of pictures of the fountain which were featured in an old post I wrote about Natchez, called A Natchez Getaway. These were taken in August of 2008.

After leaving the park, we rode around in some of the historical downtown neighborhoods, admiring the gorgeous old antebellum homes and landmarks of Natchez. At the end of a cul-de-sac, we came upon Ravennaside, a magnificent example of Colonial Revival architecture which, I discovered upon "googling" it, was built in the early 1900s. One thing I found interesting about its history is that Ravennaside is the birthplace of the Natchez Trace Parkway. Mrs. Roane Byrnes lived there her entire life and led the effort to create the 450-mile long parkway.

But, as picturesque as Ravennaside is, that's not what caught my eye as we passed by. It was this ...

Another beautiful ice fountain!

We enjoyed the afternoon in Natchez, and I was so pleased to capture in pictures the rare sight of those beautiful ice-covered fountains.

Natchez is one of our favorite "getaway" places It is a beautiful town, perched high on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, and is rich in history and southern hospitality. If you would like to know more about it, click here to go to the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau.

You may also find the following links to be helpful:

Attractions
Hotels, Motels, Bed and Breakfast

The Natchez Blog
[This beautiful blog is all about Natchez, and is written by Casey Ann Hughes of Natchez. Casey Ann was kind enough to link my blog to hers after coming across several posts I wrote about Natchez.