the long journey home

A big journey is coming up for Jubilee and I - the long winding trip back to Florida. In less than 5 days we will be on the road. I can’t believe it is coming up so fast. First we will cousin-hop across Ohio, visiting Billy Hart in Dayton and then Felicia and Aunt Louise in a cottage on Lake Erie somewhere outside of Cleveland. Then we will head over to western NY where my sister lives. We will stay the week there, preparing for the big pig roast to celebrate the marriage of Jonathan and Heather (which took place last year, but we’re just getting around to celebrating). Nephews and nieces-in-law and grand nephews and more.

From there we will wind our way down to Florida, visiting whomever we can find along the way.

The summer has been delightfully cool. Not like the summer of last year (in Missouri) at all. This morning it was in the low 60s. Cooler than Chicago. Maybe the coolest place in the state. Not quite as cool as Badlands, but getting there.

I keep thinking that the Big Heat is coming, that August for sure will be super hot to make up for the cool days. Dennis says, no, that this is a cool summer. The pattern of weather from the north is set for the season. It’s part of a bigger weather pattern that is more than just one year.

I am ready to be moving on. I may write more publicly about my impressions of this part of central America when I get a little more distance and can put it in a better perspective. It may be that I was not able to break into the local culture enough to make a valid assessment.

I don’t know what will happen in the future to places like Greenville. These towns don’t exactly look like they are primed for thriving in the future. I don’t see a lot of young people. Maybe when the kids come back to the college in the fall things feel differently. There is an art coop downtown that sells locally made arts and crafts, but that is the only business that I found that was the least bit innovative.

Trees

(Photos take during a walk around the block in Greenville IL, July 30)
Someone told me that there must be a “Greenville” in every state. I don’t know about that. But I do know that Greenville Illinois is “green”, at least in the summertime.
I suppose I grew up with all these kinds of big trees around me in Kentucky, but I don’t remember noticing them as much as I do this summer in Greenville. The trees are large presences, standing guard at the street and towering over the houses.


The house next door is so shrouded in the shade from these trees that I think it must be cool inside all the time.

Just in the one block around our house there are so many trees, every one different. The really big ones are Elms (I think). There are a lot of them around, each with its own personality. This place must be a sight in the autumn when all the leaves fall.

Even the bark is fascinating and seems to have its own story to tell. Imagining the giant roots going way down into the ground is almost scary.


I think this “twin” is an oak. It feels mighty, indeed.

Every day I get at least one apple from this tree.

The Weather!

It is an absolutely gorgeous day. Not at all like a summer day. It is cool! Less than 80 degrees, I think. Not humid at all. The A/C is off. When you’re outside, you just want to exult in it all, both your body and your soul recognize the wonder and specialness of the day.

It wasn’t like this at all when I arrived in Missouri this time last summer. Every day, all the way until October, was HOT. Very hot, like in the upper 90s. There was no break or relief. This summer, except for a week or so of very high temperatures in June, has been relatively cool. What an unexpected treat.