Leaves of Red

FROM APRIL 1, 2012

When you think of red leaves, the first thing that probably comes to mind is Fall foliage. But today, I'd like to share some pictures I captured of our Japanese Maple tree, which is at its most beautiful this time of year.

Yesterday we had lunch on our patio in the courtyard, and the sun was highlighting the brilliant red tips of the tree, as if a spotlight was shining down on it from Heaven.

I couldn't resist a photo opportunity, and didn't want to miss capturing the tree in all its glory, with the tips of its brilliant red branches bathed in the sunlight.

You've probably heard the expression about someone "not being the brightest bulb on the string." Well, this leaf was definitely the brightest leaf on the tree. Isn't it spectacular!

The leaves against the April blue sky were breathtakingly beautiful. You can click on the pictures to get a closer look at the "veins" of the leaves.

The fruit of the Japanese Maple is exquisite. It reminds me of a delicate tropical flower ...

The Days of Holy Week

 

Memorial Day 2023

 

To God Be The Glory

 

The Story of the Dogwood Tree

Nothing says "Spring has arrived!" more beautifully than dogwood trees in bloom. I took these photos several Springs ago, and would also like to share this lovely poem about dogwood trees:

The Dogwood TreeAuthor: Anonymous

When Christ was on earth, the dogwood grew

To a towering size with a lovely hue.

Its branches were strong and interwoven

And for Christ's cross its timbers were chosen.

Being distressed at the use of the wood

Christ made a promise which still holds good:

"Not ever again shall the dogwood grow

To be large enough for a tree, and so ...

Slender and twisted it shall always be

With cross-shaped blossoms for all to see.

The petals shall have bloodstains marked brown

And in the blossom's center a thorny crown.

All who see it will think of Me,

Nailed to a cross from a dogwood tree.

Protected and cherished this tree shall be

A reflection to all of My agony."

The Glory of the Garden

 I’m afraid I’ve come down with a case of Spring Fever, and it’s STILL January!

I can’t wait to get out and start pruning what’s left of our plants that were devastated by the weather event that happened in Mississippi on December 22, 2022. Within a few hours, temperatures that had previously been consistently in the 50s dropped rapidly into the low teens (12 degrees!) with sub-zero wind chills. The freezing temperatures remained in the area for three or four days and wreaked havoc on many landscaping plants and even evergreen plants that are usually hardy in the winter.

Gardeners everywhere were whining and wringing their hands when they saw the results of Mother Nature’s wrath on their sad-looking, shriveled, brown-leafed Sasanquas, Drift Roses, and even Star Jasmine plants. I cringe when I look out our windows at our dreary flower beds and the plants we will have to replace in the spring.

I found an explanation of why and how this happened. According to an article in the University of Mississippi News, written by Jeff McManus, Director of Landscape Services at Ole Miss:

“During normal conditions, plants slowly reduce the amount of water and nutrients they pull into their vascular system as the temperatures drop. This rapid drop did not allow plants enough time to acclimate to the temperature changes, causing the water in the vascular system to freeze and damage the plant cells.”

Of course, we’re all wondering, “What can be done?”

According to Mr. McManus:

 “This rapid freeze will most likely affect the flowers of spring blooming plants that set their buds on previous season growth, including azaleas, forsythia, and winter jasmine. The temptation to take action and prune the plants now should be avoided as this could result in even more damage. Even if the plant is damaged, the damaged material will protect viable plant parts from future cold snaps.

 “A ‘wait-and-see’ approach is recommended to determine how the plants respond at the beginning of the growing season in the spring. You can check for life in woody plants by scratching the bark on stems to see if the material underneath is green. If green coloration is found, the branch is still viable and alive.

 “Stems can also be bent slightly to see if they are still pliable. If the stem or branch snaps off, then it is likely dead. Look for green tissue inside the stem if it breaks to see if it is viable.

 “Pruning should not be performed until new spring growth emerges. In the spring, cut back stems and branches that do not leaf out back to live tissue to encourage new healthy growth.”

That is not really what I wanted to hear, but I will try to be patient and wait until early spring to do my pruning. In the meantime, I’d like to brighten this gloomy story by sharing a lovely poem by Rudyard Kipling. As someone who loves flowers and gardening, it spoke to my heart – and I can’t wait to restore “Glory in MY Garden,” too!

Source: https://news.olemiss.edu/help-your-landscaping-recover-from-the-winter-freeze/  

 

It's All in How You Look at It

Dave Gardner was a popular southern comedian in the 1960s, and one of his favorite sayings was, "It's all in how you look at it and all in how you study it."

I took a picture of a shady little creek running through Mynelle Gardens in Jackson, Mississippi, a few years ago. It was a warm spring day, and the ferns, rocks, and trickling water were a cool, welcoming sight.

I've always liked the picture and wanted to use it in our new home, so I had it printed on a large canvas. Unfortunately, when we hung the canvas, I was disappointed in how it looked on the wall space. Something just wasn't "right," and it didn't take me long to realize that the shape and size of the wall dictated that a vertically-shaped picture would look better than the landscape orientation of the canvas.

I turned the picture vertically to see how it would look and was amazed at the transformation. Not only did the image's shape look much better on the wall space, but the picture itself was transformed. The little creek appeared to be a rock face with water trickling down it, and the ferns and plants seemed to be growing out of the rocks.

Perspective is an amazing thing, and as I stood and looked at the picture on the wall, I wondered if anyone would notice that it's actually a picture of a creek turned 90 degrees on its side. I guess it will depend on "all in how they look at it and all in how they study it," right?

