Thursday, August 16, 2012

Newton County Nostalgia!




My sister-in-law recently took me for a day trip
in the county where we grew up.
Our first stop was what used to be the old Vendor School House,
where the verdant growth helped beautify the burnt ruins.



We caught this dog taking a drink from the spring
 behind the old School House where the children
used to get a drink of water.
If you click on the picture to enlarge it,
you can see the water dripping from his mouth!


Our destination was the Mount Judea Mountain,
as seen in the background.



When we were almost at the top of the mountain,
 we stopped to visit with Lu, who became our new "tour guide".
 She stopped long enough for us to admire the view from this rentable cabin.




This is a view from the home of the gentleman
who owns and rents out the cabin.




As these cows graze the backbone of the mountain field,
they have an excellent view of their surroundings.
We were privileged to share the view with them!




Fortunately for us, there were not a great many cactus.



We saw an abundance of deer as we came down the mountain.
Our "tour guide" informed us that the bear were also
showing up in growing numbers.


Here we are back on the paved road,
and beginning to make our way home.



This is just one of the old barns we saw on our trip.




This is the little community chapel
which my dad used to pastor
in the 1950's through the 1960's.




And, I couldn't head back home without a stop
at the old Yardell spring.
This spring provided water for many people
for many generations.
We would often picnic here,
and enjoy the cool spring water.


This spring reminds me of the words of Jesus
to the woman at the well of Samaria when He said,
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.
Indeed, the water I give him will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 4:13-14



Thanks for coming along with me
on my nostalgic journey back to Newton County!





Oh, by the way, you can expect to be seeing some of the rocks
we picked up from the top of the mountain in future posts of Rock4Today,
where I paint the Names of God on Rocks!

10 comments:

SarahBeth said...

What a beautiful area -- the view from that cabin porch is awe inspiring! You caught a wonderful shot of the deer running!

Heather{Our Life In a Click} said...

What a view from the cabin! Gorgeous place!! Thanks for sharing!

storybeader said...

such beautiful views going up the side of the mountain. The wildlife is great, but I don't think I'd be too happy to see a bear! hope you had fun! {:-Deb

Gattina said...

Beautiful place and it certainly was so nice for you to go back to the past !

Judie said...

Esther Joy, I want to rent that cabin!!! Your photos are wonderful!!

anitamombanita said...

Looks like a lovely place!

VBR said...

What a lovely way to spend time with your sister. The photos are wonderful. I especially like the one of the old barn, like seeing through the doorways. Thanks for sharing!

EG CameraGirl said...

I'd say you must have had a delightful childhood living there!

Jenny said...

Oh my goodness.

What a beautiful trip down memory lane!

I love the poignant beauty of your journey.

This was a nifty link to the letter "N".

A+

Ozark yankee said...

Nice