These ghosts are construction workers in the Brigham Young University Family History Library. They are installing a fake skylight because the library is below ground on level two. The original library building was extended by a huge underground complex that has two floors. We are also in the middle of having books moved around and the genealogy section moved from Floor 1 up to the Family History Library level.
On long, serene midsummer days
Of ripening fruit and yellow grain,
How sweetly, by dim woodland ways,
In tangled hedge or leafy lane,
Fair wild-rose thickets, you unfold
Those pale pink stars with hearts of gold!
Edgar Fawcett 1847-1904
It is hard to imagine how this tree could have grown in such a tangle. It is a good analogy to life. We start out thinking that life is similar to a straight line and when we get older, we can see all the tangles.
Magnolia Mound Plantation House from Wikipedia:
The Magnolia Mound Plantation House is a French Creole house constructed in 1791 near the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Many period documents refer to the plantation as Mount Magnolia. The house and several original outbuildings on the grounds of Magnolia Mound Plantation are examples of the vernacular architectural influences of early settlers from France and the West Indies. The complex is owned by the city of Baton Rouge and maintained by its Recreation Commission (BREC). It is located approximately one mile south of downtown.
Even though I lived most of my life in the high and low deserts of Arizona, I still spent several years living close to a beach. I love the ocean and the beautiful skies but not enough to move from the mountains and deserts of the Southwest.
Many families have a tradition of removing their shoes outside the door to the house. I didn't grow up with that tradition, but many of my children's families do remove their shoes automatically when they enter a home. Many visitors to our home inquire as to whether or not they need to remove their shoes. When I clean the floors, I can clearly understand one reason for this tradition but my feet are always cold so I wear shoes.
This is an interesting way to plant flowers. We can't plant tulips because we have an entire herd of deer that frequently visit our part of the yard where we live. Deer love to eat tulips.
I have always been fascinated by tent caterpillars. I have seen them all over the United States. They have a complex life cycle and are some of the most resilient insect species. This tent in Arkansas was probably made by Malacosoma americanum, the Eastern tent caterpillar. Here is a short quote from Wikipedia: Tent caterpillar about this fascinating insect even though it is sometimes a pest.
Tent caterpillars are moderately sized caterpillars, or moth larvae, belonging to the genus Malacosoma in the family Lasiocampidae. Twenty-six species have been described, six of which occur in North America and the rest in Eurasia. Some species are considered to have subspecies as well. They are often considered pests due to their habit of defoliating trees. They are among the most social of all caterpillars and exhibit many noteworthy behaviors.
Tent caterpillars are readily recognized because they are social, colorful, diurnal and build conspicuous silk tents in the branches of host trees. Some species, such as the eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum, and caterpillars of the small eggar moth, Eriogaster lanestris, build a single large tent which is typically occupied through the whole of the larval stage, while others build a series of small tents that are sequentially abandoned. Whereas tent caterpillars make their tents in the nodes and branches of a tree's limbs, fall webworms enclose leaves and small branches at the ends of the limbs.
Although I have passed through Arkansas a number of times, until earlier this year, I had never stopped to see anything off of the highways and freeways. As with almost anywhere in the world, once you get off the road, you will find beautiful and sometimes unusual places. I am sure I had never heard of the Ouachita Mountains before, but now I have some good memories and some lovely photographs.
Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is named. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 35,193. In 2019 the estimated population was 38,797.
The center of Hot Springs is the oldest federal reserve in the United States, today preserved as Hot Springs National Park. The hot spring water has been popularly believed for centuries to possess healing properties, and was a subject of legend among several Native American tribes. Following federal protection in 1832, the city developed into a successful spa town. Incorporated January 10, 1851, the city has been home to Major League Baseball spring training, illegal gambling, speakeasies and gangsters such as Al Capone, horse racing at Oaklawn Park, the Army and Navy Hospital, and 42nd President Bill Clinton. One of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the United States, the Assemblies of God, traces its beginnings to Hot Springs.
Today, much of Hot Springs's history is preserved by various government entities. Hot Springs National Park is maintained by the National Park Service, including Bathhouse Row, which preserves the eight historic bathhouse buildings and gardens along Central Avenue. Downtown Hot Springs is preserved as the Central Avenue Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The city also contains dozens of historic hotels and motor courts, built during the Great Depression in the Art Deco style. Due to the popularity of the thermal waters, Hot Springs benefited from rapid growth during a period when many cities saw a sharp decline in building; much like Miami's art deco districts. As a result, Hot Springs's architecture is a key part of the city's blend of cultures, including a reputation as a tourist town and a Southern city. Also a destination for the arts, Hot Springs features the Hot Springs Music Festival, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, and the Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival annually.
No matter where you go in the world, you can find places of quiet beauty. Whether it be in the desert, the mountains, or a Southern forest. I see peace and beauty every day when I open my eyes and my heart to the world around me.
The hot springs in Hot Springs, Arkansas are really hot. The entire town centered on a strip of spas and hotels where visitors can take a soak in the water. It is a typical resort city. Quoiting from Wikipedia: Hot Springs, Arkansas:
The city takes its name from the natural thermal water that flows from 47 springs on the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain in the historic downtown district of the city. About 1,000,000 US gallons (3.8 ML) of 143 °F (62 °C) water flow from the springs each day. The flow rate is not affected by fluctuations in the rainfall in the area. Studies by National Park Service scientists have determined through radiocarbon dating that the water that reaches the surface in Hot Springs fell as rainfall 4,400 years earlier. The water percolates very slowly down through the earth's surface until it reaches superheated areas deep in the crust and then rushes rapidly to the surface to emerge from the 47 hot springs.
Hot Springs Creek flows from Whittington Avenue, then is underground in a tunnel beneath Bathhouse Row (Central Ave). It emerges from the tunnel south of Bathhouse Row then flows through the southern part of the city before emptying into Lake Hamilton, a reservoir on the Ouachita River.
This is the Graceland Mansion from the backyard. I never did see Elvis Presley in person but I saw him a lot of times in movies and on television. The mansion is quite unusual and is situated right across the highway from the Graceland Theme Park. I do remember that one day I found my legal assistant sitting in storage room crying on the day his death was announced.
Quoting from Wikipedia: French Quarter:
The French Quarter, also known as the Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the Vieux Carré ("Old Square" in English), a central square. The district is more commonly called the French Quarter today, or simply "The Quarter," related to changes in the city with American immigration after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Most of the extant historic buildings were constructed either in the late 18th century, during the city's period of Spanish rule, or were built during the first half of the 19th century, after U.S. annexation and statehood.
The district as a whole has been designated as a National Historic Landmark, with numerous contributing buildings that are separately deemed significant. It is a prime tourist destination in the city, as well as attracting local residents. Because of its distance from areas where the levee was breached during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as well as the strength and height of the nearest Mississippi River Levees in contrast to other levees along the canals and lakefront, it suffered relatively light damage from floodwater as compared to other areas of the city and the greater region.
