highlighted by a Yoshono Cherry tree, with a broad phlox base planting. The final third of the “front” lawn was primarily pine straw around the original water oak that had grown from a mere 4” x 15″ water oak sapling to a 14” 60’ water oak tree. Actually the front yard had morphed into an interesting vegetative mosaic, and one drawing some comment (plus and minus of course) DVIII-11.
It is often said that success is not realized by the successful because they are too busy becoming successful, and it is not until someone recognizes the results as a success that the event becomes a story. That was sort of my feeling when I was awarded the Alec Little Environment Award, along with 5 other dedicated workers throughout the Athens-Clarke County area. Looking back, I guess we were successful in putting the CTC on the map, so to speak, with grants setting up an office computer facility and a CTC web-site. All of a sudden the CTC was being recognized by the general public. It was shortly after this I dropped out as an active member of the council. Andrew Saunders, Roger Cauthen’s replacement as Landscape Manager in the Central Services Division, was soon promoted to a staff position within the Central Services Division, and was moved to an in-town office where he soon was promoted to Director of Central Services. In that process, he moved all our developed computer programs and procedures including the Champion Tree program to the Athen Clarke County computer platform. At first I was quite disappointed that this grass roots tree council developed a computer based website and champion tree program with documented procedures, only to have it all scoffed up by the county’s Central Services Division, was deflating, for I saw no one in line on the CTC that was going to seriously get involved with information systems development. Then it occurred to me that rather than a short lived success, we had accomplished the beginning of a long term information system success at the county level. Nothing could be considered more complementary.
In the fall of 2007, a unique opportunity occurred. The Navy Hurricane Hunters were having a reunion in Charleston SC. We decided to attend and drove east for an interesting weekend. The least unique portion of the trip was the hurricane hunter reunion, where very few from my navy days were in attendance (we were all getting up there), but it was a fun if a bit stiff get-together. The uniqueness came with a side trip south to Magnolia Plantation. In itself, the plantation was just amazing, with a well restored mansion on beautifully maintained lawns and gardens reaching down to the water’s edge. The food served here was well up to the expectations of such a location. The real uniqueness here was not the house or grounds, but the attached Audubon Swamp Gardens. Here an artful network of elevated wooden walkways took the visitor to virtually all corners of the swamp (VIII-11). Of course, the Swamp Garden had its share of swamp fauna (gators) and a widely diverse cover of swamp/wetlands flora as well. Before we leave this wonderful adventure, I should point out a great eating place on the way to the Magnolia Plantation. It is named Easterby’s Family Grille. Great seafood, you won’t be dissatisfied (unless they are not there anymore).
The year 2008 was to become one of those hallmark years you look forward to. Starting things off in the Spring, March was Mom’s birthday month, and a visit from George and Rachel. The season was right and so were the oysters at Harry Bisset’s Oyster house recently opened out near the Mall (main restaurant in downtown Athens). The oysters were in and so were we. This was also the year Mom and I decided to put Jekyll Island on our travel calendar, fall or spring to be decided. Our first trip was in the early spring, and we ran into a mild nor’easter weather system, and we literally could not go outside because of the blowing sand really stung you, so most of our time was spent inside (thank heavens for the Inn, where great lunches were served with beverage of choice. Fortunately the weather (wind) improved and we had a great time (DVIII-12). Right across the road from the Inn on the waterfront, was the main pier, with another good restaurant called Latitude 31. The pier opened broadly into the bay where boat rides were available, and fishing boats docked to offload the day’s catch. On that broad deck there was some cover and several tables. Here those lovely scallops, oysters and shrimp could be purchased along with your drink of choice. My mouth just waters thinking about it.