Writing with a Southern Accent

 

My favorite form of punctuation is the comma.  I also use a lot of dot-dot-dots (also known as "ellipses") to enable me to continue my "run-on" thoughts in a run-on sentence and to, hopefully, keep it from sounding like I'm "running on."

I confess that I don't always use commas and ellipses correctly, but tend to happily and generously sprinkle them in and amongst my writings to slow down my thoughts as I'm writing ... and to give my reader a chance to pause as he or she is reading my babblings. [Did you notice how you slowed down when you got to the "dot-dot-dots?"]

My own rule of thumb about when to use a comma is quite simple: When I finish writing a story, I read it out loud and when I need to take a breath in between phrases, I insert a comma ... or if I really get short of breath while reading, I will add the little dot-dot-dots, instead of a comma. 

My photography website is called "Photography with a Southern Accent," so I suppose that it's possible that my southern accent could carry over to my style of writing, too.  Could that be the reason I use so many commas to slow it down?

By now, I'm sure you're wondering why in the world I spent valuable time babbling on and on about commas and dot-dot-dots, of all things.  To be honest, as I proofread this, I was kind of wondering the same thing!  

But, at least, in the future ... if you ever read one of my stories again ... maybe you can imagine me reading it to you in my slow, southern drawl, slightly pausing for effect after each little comma and dot-dot-dot.

Reverend Newit Vick: "The Founder of Vicksburg"

NEWIT VICK MEMORIAL AND FAMILY GRAVESITE

As it was May 18, 2021

The Rev. Newet Vick Memorial was established in 1984 by Crawford Street United Methodist Church with assistance by the City of Vicksburg, Warren County, and individual citizens.

I recently visited the Newit Vick gravesite and arrived around noon and was greeted with freshly-mowed green grass, a wheat field in the background, and towering magnolia trees, their blossoms scenting the noonday humidity. 

And I felt a sense of awe at standing on hallowed ground.

The granite Memorial stands alone and stone slab markers enclosed within a low brick wall mark the burial sites of Reverend Vick (1766-1819), his wife Elizabeth (1772-1819), and other family members:  their first-born son Hartwell Vick (1792-1833), Theodoria Hartwell Vick (17 months, 17 days old) 1830, Martha Virginia (1831-1836), and the Vicks’ daughter Martha Vick (1800-1851). 

The old stone markers are difficult to read, but I captured pictures of them, and have also included photographs from the “Find-A-Grave” website of  Martha Vick, John Wesley Vick, Hartwell Vick, Eliza Vick Morse, and a photo captioned “Newit Vick,“ which may or may not be accurate. You can click on the images to enlarge them.

Newit and Elizabeth Vick

The inscription reads:  

In life they were united.

In death not divided.

Jesus smiles and says, "Well done,

Good and faithful servants ye.

Enter and receive thy crown,

Reign with me triumphantly.

Newit Vick   [1766-1819]

Elizabeth Vick   [1772-1819]

Hartwell Vick  [1792-1833]

Hartwell Vick Close Up

Daughters of Hartwell Vick

Theodoria [17 months, 17 days, 1830] and Martha Virginia  [1831-1836]

Martha Vick  [1800-1851]

Inscription reads, Blessed are the pure in heart.

Eliza White Vick Morse [1801-1890]

Burial Site Unknown

John Wesley Vick [1806-1888]

Buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery

If you are in the Vicksburg area and would like to visit the Vick Memorial, it is in a rural setting northeast of Vicksburg. Drive north on Hwy 61 from I-20 1.5 miles to Culkin Road. Exit east on Culkin. About 1.5 miles east is a fork in the road, with Oak Ridge Road on the left. Continue on Oak Ridge about 2.3 miles. 

This marker is on the right side of the road, and the site is on the right, partially hidden by an embankment. The Newit Vick Monument can be seen through the driveway. 

After visiting the gravesite, I wanted to find out more about Newit Vick and his family.  There have been numerous books written about Reverend Vick, but I feel more confident in the accuracy of the writings of Vicksburg’s renowned historian, the late Mr. Gordon Cotton.  In an interview with Mr. Cotton dated February 9, 2008, and published in The Vicksburg Post, entitled “City’s Founder Remembered, but Details on Vick are Few,” Mr. Cotton stated that the details on Vick’s life are somewhat hazy. 

At least three spellings of his first name have been found – Newit, Newitt, and Newett – but no one knows for sure how Reverend Vick spelled his name. However, it is spelled “Newit” on his gravestone, so I prefer to use that spelling.

According to Mr. Cotton, “Newit Vick, who came to the area in either 1812 or 1814, was a visionary who brought culture and Christianity to the city that formally adopted his name in 1825.

“Vick’s connection to the Vicksburg area began when his cousins, the Cook family, urged him to buy land that had been cleared in the ‘open woods’  and was for sale.  Some of that land is now Openwood Plantation subdivision.  In addition, he bought land along the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.

Unfortunately, “Vick and his wife, Elizabeth Clark Vick, died in 1819, the year he began his transformation of a new city along the Mississippi River by platting lots and boundaries.  Their deaths, about an hour apart, were blamed on yellow fever or malaria.” Nevertheless, Vick’s son-in-law, John Lane, carried out his plans for the town.

“Although his family fought over the city founder’s will for years, one result was the 1825 donation of the city block where Vick planned to build his home.  That block, in 1860, became home to what is now the Old Court House Museum.”

__________

Source: https://www.vicksburgpost.com/2008/02/06/citys-founder-remembered-but-details-on-vick-are-few020608 

[Gordon Cotton Article]