Doc Speer's Place

Green paint on the outside brick wall of Doc Speer's Place, LaGrange, Georgia (14 April 2012)

Today's post is co-hosted by my other blog, WilliamsWrite. 

Like many small towns, LaGrange is full of interesting photo opportunities. The Hillside neighborhood, in the southwest part of town, is particularly interesting. Over the last decade, DASH for LaGrange has rehabilitated several dozen old "mill houses," saving them from destruction while revitalizing a shrinking community. Doc Speer's Place, the wall of which is pictured above, is among the buildings DASH has salvaged.

The green paint still clings to Doc's brick wall, decades after the last business vacated the premises. The floor and roof of the old store rotted and fell years ago; by the time DASH came along, six-inch-thick magnolia trees grew through the foundation and up the inside walls. But the basic structure was in decent shape, and it was a shame to tear down one of the last old-fashioned store buildings in LaGrange.

So the DASH team and community leaders decided to transform Doc Speer's Place into a sort of open-air meeting place. The vines still grow up the walls, along with privet hedge saplings nearly 20 feet high, but now they hang over picnic tables and chairs set about the 1,500 s.f. space. It's a strangely peaceful place to have a bake sale or street fair.

More photos of Doc Speer's to come, after I post final grades next week.

Spring has sprung...back to normal

Near freezing tonight? Weird for this year, but definitely more spring-like.
(From Weather.com local forecast - 23 April 2012)

I probably shouldn't be surprised at anything the weather does, having seen so much strange weather over the last four decades. Nevertheless, it catches me every time. And like most human beings, I'll probably never learn to expect the unexpected when it comes to weather. Oh, well.

Spring 2012 has been early and mild, so a forecast low of 35 degrees tonight is pretty surprising. On my daily walk yesterday evening, I noticed a wild blackberry cane already weighed down with half-ripe berries. But I resisted the temptation to sample them. Wild berries provide food for birds and small animals, so I generally don't pick fruit from brambles I didn't plant myself. Since they're protected in a drainage ditch, they'll probably be protected from frost. Those in my yard, though, I'm not so sure about.

More interesting weather and fruit reports in a few days, after final grades are in.