Besides Jekyll Island, 2008 saw action in Atlanta, Tallassee AL and in little ol’ Arnoldsville GA. The Atlanta gig included Karen and her family and a spontaneous visit with Diane and Leah, who flew out for a quick visit before we traveled a bit west to Tallassee to visit with George and his new swimming pool. But not before visiting various malls and stores that flood the Atlanta area. At least the attending gal got pleasure out of it. Now George’s pool was exciting especially since Ellen was home for the weekend. The pool and house are located on fairly flat land, and the pool itself replaced a large grape arbor that butted up to a sharp, but short rise in topography before easing to a gentle slope out to the main highway (DVIII-13). The one thing the ole’ dad remembers the most was the early wake-up so Diane could catch a 6:00 flight back to Wichita. Well it was a bit of a hustle, but we made it to Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport, only to find out Diane’s flight was at 6:00 alright, but PM not AM!!!!
Before moving out of this decade, we need to explore the rather extensive wine producing circuit in north-central Georgia, with the city of Dahlonega pretty much in the middle of it. While it could take a good day just to do one or two, they were convenient enough to include one of two on our fall trips for apples. Two significant wineries; Habersham and Frog Mountain were not included in DVIII-14 mainly because of space requirements.
We need to emphasize here that there are many more wineries out there we have not visited.(how many does one need to fulfill the wine requirement)? We used the newly developed GPS technology to find these sites, with mixed results. Crane Creek we had no problem at all, and what a delightful visit it was. Beautiful grounds, good wine and hospitality.
Finding Wolf Mt. was another story and up to this point we never heard of Monteluci. We drove around looking for Wolf Mt. with no success and finally ended up in an apple orchard and met the owner. He told us not to be embarrassed about getting lost looking for Wolf Mt. Apparently, the GPS App had an error in location coordinates. The guy did give us good directions to get there and we found it without much more difficulty. However it was about noon and they had a renowned restaurant at the winery of which there were no more seats and a substantial waiting list. Then Mom mentioned the signs we had been seeing announcing Montaluce, a new winery and homes just opening in the area. Let’s take a look at the facility, at least. Fortunately the directions were well laid out and GPS was not required to find the place. Topographically, the entrance was the high point with the road traversing a bottomland slope with a bridge over the creek below us. Upslope to our right were some vineyards and a few substantial homes, but what intrigued us the most was the small village of housing along the southeastern side of the creek. All of dark wood and Scandinavian design. Atop a steep bank on the northwestern side of the creek stood the impressive Montaluce “castle” winery and restaurant (and of course, gift shop). “Check it out” required an exclamation mark (or 2) and not a question mark. The outside landscaping left no question that Montaluci was ready for fall. Entering the building there was a long entrance hallway. First on the left was the gift shop, but just beyond that was a long bar for wine tasting. We were informed that they were not producing their own wine yet but would be in a few months after full set-up and testing were complete. On the other side of the entrance corridor, was the indoor dining area. It was a beautiful fall day, and this room was closed. Rather, lunch was being served on the outside tile covered (but not screened) patio. The views from this location were breathtaking, and Mom and I had a wonderful lunch. We made many return visits by ourselves and with Bruce, Pam, KB and Barry. Located just north of Dahlonaga, it makes a perfect lunch stop on the way back from Blue Ridge and Mercier Orchards (for apples) every fall. Ahhh, the good old days. (DVIII-14).
