I love about living in the South...
1. Saturday nights on the front porch...listening to the children down the road at dusk as they beg for 10 more minutes of play. Daddy, in his southern drawl proclaims it bath time...it is Saturday night and there is Sunday School in the morning.
2. crickets, cicadas, whippoorwills. The sound of the "bush". near and far, in all decibels. The sound of nature is audio therapy. It's been a rough week here at BPDI what with Orphan Works looming at every turn, deadlines which have long passed, unreturned emails from friends yet to meet in person...
3. burning leaves. I know,it's against county rules, but it is an instant door to my childhood. I want smores with my Cabernet!
4. Kudzu...ok, I know, this is considered radical, anti American, but honestly, it really is amazingly lush as it engulfs the trees. It covers them in such an abstract way as to make monster trees, strange looking forms that seem to take on a characteristic persona all their own.
5. Southern drawls. I appreciate and respect the regional dialects that distinguish us one from another. While I am not a believer that Sarah Palin is qualified to do the job, I DO respect her regional attributes...big hair and all. These types of individual attributes help define the road we've traveled. My daughter, a trained chef is proud of her burns.It helps define the path she's taken to get to where she is. I admire this immensely and I abhor prejudices that try to cast a negative light on a person due to regional characteristics,
6. BBQ- real BBQ, no words necessary.
7. High School Football, Marching Bands and the way these Southern institutions bring families together. Go Lassiter, even though it has been 12 years since "we" graduated.
8. "bless your heart"..the phrase, it comes in so handy when you want to sound sweet but really you mean, "get over your self".
9. Sweatshirt and flip flops weather in October. Now, I'm all about hot one minute and cold the next because my body is making it's own climate these days...but, I love it when this is that way for everyone. crispy mornings, warm, breezy afternoons and back to chilly at night.
and number 10....
calling home, Michigan, in March to report that it's 80º and they've just had another 10' of snow.
good night friends...
Brenda, Thanks so much for this reminder. I can't really relate to the Southern accent, FLorida has it's own, but I'm all about the simple pleasures and subtle changes in the season. And Kudzu... I LOVE IT! I guess you almost have to be an artist to appreciate it and find all the wonderful shapes it makes. Love your new photo, by the way! Have a wonderful Autumn day!
Posted by: Joyce Shelton | October 11, 2008 at 08:31 AM
Funny! I, too, enjoy living in the South. Love the long lasting roses blooming up thru December; the lightning bugs in my front yard; knowing that cool weather doesn't start until December and warm weather returns in March.
I especially love knowing that moving South was a good idea from MI & ChiTown.
What part of MI are you from?
Posted by: CreativeGoddess | October 10, 2008 at 01:28 PM
GREAT POST!! DITTo on everythang, especially Cabernet and s'mores!
Posted by: Brooke Gerstenecker | October 06, 2008 at 05:50 PM
Oh How `Wonderful` it sounds to live in the `South` Brenda..
I love that...`Bless your heart`...lol...:)X
Posted by: terrie bailey | October 06, 2008 at 06:44 AM
'The south' sounds totally dreamy Brenda - thank you for sharing!
Sue x
Posted by: Sue-Bubbles | October 05, 2008 at 03:21 PM