Finding Lagniappe

Yesterday was an icy-cold and dreary day in Vicksburg, but I decided to venture out with my cameras anyway, just to see if there were any pictures waiting to be taken. Although I didn't find anything really spectacular, a few things did catch my attention, and I managed to capture the following pictures from inside my warm car (thank goodness for my zoom lens!) One of the first things I noticed was this colorful display of Lorapetalum and Forsythia gracing the end of a porch ... I love the contrast between the magenta and bright yellow! I've always liked this little cottage-style house, and was delighted to see it all decked out for Valentine's Day ... I especially like the moss-covered heart ... You can click on the picture below to get a closer look, if you'd like. A couple of houses down the street, this little frog caught my attention, and the song, "Don't Sit Under the Eucalyptus Tree with Anyone Else but Me," came to mind ... There were also several houses decorated for Mardi Gras ... I love the balloon jester who cheerfully welcomes visitors to this house ... And there was even a Mardi Gras umbrella closeby! Here are a few of the other houses that were decked out with festive wreaths and decorations: This is Walnut Hills, one of our favorite restaurants. If you are ever in the Vicksburg area, I highly recommend it -- especially the fried chicken! For several weeks, we were blessed with unseasonably warm "spring-like" weather here in Mississippi, and all kinds of flowers and flowering trees bloomed prematurely. Last weekend temperatures plummeted into the mid-20s, and, unfortunately, wreaked havoc on a lot of those beautiful blooms, like the Japanese Magnolia tree in the following pictures. The cold didn't damage the brilliant red berries on this hardy Nandina bush, though ... Or these pretty "cabbage" plants in front of this colorful little green house ... I love that little green house, and it is obvious that it is well loved by its owner, too, because there are always flowers to welcome visitors or passersby. Here is how it looked last summer ... And that brings me to the last two pictures, which I captured of these two little fellows who braved the cold and wind to pose for me. As I said at the beginning of this post, I didn't find anything really spectacular to photograph yesterday, but I had fun capturing the sights I shared here, and hope they inspire you to go out, even on a cold and cloudy day, just to "see what you can see." I promise there will be some interesting lagniappe out there ... just waiting for you to come along and discover it!

Windows

When I am photographing architecture, I find myself looking up a lot of the time, and I'm always glad I do, because I never cease to find interesting details to capture — especially when it comes to windows! The following photos of windows are just a few I've captured during my ramblings. This old church stands in a field in the Mississippi Delta, and its windows have long been "gone with the wind." I love the simple beauty of this vine's tendrils reaching toward the light from this old barn window. This is one of my favorite windows, which is on an old building in downtown Vicksburg. This family mausoleum in the Natchez City Cemetery is impressive on the outside, but I'm so glad I stopped to admire it up close. If you click on the picture and look a little closer, you can see a tiny bit of light coming from the back of the tomb. I'm so glad I stopped to get a closer look, because I would have missed this magnificent stained glass window. A huge bear playing "Peek-A-Boo" from an upstairs window of a shop in downtown Vicksburg. Poor thing, it looks like he lost one of his eyes, so I guess that's why he was banished to the attic. This window is in Old Town Vicksburg, and every time I see it I wonder what those old tattered drapes looked like when they were new. This window in an old building in Yazoo City, looks like it could be somewhere in France or Italy. Ornate bank window, downtown Vicksburg Old Sisters of Mercy Convent, Vicksburg Old carriage house window Window above the entrance to Vicksburg's City Hall This beautiful old Victorian home in Natchez caught my eye. Upon closer inspection, I saw this guy looking down from a third story window. He looked sort of like a mannequin, and I thought he was kind of creepy. I love this shop window in downtown Vicksburg. It reminds me of the 1950s. And, last, but not least, where else, but in Natchez, Mississippi, would you see a sign like this one in a downtown shop window? The next time you are out sightseeing, or just walking down a city street, don't forget to look up and notice the windows above you. I think you'll be surprised to see what you've been missing. [P.S. — If you would like to see some of my pictures of Church Windows, you can click on the link]