Before we enter this second decade of the new millenia (the ninth of this retrospective) there are a few things of interest I would like to share with you before we leave. The first is the impact of Jekyll Island on our recreational life. The drive down and back was mostly four lane roads. In fact, the road (US 441) connected Millidgeville to the north to Dublin to the south. There we took I-20 east toward Savannah until the intersection of N-S I-95. The road south from Milledgeville to Dublin and I -20 was almost devoid of traffic (every time we traveled). By the time we reached I-95, the traffic magnified significantly. Fortunately our southern route on I-95 was a short one and we were soon at the Brunswick exit, and drove right into town. Here the appropriate route was marked to take us to US 17, the main north south highway before the Interstate. Just where we joined US 17, there was an intersection just north leading to the bridge to St. Simons Island. Turning south, we crossed a magnificent suspension bridge over the entrance to the Port of Brunswick. Just south of the bridge was the entrance to Jekyll Island across the “Marshes of Glynn”, a fascinating few miles before getting to the Island. After crossing the marshes, there was a bridge over an inlet and on to the actual Jekyll Island (then State Park). It was there we had to pay a fee (nominal). During that day a re-entry card was used to come and go. If you left overnight and came back the next day, a new fee was required. Continuing due east on the entry road, we almost immediately ran into an intersection, which was the western side of a perimeter (loop) road that circumnavigated the island. A few miles further east there was a gas station and store where (at Jekyll Island prices) you could buy most everything you might need and could afford were available. A few miles further on, another intersection represented the eastern part of the loop road running north and south. Normally when we got to this point, the view ahead was a huge, largely underutilized parking lot. Just beyond it was a sidewalk, then dunes, and the Atlantic Ocean. A short distance beyond the southern terminus of the parking lot, was the Day’s Inn, our target motel for the next couple of days (DVIII-15). Further south on the loop road, there were a few more motels, mostly blocked from an ocean view by huge sand dunes. As we moved south, some residential neighborhoods were noticed, but then just a little further south a large youth complex including the 4H Club and numerous ball fields were established. As we approached the southern extent of the loop road, more residential homes with gaps in between. In one of those gaps we noticed a sign that just had the letters “JIBS” with some smaller unreadable descriptions. Naturally that caught our attention, so we got out to see what it was all about. The acronym was “Jekyll Island Bird Survey”. Interesting, but we were on our last day and didn’t have time to explore further, perhaps next year in this same season.
As sort of a final blow, the 8th decade delivered a significant snowstorm in 2009. It wasn’t a nice fluffy snow, but heavy and wet. It flattened most of the crepe myrtles and effectively destroyed our Bradford Pear out front. That was one tree in which we didn’t do due diligence on researching its adult characteristics before planting. One of those serious flaws included a weak trunk structure, where a single stem at the beginning was divided into multiple vertical stems (trunks), with each one extremely brittle. The tree is extremely beautiful in the spring (DVIII 16), but structurally unsuitable for residential landscaping design. This significant snowfall demonstrated the flaw in our background information on Bradford Pears. Two of the three main stems of the tree snapped off about 2’ off the ground, and fell toward the house barely missing the front porch roof, and the tops actually hitting the front door. About 1/3 of the original tree was left standing, but had to be removed, of course (DVIII-16).
In addition to fragile vegetation, one has to be aware of invasive species. By the sound of the phrase, one would think that would be a no-brainer, but it is surprising how some beautiful plants could be considered invasive. One of the more noted invasive plants is the water hyacinth. It grows fast and dense to the point nothing can really grow under them. Major waterways in Florida and other Gulf states have been completely choked to impassibility by such aggressive invasions. Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) stands are another good example, as is the beach/maple ecosystem. Nothing will regenerate under a full canopy. Such species are called “climax species’ ‘ On the other end of the spectrum, the willow, cottonwood and birch are considered “pioneer” species occupying newly generated lands (i.e. river bottoms). Climax and pioneer species should not be considered as invasive, but rather species with such dense crowns will not allow sufficient light for support of an understory of any consequence, including its own seed generation.
Another type of invasion is not by crown density, but root spread. A good example is the crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia spp). Crepe myrtle come in three sizes, short (4’-6’), medium (6’-10’) and tall, (10’-16’ and taller). Clearly for foundation planting, the small ones would be best in most cases. The builders of our house on Sandstone Dr. selected the largest, which overwhelmed the garage portion of the house and was towering above the roof when this snow fell. When the snow stopped falling, I don’t know that “towering” would be my word of choice (DVIII-16). Mom and I decided we needed an alternative, if anything. So with Barry’s help (Karen’s husband), we removed all of them (we thought). A week or two later very healthy regrowth was noted, and it wouldn’t be long before we would have a problem again. Turns out the root system went beyond each plant (5) all the way to the front porch. They buried deep under the azaleas so there was no way to eliminate them without digging up the azaleas. Now those azaleas were beautiful and we were not inclined to interrupt that anymore than needed (DIX-1). In this illustration you can see the towering crepe myrtles next to the building. Well, we were not about to dig up all the azaleas, so we decided we just had to coexist with these invasives.
