My sister, Nancy, commented “have you been on Nordyke since the redbuds have opened up?” I thought it was time to take a drive with the camera. Loaded my sidekick in the truck. It’s just not right living in the country without a truck and a dog.
Look look! We almost have a new road — the Barnrock Road project is almost complete!
We stopped on the Nordyke Bridge for a picture…
Look back over our shoulder…here’s what it looks like when you enter the valley from Nordyke. I know. Ya wanna buy some land..maybe a little cabin…do a little fishin’. We understand.
Looking around at the redbuds…
They are all along the road…
More pretties…
There’s a new reality television show called “Southern Justice” and it features law enforcement in Sullivan County, Tennessee. The scenery was so pretty. We take it for granted until we see it in a picture. Thinking of this caused me to take notice of some of the surroundings I travel by so often and just don’t notice. This is Caney Valley…which is off of Nordyke…such a pretty curve in the road.
The deer aren’t hungry now. Look at this lush green grass. Bruce’s cows graze by day and the deer by night. I see them at night here all of the time. Look at the mountain. It’s not yet green. Soon!
Whrrrr….what a great day to be out in the country!
I posted about the Barnrock Road project some time ago. I’m not against progress, and the road will be safer, but my nature is to be change resistant. I went to say goodbye to this house today. I’ve always loved this house…Granny Bott’s house…and I’ve imagined when it was new. It had a beautiful lilac bush by the road. True, the curve was so sharp that it was dangerous to pick the flowers, but many have done so anyway.
Here is the road construction site and a picture of the old house from a few weeks back. There are more posted here. It had an extraordinary charm about it.
Here’s the house today. Today was its very last day.
It hurt to watch this…
The workers looked on. For that moment, I think we were all thinking the same thing…a pause to consider the hands that built this house…raised babies in this house…sat down to dinner in this house.
The sign reflected my thoughts. I wanted to say STOP or SLOW DOWN. I did not do anything but take pictures.
This fella smiled when I pointed the camera at him…he’ll never know he’s in Blogland.
And then I left…in the funeral procession. I was in the midst of the equipment. Looking ahead through my windshield….
Looking behind in my rearview…right in the thick of it.
I returned about three hours later…it’s gone.
I thought of a song….
Are you lonesome tonight,
Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a brighter summer day
When I kissed you and called you sweetheart?
Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?
I’m writing this on January 4, and it was really cold today. It was about 30 degrees here in Mendota. I wanted to go for a walk, but I couldn’t get started, so Mike just “dropped me off” about two miles from the house. I took my camera because I wanted to photograph the Granny Bott’s house.
My parents were friends with Ed and Edith Cunningham. Granny Bott was Ed’s mother. When I originally put this post up, I said that Granny Bott was Edith’s Mother, but Dianne, Granny Bott’s great granddaughter corrected me. Thank you Dianne! I have always liked this house, and I remember when it was lived in and kept. There was a lilac bush growing by the house, and the last family that I recall living there was Pastor Sifford’s family. His son, Joe Sifford, and I were about the same age. Pastor Sifford was the pastor of the Mendota Bible Methodist Church, and I believe he was also an auto mechanic. I wonder where this family is today?
We are are going to have some road construction on the road in front of the house, and while I haven’t heard for sure, this old house could come down. I’ve never been in the house.
There was a little store across from the house when I was very young. It was known as Granny Bott’s Store. The store was composed of logs and it was moved around the corner five or six years ago.
The road that you see in this picture is Barnrock Road, and it is being “reworked” to make it a little wider and a little safer. I really do not know who makes these decisions. A few might think it’s important, but for the most part, it’s not something most people in Mendota care about. However, removing the sharp curve at Granny Bott’s house will make the road safer.
The signs were put up this week.
It must work like this…someone comes out and identifies where the sign should go and they spray paint the road and then the sign is put up by another crew. Right beside the sign, “RWA” is sprayed on the road.
I wonder if I write on my driveway “PCHH” if someone will put up a sign “Please Clean Her House” and then someone will actually come and clean my house? I may try this!
Here’s another change on Swinging Bridge. Steve and Mary McCroskey, owners of Riverview Dairy, have moved some of their cows to the pasture running along Swinging Bridge. I love these cows, and I’m thinking they were bottle fed because they are so friendly. They ran over as if I had a treat for them. (I may have a treat on my next walk…I’ll get some sweet feed!)
Isn’t this one pretty? I love those faces.
Here’s another…look at the funny face in this picture (below). The little guy to the right? If I were a cow, that would be me!
It was so dang cold today that the ditch water was frozen when the sun was shining.
I enjoyed this walk. I need the exercise and I need the sunshine. I get a little Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD) in these long, dark winters.
A walk really helps…especially on a sunny winter day. It’s one of the bright spots in my day.
I took this picture looking up to the house. So thankful to live in this beautiful place. With pretty cows.
Just getting outside felt good…and it reminded me to look about for the bright spots in the winter landscape…such as the presence of these red berries in my back yard…reminding me that brighter, longer, sunnier days are ahead.
