Lightning Strike

Last fall, during a huge thunderstorm, I happened to be looking out the window from my living room into the backyard when all of a sudden I saw this bright flash of red/pink light hit the tree and it was loud! This tree was struck by lightning. Where it struck, it tore big pieces of the tree off and threw them across the yard. It also split the tree right up to the top. You can see where the lightning hit the tree, it's still splintered about halfway up and unfortunately the tree didn't survive the strike. It will eventually need to come down. We were so lucky that the lightning didn't hit the house!

Blackberry Bush

Alot of crazy little weeds and flowers and vines just pop up around our yard this time of year through the summer. If you don't trim it constantly it will become a jungle, which it was when we moved in, before we cleared it all out. Our backyard was so thick with underbrush that you couldn't even walk through it all. One thing that grows wild back there are blackberries. There was a pretty big patch of them on the edge of our yard, that is coming back this year, smaller than before since we had to clear so much out to fence, and this bush that I photographed is in my dog's yard. When the berries are ready, the kids like to go out and pick them for ice cream!

Who Let The Dawgs Out?

This morning I'm featuring Athens, GA. I'm going on a field trip this morning to Athens with Braden and Dalton's kindergarten class to see "Horton Hears a Who" and I thought that the dawgs around Athens would be a good topic.

Athens is a great college town, known for the University of Georgia and their team, the Georgia Bulldogs. Athens is about a 20-30 minute drive from Monroe.

All around the city of Athens you can find 36 of these adorable Dawg statues painted by local artists. My children always love finding each dawg as we drive or walk around Athens. This outdoor art exhibit was created by The Athens-Oconee Junior Womens Club and you can read more about it HERE

Evidence of Indians

My daughter found this Friday afternoon just laying in our backyard. I had the kids picking up rocks so that they won't hit the lawn mower and she noticed this arrowhead.
Walton County was formed from lands belonging to the Creek and Cherokee Indians. It's so exciting to find a piece of history right in your own backyard!

On The Road Again

Pulling out of our subdivision. This is the road that takes me to town. The county just repaved the road. It's a much smoother drive!

Our Town

Downtown Monroe

Marbury Creek Reservoir

Yesterday was so warm out that we decided to head to the lake for a couple of hours. The lake surrounds Fort Yargo Campground, which is actually in Winder (pronounced with a long "i" ) and is about 20 minutes from our house. Wednesday's are a "free day" at the park and you do not need to pay admittance. There were a few families out enjoying the sunshine. The water was still too cold and I only made it up to my knees but there were several children playing in the water of course! You can read a little more about Ft. Yargo Campground
here

Shop The Pig

Here in Monroe our grocery shopping is very limited. We have WalMart, which I try to stay away from as much as possible and the Piggly Wiggly. We did have a Winn Dixie, across the street from WalMart but I guess the competition with WalMart was too much and they closed a couple of years ago.

Amber Sunset

Is there anything better than a beautiful sunset to end your day? Taken from my front porch.

A Boy And His Dog

Christian and Daisy

Tara

This isn't really Tara but it is one of my favorite houses. It is a couple blocks up from the courthouse, down a side road. It's a beautiful road, lined with mature trees and many lovely old homes.

Walton County Courthouse

Front


Back side...there is a nice little shaded pavillion to sit and relax from a hot summers day!


I've found myself following the City Daily Photo blogs and enjoy them so much that I wanted to join in the fun and learn about the town and county I live in!

I am starting with the Walton County Courthouse. It is one of my favorite buildings in Monroe (or even Walton County for that matter!) and just seems like a good place to start since it's the hub of Monroe's beautiful downtown historic district.

Location: Monroe

Date Built: 1883-84

Architectural Style: Second Empire

Designer: Bruce and Morgan

Other Information: Shortly after Walton County was created in Dec. 1818, court was held in a cow barn. Other buildings served as seat of government until the county's first courthouse was completed in 1823. That building served until 1845, when another courthouse was built. Walton County's third -- and current -- courthouse was completed in 1884. The clock tower was added in 1910, and the building underwent major restorations in 1933 and 1996. The 1996 renovation left the building's exterior in pristine condition. Additionally, the large courtroom on the second floor was restored, and the purpose of the courthouse was changed from a general-purpose county government building to a facility for holding superior court trials. As a result, county judicial and administrative officials and departments are housed in a number of courthouse annexes situated immediately across the streets to the north, west, and south of the courthouse square, while the Walton County commission has its own building at the rear of the courthouse.

Historical information copied from: Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia

For the county courthouse historical marker:

click here