Frank's Legacy

One of the nicest people I ever met was my father-in-law, Frank Henderson. I've heard this said many times about some people: "He never knew a stranger." Well, with Frank, that was actually true. He genuinely liked people and he loved to make new acquaintances. And I never met anyone who didn't like him.

He's been gone a long time, now. Taken from his family by cancer. But I see echoes of him every time Carole and I visit her mom. He built the house her mom lives in. Back in the 1960s. And when I say "he built it", I mean that. He even dug the foundation himself. Yeah.With a pick and shovel.

But what makes me think of Frank every time I go over there is the yard and the landscaping. He did all that himself, too. He had the forethought to purchase two lots so that he'd have much room and a place for his kickass garden. No matter how tired Frank would be when he got home from his job as an electrical engineer for Duke Power, he would work in his garden. And when that was done, he'd tinker with the trees and flower beds that make that yard a very special place in the Spring.

So, here's to Frank Henderson. I think of him whenever I see the house he built and the yard he landscaped and planted.

Every Spring is a treasure for the eyes.

The front of the house. I rarely take any photos of the front yard. But there it is.

The grassy area in front of the dogwoods and azalea bed was where Frank had his garden. He could have fed an army with the fruits and vegetables he grew there.

Frank's Place

Last week we went to run some errands at Carole's mom's place. I often refer to it as "Frank's Place". Frank was Carole's dad. When he built his house he bought two lots instead of one so he would have extra space and wouldn't have to worry about pesky neighbors hemming him in. Also, it gave him room for the kick-ass gardens he used to plant. Frank didn't mess around when he did his garden. It was like a mini-farm. It was only about 1/4 of an acre and I know that doesn't sound like much...but it produced AMAZING amounts of food. All kinds of great vegetables. I miss that garden. When Frank died, that was the end of it.

One thing that Frank did when he built the house was to do his own landscaping. To that end he planted islands of azaleas and put in dogwood trees. The only things that mar the yard are a couple of camelia bushes and a holly tree. I hate both of those, and I don't think they were Frank's idea. Other than those, the yard is amazing when the azaleas and dogwoods are in bloom, which takes place roughly at the same time. Frank is gone, but the hard work he put into landscaping the glorious yard lives on. Last week it was just before peak for the blossoms. We'll be back out there on Sunday, but I fear peak will have passed by then. We'll see.

Until then, enjoy:

The vast tract of green on the left side of the photo is what was once Frank's garden. He would plant that side to side and end to end with all manner of vegetables. Tomatoes, beans, squash, potatoes, melons, corn, etc. Those were the days!

Our Casita, framed by the dogwoods.

First Blush

I went out to the northern part of the county today so that we could hang out with Carole's mom. She hadn't visited with us for a bit so she was getting lonely.

I mainly relaxed, but I did make the very short drive to a local county park (Latta Plantation Park) to go for a brief hike. I was looking for things to photograph to help me continue to learn how to use the new camera. I still don't have a macro lens for the Canon, but I'm trying to learn how to take close ups with the lens that I do have.

As I was hiking down one trail I noticed these little berries. They have a brightly colored husk that had opened to reveal the berries inside. I'd never seen this plant before and I have no idea what it is, but it made a good subject to use for learning the camera.

From above.

And from below.

A dogwood in Carole's mom's yard. Dogwoods are the first to begin changing color in Fall around these parts.

Birthday, Dead Dogwood, and Fences

Sunday was a good, lazy day. We started it by sleeping very late. I always sleep late after I've had a five-day work week. It was Carole's birthday, so we drove over to the mall near her mom's house to meet up with her and Carole's aunt for lunch at Mimi's Cafe. Mimi's is a chain restaurant, but pretty good. We had a decent meal and it was A-OK.

The waitress took this shot of me and Carole. They gave Carole a slice of chocolate pie since it was her birthday. And I swear that dessert in front of me was not mine. It was a three-dessert platter which I shared with Carole's mom and aunt.

After that, we drove a short distance to her mom's house. I can only take so much of the female chit-chat and I have to hit the outdoors. So I mucked about in the yard for a while. Carole's dad planted many dogwood trees when he was alive, but they're getting old and dying off, now. One of the nicest ones fell over this past Monday after the heavy snow caused it to break off at the base. We need to start planting new dogwoods, as we've lost about four in the past year.

It just fell over from the weight of the wet snow.

The base was as rotten as a Republican's heart.

Still feeling antsy, I jumped in my truck and drove a few miles to Latta Park. It's a large county park with plenty to see and do. If it had been earlier, I'd have loaded the canoe and gone paddling in Mountain Island Lake. As it was, I just took it easy and went to gaze at the park. The set piece is the remains of the namesake Latta Plantation. It's a restored farm complete with barns, tobacco houses, root cellars, etc. They charge admission to that, so I was content to stand outside the fence and take photographs of it from a distance.

Latta Plantation

The house and immediate yard.

They have a guide dressed as the lady of the house, in traditional garb.

She came out and walked around the lawn, looking very ghostly from my viewpoint.

Lots of really nice fence work at Latta.

Fence and barn.