Winds of Change

I have moved... away from San Augustine. I still travel in that area for work and visiting family, but it is no longer where I live. So what is to become of this blog? Do I change the name? Do I start a new one?

I am still having adventures, but my daily routine and surroundings have changed. I now live in Nacogdoches and it is beautiful and it is home. We went through the process of building a new home... and all that goes with that including packing and moving. This evening, I saw several deer going through my back yard. We live near the beautiful Lanana Creek that winds through the city near Stephen F. Austin making a wonderful walking trail for hiking and exploring. There are lots of restaurants and stores and churches. I take back roads through East Texas to work and sometimes see the refreshing morning sun and the evening hues of the setting sun on the pastures and hills around Etoile and Wooden.

We are in the midst of a drought and we have all been praying for rain and lots of it. The waters around East Texas have receded in just about every creek, lake, and riverbed. You can now walk and explore areas that until recently were covered with water. The heat index has been as high as 115 degrees. It is amazing how rich grasslands have sprung up under the bridges and shorelines of what was once the Toledo Bend Lake, Sam Rayburn Lake, and City Lake, San Augustine's water reservoir. I am anxious to get pictures and search for arrowheads soon, because this too will pass and I know changes will bring the much needed rain.

The 20th Annual Sassafras Festival

Oh, the excitement of Fall and Fall Festivals! Especially the 20th Annual Sassafras Festival in San Augustine taking place right on the town’s historic city square. There was live music, delicious food, vendors that sell their crafts and homemade goodies, wheel chair races, antique car show, pet parade, and the always exciting Bonnie and Clyde bank robbery reenactment. The Sassafras Festival is definitely unique in this area and I have enjoyed attending and taking lots of pictures.

I was invited by one of the bank robbers the day before to get close in for pictures. (I guess that would make me an accessory to a federal crime if this had been the real deal.) He explained the plans and gave me some ideas of where to stand. The actors really outdid their selves this year with a little longer version and some extras. Lots of gun toting, shooting, gun smoke, and hostages--too many to fit in the getaway car.)

This year I entered the photography contest again and won several ribbons for my work. It is always nice to be recognized. The court house reconstruction was complete just in time, and is a beautiful landmark of green and stone making the city more proud and alive than ever. At the festival, I always see friends and enjoy meeting new people and discovering something new about this city that I did not know before. My special thanks to Devon Energy for your sponsorship, the San Augustine Chamber of Commerce for organizing this year after year, and for all the volunteers and participants that made such a wonderful day for our community and visitors.

What are the odds? and Home Again!

We had four encounters with the law this week. What are the odds? I was pulled over twice for speeding and Jeff was pulled over once for speeding. In a way, they did us a favor. Sometimes you get use to the road you are traveling and start bad habits. It was understandable that we were speeding and any good folk would have been caught by the speed in those situations. We were in the little black Vibe, and so we have declared it a bad luck car. Caleb better be extra careful in it when he comes home and starts driving it again. I truly respect and admire police officers and state troopers. They have a dangerous job and pulling over and writing tickets is one way of keeping everyone safe including the speeder. I observed how careful they had to be when approaching my window and how observant they were while conversing with me. I won’t go into detail except to say, I must have an angel face or something, because only Jeff has to pay the piper! I did learn my lesson though.

So I had a fourth encounter with the law. Today while planting lily bulbs in the yard and enjoying the sun, a police officer pulled up in the driveway. I was thinking what now? Did they change their mind about me? Did a camera snap me unknowingly running a red light? Did we play the TV too loud last night? He walked up and said that he was investigating a missing child case. I was immediately heart sick for the parents and wanted to help, but I also had been calling my dog, Maggie, for 30 minutes and really needed to go look for her. The car made an unexpected sound, so he walked back to the car before we could really get into the case he was working on. Then, he let Maggie out! He had found her on a main road and called the “Home Again” tag and ultimately my husband to find out where our “missing child” belonged. I am forever grateful to Officer Blackwell for bringing Maggie home and for the tough job he and the San Augustine Police Department do for the citizens of San Augustine everyday!

You know you are in San Augustine when...

• you live live in someone's house that lived a long time ago and not really at an address.
• you cross paths with deer, rabbits, snakes, turtles, wild hogs, foxes, coyotes, armadillos, skunks, chickens, and roosters on your way to or from work.
• you get a little sugar high from the grapefruit kneehighs at the San Augustine Drug Store.
• an 18-wheeler truck of pine logs, wood chips, saw dust, or chickens is behind you, in front of you, or coming at you. After hurricane season you probably followed a convoy of FEMA trailers.
• everyone there knows everyone there and they share stories that mostly warm your heart.
• you see a row of trees driving down the highway and suddenly it opens to beautiful rolling pastureland and most often grazing cattle or horses or it opens up to rows and rows of big metal chicken houses.
• you see the pine logs stacked majestically 3 stories high at the timber company.
• you see a tractor drive on the square to get . . . . who knows where it went.
• you drop by the Pinto Pony Cookie Factory and can enjoy a free cup of coffee and samples of their famous delicious all natural cookies.

That's how I know San Augustine!