A similar, but different situation existed on the street side of our little copse. About 1/3 of the distance between the northwestern edge of the copse to the southeastern property line was a magnificent group of azalea bushes, some almost head-high marking the copse’s eastern boundary. Here instead of crepe myrtle, a Japanese Honeysuckle dominated the site. Much like the crepe myrtle, the honeysuckle root system was the invasive component of the plant. The thick main root ran right under the azalea plants, but didn’t seem to affect them in a negative way. Upward shoots of the honeysuckle decreasing in diameter, rose to the top of the azaleas, and could be controlled by careful pruning. Toward the end of the shoots, sprouted delicate inflorescences that were highly aromatic and sweet smelling. Being much lighter in color than the azalea bushes, the honeysuckle added a whitish lace look to the plants, plus smelled good. In this case, the invasive added a positive dimension to the mundane azalea plantings. But they did require constant trimming to keep things under control. Once in a while, invasives add an interesting dimension to the landscape if properly placed. Lession: do proper research before planting anything.
Unfortunately, not only trees and bushes have limbs that break and become bruised. Poor Mom, she was a perfect candidate for such a misfortune. So it was when she fell out of bed in the middle of the night (naturally) she landed partially on her stationary bike, which left her with a sore midsection. So it was early the next day we checked into the emergency room of the Athens Regional Medical Center, well known for its efficiency in that area, with many Kiosks to rapidly assess and prescribe immediate attention. Well forget the reputation. We waited over 7 hours before any one approached us, in spite of many trips to the nurses desk to find out when we might expect to be seen. Finally a stern efficient looking supervisor type showed up, and when we told our time of check-in, she went through the roof, and boy did we suddenly have a crowd around us to properly check us in (initially ignored). Good thing we had her visit. Turns out Mom not only had a bruise, she had a broken rib and lung puncture. She got a room, a nice single one, and was to be there at least until the next day (DVIII-16). But we were out for Christmas and things seemed to have healed up well.
While yard refabrication was always an on-going process (DIX-1), focus quickly shifted to activities outside of our property boundaries. The first of these events was the marriage of Josh Houston (Diane) being celebrated in Tribune KS in mid June of 2010. Boy, was there a turn out for that. The first of the Houston crowd to tie the knot. Well, maybe not so fast. Turns out Diane’s third, a gal Leah and her significant other Jordon Espinosa decided the wedding could wait, and they started their family first. Little great-granddaughter Kynlee was born back in 2012, about a year before Laney. Least I forget, Sophia, Tami’s and Greg’s daughter born in 2005, needs to be included here. This total of three are connected to Diane (DIX-2). As of this writing (2023), Diane alone has 12 grandkids. And so they multiply. I have decided it would be foolish to try to keep track of all these great grandchildren without even meeting them. That generation is someone else’s responsibility, and we will just move on.
As we move into 2011, it suddenly dawned on us that we have but three years left in this planned retrospective. Now of course, we will probably have several “post scripts” following. In spite of all that, it is truly amazing how much can happen over the course of three years. It is also shocking to come to the conclusion that we will not be able to sustain our living quarters on Sandstone Drive forever. We were already looking around for what we could and could not bring to a more modest place to live even though we had no idea at this point where that will be. Most likely we will have to include that detail in a future Post-script(PS) addendum to this “time” which ends at our 60th wedding anniversary celebration in the summer of 2013.
