The Rural Life

The St. Gabriel, LA area (actually Sunshine) is where my maternal grandparents lived and where I spent many of my formative years. It's located about 15 miles south of Baton Rouge. Whenever I'm feeling lonely or melancholy, I often take long drives there, sometimes remembering days of my youth, or simply to clear my head.

Below are photos from one of my drives on 3/31/13. First stop is usually St. Gabriel Cemetery to visit my mom, sister, and grandparents.

I took two different versions of this statue and couldn't decide which one to post.
So you get both. :)

Following along River Road I make frequent stops. As I'm driving, the levee is on the driver's side, and opposite are homes and pastures. Since Hurricane Katrina, Baton Rouge has become a little too crowded, and with the increase in crime, many are building very nice homes in rural areas such as St. Gabriel; however, I prefer the more rural structures. The unassuming, unpretentious life is how I was raised, and I hope that never changes.

I so wanted to get on the other side of this barn, but I was relegated to one view.

An enormous ditch and a barbed wire fence kept me from crossing over to get more shots.

As a youngster I ate meat from my grandparents' cattle and vegetables from their garden.
Maybe that's why I was so healthy.

Levee with an unusually large patch of grass below.

A unique live oak tree that looks like it's been knocked down by a hurricane or two.
Despite its challenges, it's still growing and thriving. Kind of like me!

I have updated my About Me page; the last paragraph in particular. Check it out if you have time.

Barn Charm! Finally!

Double D and I drove to St. Francisville, LA after church to see the countryside. It was such a beautiful day, I told him that if he wanted to stay inside and watch football that it was fine with me, but I was going somewhere, anywhere, to enjoy this gorgeous weather. I didn't say it in a way to make him feel bad, but he said he'd rather spend the day with me. Cue the "awwws" now. :)

We ended up at Afton Villa Gardens. A quick history: In the mid-1800s David Barrow constructed a grand home for his second wife. It was well cared for until 1963 when a fire destroyed the villa. The remnants are surrounded by lush gardens, with various statues and pillars scattered about.

Imagine my delight when I saw a barn off in the distance! Although I have many other photos to process, the barn took top priority. Tricia, thank you for hosting barn charm. I'm so excited to finally participate!

Processed with a Katie Lloyd texture

One of the remnants of the burned villa

Edit: Just found out about Homestead Barn Hop, so I'm linking there, too!

As you can see, I reformatted my blog. A HUGE thank you goes to Brian King for helping me with questions on sizing my images and other blog issues. The time he took to answer my questions was very generous, kind, and deeply appreciated! Please let me know if you have any problems with the new layout. Thanks!