Judy P's Tickle Trunk

Mom’s red coat, without the coat because of the heat, arrives at Roanoke.

Well, we’ve been back in NS for some time and signs of spring are starting to appear – the daffs out, azalea buds are just about to burst into bloom, and the air is thick with mate-seeking midges. But let me take you back to our U.S. road trip a few more times before I put it to rest.

Roanoke Alabama is much like many rural American towns these days; a ragged old Main St. and all the action moved on to the Walmart. It was sad to see all the old brick buildings boarded up and crumbling. Then again, I am drawn more to the rustic, old, and abandoned. There were a few grand old houses left

A well maintained old home near  downtown Roanoke, AL.

but we passed many empty houses on our way to the farm where we would be staying. As we got further out of town the proportion of rockers and dogs on porches to houses increased dramatically.

It was in Alabama that we finally achieved our vacation goals. Number one was, as I have written, to find spring. It was more than evident along the roadside:

Roadside Wisteria

Azalea with bee

and in the garden:

My personal goal was to buy pickled peaches at the Piggly Wiggly:

Don’t know how many centuries these jars of pickled peaches had been on the shelf but the juice in several was down an inch or two.

Piggly Wiggly parking lot.

Lance’s was to feel hot. Indeed it was hot enough sitting out to seek shade, which was not too easy because the leaves weren’t yet out. Thank heavens for the huge trunks of the pecan trees. Now that we had found spring, what to do with it? Next up: a day on the farm.

© Judy Parsons 2014