The types of things even at this point seem unlikely to follow us were displayed only during the Christmas season. Perhaps that is why we liked them so much. No time to become tired of them. Included here were the several Christmsa cactuses that thrive so well in our yard’s environment, to say nothing about the native azaleas scattered throughout our modest woodlot. There were many home-made things as well, including a macrame Christmas tree Karen O (George’s first wife) made for us. A seasonal decoration that provided the platform for many other small and homemade decorations. The tree fit perfectly in the corner we reserved for it. Don’t really know what happened to it. We had hoped one of her kids might like it, but simply lost track of it. Because of its central location, the fireplace area was a fine display venue for many of our treasured Christmas figurines. On a yearly basis the fireplace superstructure provided a perfect location for Mom’s collection of demitasse saucers. They really brightened up a usually decimal location.
When all was said and done, there was nothing better than sharing a drink (or so) of choice at the local Carrabba’s restaurant. While I can’t say this was a weekly indulgence, it was often enough to catch the attention of the barstress, so by the time we got to our seat, our drinks were there with our usual snack; an order of coconut shrimp. Hard to beat after a long day (DXI-3).
As we have had more time to “drive around and see about things’ ‘ our annual trek to the North Georgia Mountains was anxiously looked forward to, especially the fall apple harvest season and bi-products therefrom (those warm hand-held apple turnovers just stuffed with apples). This was the hallmark of one of our favorite destinations: Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge (close to the Tennessee State line). In fact, apples or not, the Georgia mountains were always a welcome destination. One loop route we adapted to was from Athens to Gainesville and west to East Ellijay and then Ellijay itself which was an interesting stop with many shops to browse through. From East Ellijay, we would turn north on rt. 2 north and east to Blue Ridge. From there it was about 10 miles up highway#5 to the orchards. There was also a railroad along the Ocoee River (former Olympic site) with a stop in McCaysville for lunch, which was also a lot of fun.
After we had our trips to the various area wineries, our return trip would continue east to the town of Blairsville where we took US highway’s 19 and 129 south. You will notice all major highways run east-west or north-south. Well, they were constructed along major river corridors because of relative ease of construction. It also makes for very scenic drives, though high water can be a problem. On one trip home, we didn’t go far south before we saw the sign announcing Vogel State Park, and our Karen and family were spending a few days there. So (of course) we had to stop and visit. What a great spot that is. Nice cabins and a lake with paddle boats. The lake was the product of the sizable river paralleling the road. I say “sizable” because many are favorite destinations for kayakers, tubers and fishing enthusiasts. Before we leave this portion of Georgia, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Brasstown Bald and Lookout point, the highest elevation in the Georgia mountain region. The first point of interest was the small college of Young Harris, located in that town. Here Jonathan (Karen’s son) received 2/3 of his bachelor’s degree, before he finished up at Middle Georgia College in Milledgeville, GA. Young Harris was just west off the main highway. As the road turned northeast, a sign on the east side of the road announced Brasstown Bald Lodge and Resort. The resort carried former governor Zell Miller’s name. That road moved us closer to Brasstown Bald, and it sounded interesting, so we explored and were presently surprised. To the right of the entrance road, was a large parking lot. Along the front of the lot, was an access road to a magnificent lodge on the other side of the road. The lodge itself was a two story affair sitting on the brow of the hill. After entering the lodge, there was a reception area including bathrooms, telephones and a reception desk. Straight ahead from that point was the living room and a huge picture window offering a spectacular view of the golf course fairway far below. To the left (north) of the living room was a similar sized room with the same basic view serving as the dining room but with bonus views of a magnificent smorgasbord lunch buffet laid out before us. Since this was merely an exploratory venture, we didn’t stay long to make an effort for a more thorough trip in the future. One of those revisits was with Karen (KB). We came up to Ellijay from Athens, and KB came up from Kennesaw to join us at the Ellijay Apple Festival. That was always a fun gig (DIX-4). Leaving there late morning, KB followed us up to Young Harris and the Brasstown Resort, where we had lunch. It was all decorated with fall vegetation (Pumpkins, etc.). That area was always a first class destination.
