Mittens says, "Ahhhhh!!!"

Last of the "ladies"...

...belly up to the bar.

This shot was captured in late Sept., the eve I took the feeders down, prompting my feathered friends to head further South.

See ya' next year, gurlz!
(One must embiggen to appreciate this shot.)

Rosewood Manor

Recently I visited and attempted to photograph Rosewood Manor's exterior. Actually, I was leaning over the damn fence that encloses the manse and grounds when the owners pulled up alongside me, rolled down the window and hollered, "Go on in!!!"
Only in Mississloppy.

Built in 1835, this Greek Revival Antebellum mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been featured in major magazines and videos. This exquisite private residence is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Dewitt Hicks.
Rosewood has the most beautiful gardens, lovely statues, authentically furnished gazebo and its own authentic plantation chapel.
(Make with the clicky, dammit!)

Rosewood Manor was originally the city home of planter Richard Sykes, who built it for his new bride to be. She was a "Yankee" girl who was unaccustomed to Southern seasons but well-versed in superstition. As were many homes of the time, Rosewood Manor was built on a hill near a ravine. Because low places were considered unhealthy, the young bride refused to live in the house. She said the vapors from the ravine would cause sickness. She returned "up North," and Mr. Sykes married a Southern girl who did not object to ravine "vapors."

After touring acres of grounds, meandering up, down, and around moss covered, brick pathways. I came upon this precious carriage. In my mind's eye, I imagined a little girl in a white frock with a blue waist bow and matching bonnet. In my imagination, the little girl's name was Bonnie Blue, and instead of riding off willy nilly on her pony (and breaking her fool neck), she hitched him to this carriage, and rides still, in perpetuity, throughout the grounds of Rosewood Manor.

(After sending some of my photos to Mizz and Mister Hicks, I was invited back for a tour of the interior. I am so tickled!)