For the Love of Marjorie and Cross Creek

Is it possible to be in love with someone you have never personally met? I found out a few weekends ago that it really can happen. On the trip to Tampa back in June of this year, I passed a sign that pointed to the Marjorie Rawlings Museum and made a mental note to return and visit Cross Creek. As usual, click each photo for a better view.

There is something about the way she described rural life in The Yearling, and Cross Creek that made me enjoy the works of Marjorie Rawlings. And, Just before arriving at the museum I stopped at Locloosa Lake Park and understood the beauty of the area she loved so much.

This panoramic view of the lake gives a sense of the wild nature of the place she found so fascinating. I stood there for a long while to just take it all in and try to see it as she might have.

And, by chance I encountered a volunteer at the museum and realized I had found someone who was truly in love with someone who lived sixty years ago.

He lovingly described how he and others worked to keep the sense of Marjorie alive in the house and their work was rewarded with a feeling that at any moment she would walk out of the back of the house and welcome you in for a great Southern meal.

The barn sits there with her apron waiting to wrap around her to do the small chores that the place requires.

I fully expected to see her walk out of the back of the house ready to drive off into town in her car that has aged but not grown old. He knew so much of her habits he really brought her to life.

The kettle sits on a tablee ready to brew a fresh pot of coffee for the latest round of writing.

And the view out to her garden I'm sure let her know that life on Cross Creek was never far away.

This final view from inside the house as he described her routines took me back to the lazy days of country living and you understood why she loved it here and how much he loved her.

Rawlings may be physically gone but her essence is lovingly cared for by those who love her, and the rural feel of Cross Creeks lives on.

The Sacred Acre

While neither Alex nor I am Catholic,we read a little about this historic shrine in our favorite place, St Augustine, and thought it would make for a great afternoon of picture taking.

The Nombre de Dios Mission is said to be one of the oldest churches in the new world. And, recently discovered artifacts only added to it's allure. As usual, click each photo for a better view.

You walk across the bridge above and your eyes are drawn like magnets to a cross that fills the sky, and a statue of a monk who seems to be pointing the way. It is really powerful stuff!

Alex was surprised to encounter this little shrine with what appeared to be a Russian Orthodox cross. We both tried to get a close up of the painting housed inside but the afternoon sun would not cooperate and glare prevented our taking anything meaningful.

I was fascinated by this map that detailed the Florida Missions of the first Spanish period from 1565 - 1763. It was really interesting to view the different locations throughout the State and their names from that time.

This grave site holds the remains of six nuns from the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph who came to St Augustine after the Civil War to educate freed slaves. They hold a special place near the famous chapel at the shrine.

the Chapel of Our Lady of La Leche is the fourth building on this site. Erected first in 1615, the others were destroyed by war, pirates, and storms. Construction for the present building was begun in 1915. It possesses an almost mystical quality as the stature of the Madonna seems to give off it's own gentle light. It sits in the middle of the grounds and you slowly work your way toward it.

And finally, the rustic altar which celebrated the first Catholic mass at the mission in 1565. The Diocesan priest, the fleet Chaplin, and the newly discovered Timucuan Indians who had long inhabited the area gathered around it in prayer. Looking at it now it seems so simple and yet was the beginning of all the things that were to follow.

There is more to see like the Coquina rock stations of the cross and various other religious artifacts, I simply could not include them all. So if you are ever in St Augustine and want to spend a soothing afternoon, it is well worth a visit.

A Visit to Old Florida

Awhile back we returned to Gainesville which before we met was Alex’s point of entry into Florida. Once we began to date, every other weekend involved a drive to the little town he lived in just outside of Gainesville. Since then I have always had a soft spot for the area and a park in Worthington Springs because it gave a glimpse of old Florida and the rural way of life.

As always, feel free to click the photos for a larger view.

It is near the section of the State featured by Marjorie Rawlings in her novels "The Yearling", and "Cross Creek". To go there is like stepping back in time and pictures like the one below make you almost expect to see Rawlings step out of the mist.

This one too brings up images of warm Summer days and laughter around the swimming hole that is the creek that runs through the area.

I became a little fixated on this bridge that was designed to allow you to walk through the swamp. It had become warped by rain and weather.

To get this shot I laid down on the bridge to get a view no more than a foot above the boards on the bridge. It gives the feeling of literally going down into the swamp and in my mind back to the time of Rawlings.

Back in time to a sense of simple beauty when life too was a lot more simple...