Before we leave the mountains entirely, I must share with you our most memorable train ride, good news, “bad news”. The train ride was from Bryson City NC to Dillsboro NC. It was the site of the movie “Runaway Train” with Jon Voight. We met Bruce and KB with spouses in Bryson City in the late afternoon where we checked into a nice motel and then enjoyed an even nicer dinner at a nearby restaurant. The next morning we all gathered at the train station. There to our surprise was a fantastic railroad museum. I was glad we showed up early so we had plenty of time in the museum, but like in most museum, never enough time to do it completely. We boarded the train around 10:00 and headed down to
Dillsboro reached our destination in an hour or two. Dillsboro is a small town almost all dedicated to serving the tourist crowds generated by the train, and other local attractions.
Just outside all the crafts and games area, was a wonderful snapshot of old town Dillsboro dominated by the town’s Baptist Church. Combining the two “towns’ ‘ in two hours was a bit of a task, but we managed it and got back to the train, boarded it and were rewarded by a fabulous roast beef dinner. The beef was delivered to each participant, cooked to specific order (“medium rare” for example). The slab of beef was cut about 1⁄4 inch thick and it covered an entire dinner plate. Complementary potatoes and vegetables were also served, but given the beef slab in front of me, I hardly noticed. Add the pecan pie for dessert and that consumed the trip back to Bryson City. Here Karen and Barry broke off and headed for the Atlanta area and their home in Kennesaw. We headed almost due south for Athens. Our trip took us straight down to I-85, just a few miles from the Athens-Clarke County line. As we approached I-85, Mom became distressed. She was pale and soon passed out altogether. We were on the north side of I-85, and there was a large truck stop and restaurant. Fortunately, they also manned a first-aid station, where Bruce and Pam managed to get Mom to. They were staffed, and recognized a problem and called in an ambulance that was close by. She was then transported to the Athens Regional Medical Center. By the time we got there and found her in her emergency room, she was sitting up and feeling good. Spent the night for observation, and was released the next day. If I had to pick a point of beginning for our general “slow-down”, this would be it, though pretty subtle at the time.
Speaking of Time, it does march on with or without us, and here we are already entering the year 2013. That’s right, a little math will reveal we are entering the 60th year of our perfect marriage (My opinion of course). The year was conveniently divided into three parts: Jekyll Island, Anniversary Celebration and a reprise to Jekyll Island. The first Jekyll Island experience was early spring (mid April) and our timing was not that good in terms of the weather. Cool and windy made it tough to stay outside too long. Sand really stings if it hits you with any velocity. But overall it was a nice visit, and boy, what a transformation. The convention center was almost completely finished and progress on the Weston Hotel was well on the way. That construction took about 1/3 of the huge former parking lot. Much of the rest of the lot was being graded out for retail space, which was currently utilizing temporary prefabricated buildings further north on the island. .
The new Weston Hotel was not completed at this time, so we stayed at our usual Comfort Inn, now a next-door neighbor to Weston, and where we usually stayed. There were two full-sized pools and the sleeping facilities were just fine. For lounging (read the paper or watch TV) it was awful with lumpy uncomfortable chairs and a couch. Up to this point, comfort seating wasn’t a problem because we were seldom there unless it was raining. If that were the case, we would find ourselves enjoying a beverage of choice at the fabulous Jekyll Island Inn.
If we drove in on the main entrance road, and reached the new convention center site, turning right would take us south on the perimeter road. After we passed our Days Inn, there were a few more motels set in the dunes, some residential properties and then a major youth complex, including ball fields and 4 H facilities. Just after that, there were more residential properties following the road as the road made a right turn west, then north back toward the entrance road. The area between the east and west portions of the loop road, was heavily wooded with a number of trails running between the east and west loop road. We tried a couple of these and were thoroughly exhausted when we got back to the car. No doubt about it, we were significantly slowing down in our endurance. How to compensate?? Well further on our way to the entrance road, there is almost an obscure drive heading west toward the marsh area. A small sign indicated that Sea Jays restaurant was down there. We had visited them on an earlier trip and were impressed with the food quality. We didn’t hesitate long making up our mind..a bucket of oysters with our favorite beverage was welcome at the time. Oddly enough, our endurance was not challenged in this activity (DIX-6).
The last two pictures in plate # DIX-6 suggests the vast difference between the east and west loop road north of the entrance road. The distance between the east and west loop roads was much greater and was mostly in expensive residential properties. Throw in the Jekyll Island Inn, where you see Dad enjoying a morning cup of coffee and the pier, Raw Bar and Latitudes Restaurant. This was the real tourist stomping grounds. This lush part of the For Island suddenly stopped and was replaced by first, a huge outdoor camping ground filling the space between east and west loop road, which was reaching its northern limit. As the road turned sharply to the east with campground to the south and wildlife refuge to the north with the north end of the island close by. Well paved wildlife trails ran through the area with distances we could handle without a problem. We still saw utility in Jekyll as a destination, and we’re already making plans for the fall and the bird census.
Well, we thought upon reaching home, so much for our big 60th anniversary. Should have known better. A couple of weeks later, KB informed us Diane and Greg would be heading our way as school was out and Greg had a break from the grain elevator. Somewhere in the early June time-frame. This was no surprise, since she tried the trip east at least once a year. Not only that, Jake, her oldest son, was holding down a good position in an Orlando, FL accounting firm which puts him within visiting range. As it turned out, her whole gaggle of five were planning to come east with her. This was in no doubt fostered by George’s open invitation for a grand pool/Bar-B-Que bash he had planned for June 28th. This turned out to be just a wee family gathering of 19, plus baby Kynlee. Even at that 5 couldn’t be there because of prior commitments. Looking at the photo Barry (goes with KB) took of the group was outstanding (once we considered the dog as a non participant) was no less than breath-taking. I looked at Mom and asked: “can you believe what we have wrought? She looked a little stunned herself.
After a long and joyous afternoon in the pool, it was ready for drinks (you gotta be kidding). Well let’s say drinks out of glass containers. That was followed by an exquisite dinner highlighting Filet Mignon or other tender steak that could be cut with a fork. Appropriate vegetables were also provided with a drink of our choice…wine will do, especially a good Cabernet, which was provided. What a dinner that was, and hats off to Rachel and George for putting it together. By the time we (they) cleaned up, George was dead asleep on the couch. We couldn’t have dreamt of a better anniversary celebration. (DIX-7).
Originally, this was to be the finale’ for this retrospective. But a better close came a few months later in the fall. Another trip to Jekyll Island. This time, the Weston hotel was completely finished and we got a great room there. Comfortable furniture, great food and drink, how could you go wrong? But in addition to the other features of the island, this was the time of year for the Jekyll Island Bird inventory. We drove to the south end of the island where we saw the signs, and sure enough they were still there. We parked and walked a well beaten path toward the water. We first noticed the huge “badminton” type nets covering many feet and at least 3 to 4 feet high. Here the migrating birds would fly into, and would be trapped until someone could free them from the nets. Well, there were several nets strategically placed, but were carefully attended so no bird would be injured. Once taken from the nets, the birds were carefully bagged (to calm them down). They were then taken to central location where the birds were taken from the bags, weighed, tagged and released. In the release stage, we were invited to participate in the process. It was a bit awkward for me to handle those little “dudes”, but Mom caught on quickly. As I watched, the thought emerged that out of the old sprouts the new (DIX-8). That seems to be an appropriate conclusion to this retrospective. Several support documents will be included later. But beyond all things, this is my story, and I’m sticking to it.
THE END