Places in the World a Person Could Remain

Subject: Places in the World a Person Could Remain Fri 30 Nov 2007, 12:13 am

... that world being Texas or not too far from her.

This was something I once just dreamed about, when (hopefully) a long lifetime lay ahead of me, and when the means and the moments seemed open-ended and abundant. Now, though, I have begun to appreciate the preciousness of days. And I'm considering: should one be given the choice -- both the blessing and the burden which it is for our times -- of just one place and to remain there until the closing of life, where would this be?

Many people are very content to dwell where they presently reside until the ending of their years. Others look toward a prepared and/ or assisted environment, to live as actively as they are able with more security than would be available in independent housing. Still others are embraced by the care of family and there are many, most surely, who never receive the weight of choice; must simply be receptive to the 'place' which life sends their way.

Myself, I enjoy very much where we are living now, but am not a fan of urban sprawl. Development is like a sea tide which creeps ever closer, and it will be at our doorstep very soon. So -- loving the rural life as I do -- I am casting my mind to places removed from the Dallas/ Fort Worth area .... removed but not so very far away.

I first read of the 4-D Guest Ranch, located near Winnsboro, in Laura Trim's 'Day Trips In and Around Dallas.' It is a beautiful, family-run acreage, where one can go 'to spend a day or a lifetime,' as the saying goes. Not only is the resident enveloped by lovely countryside ... but by a sense of a close community, with chapel and fellowship. Yet, this ranch run by the Denver family (no relation to John Wink

) is not so slick as are some planned developments which cater to retirees. Might there be others within our state which are similar to this place .... set within Texas' 'Little New England'?

A better description for that for which I grasp would probably be: 'places which one has always wanted to go and linger for awhile, but hasn't as of yet.' Didn't mean to sound so final Wink

That is why this posting found its way into 'Texas Travel.' But the reflective title of David Syring's, 'Places in the World a Person Could Walk: Family, Stories, Home, and Place in the Texas Hill Country,' is so very influential. Has anyone read this book, by the way?

Thanks so much for reading through all of this, and in advance for any thoughts or suggestions.

Holly
_________________
The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves

Subject: Re: Places in the World a Person Could Remain Fri 30 Nov 2007, 12:29 am

Here is a link to the publisher's description of Places in the World a Person Could Walk, by David Syring:

http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/syrpla.html
_________________
The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves

Subject: Re: Places in the World a Person Could Remain Fri 30 Nov 2007, 1:25 am

Also -- and this is venturing beyond the bounds of Texas -- during the mid-1960s, my grandparents purchased a lot in Ozark Acres, Sharp County, Arkansas:

http://www.ozarkacresliving.com/

This rural, semi-planned community is not so highly regarded by some as is the nearby Cherokee Village:

http://www.cherokeevillage.org/

... in part because it is said to lack golf amenities. But I don't play golf pirat

so? Ozark Acres does seem to underscore its setting amidst natural beauty, and that draws me very much.

There is a photographic slide which was made of my grandparents standing on their lot many years ago, surrounded by greenery and with trees towering above them .... even then. They never built on this lot -- their lives not proceeding in that direction, in the words of a family member -- and I have never visited it .... but would like to.

Does anyone have familiarity with these communities, or perhaps with others?
_________________
The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves

Subject: Re: Places in the World a Person Could Remain Fri 30 Nov 2007, 4:05 pm

You're not thinking about moving already are you?

Subject: Re: Places in the World a Person Could Remain Fri 30 Nov 2007, 7:53 pm

... in about ten years, if all goes according to plan sunny

But yes, I'm already thinking about it. Wish that I possessed your peace of place. One wonderful aspect of living where we do now is that I don't have to worry about where to be buried. And having the vigilant neighbors we do, we can be assured that at least ten acres of open space will never be prey for developers. Even the most predatory of that species recognizes the sacredness of our neighbors' house.
_________________
The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves

Wrangler Joined : 13 Nov 2007 Posts : 49

You do have quiet neighbors.

If money were no object, I'd have a large secluded spot in the old growth redwoods of northern California, 300 miles north of San Francisco on the coast. There is a place that exists out of time. And outside of what we normally accept as reality.
If money were abundant, but not endless, then somewhere else on the northwest coast, away from the cities. Perhaps even Canada.

But money is not flowing like a river for me, so until it does Texas has successfully reclaimed me.

Given the financial limitations I now have, if it were my choosing, I'd end up in Gilmer. Got the land, but it's not paid off, got a well, but no pump, got a sort-of driveway. It's time to build. Got a plan for that too. Being the artsy type that is also very much into domestic arts of all kinds, I have designed a Craftsman Bungalow, strongly influenced by the Gamble House, but on a much smaller scale. It won't look like these new McMansion versions of Craftsmans, it will look like it was built 100 years ago, true to the Bungalow style, and very well cared for. The way my plans are developing, this little dream home is going to be surprisingly affordable. Less than half the cost of my little Allen house, and slightly larger.

Keep in mind, I'm a horticulturist. Redwoods naturally affect me strongly. Deserts starve me. This blackland prairie is better than a desert, but not much. My area of Gilmer is nothing like this. It is heavily treed. My little 10 acres are so heavily treed that it is in dire need of serious forestry management. It has old growth pines all over it. Not common in Texas anymore. Got a bit of a George-of-the-Jungle vine problem in the middle... Lots of oaks, and at the top of the driveway is a tree that grew in honor of Cedar (the cedar tree in the front is at the side of the driveway), there is a huge Holly tree, at least 40 feet tall at the top of the driveway. Alex gave it some much needed pruning a couple of summers ago. He envisioned his horse under it. It now has about an 8 foot canopy and some lilies growing under it. It's beautiful. Probably the most beautiful Holly tree I’ve ever seen. Certainly the biggest.

I do love those trees. I can drone on all day about each one. That soil is so good that I am going to farm Japanese Maples. Rhododendrons, Azaleas, old roses, flowers of all kinds, vegis and fruits, hopefully a cow or two, sheep, Coyotes are a problem, so I need a donkey, gotta have peafowl, swans, ducks, chickens are hilarious entertainment (and good dinner) need a collection of them, Silky Bantams, Road Island Reds, make my soaps, candles, can things I grew, bake pies, knit (faster than I do now), quilt, and do the farmer's market. Hard sweaty dirty work that makes you feel alive.
That is now my dream/plan for the rest of my days. On the outskirts of the little town of Gilmer, not likely to become victim of urban sprawl in my lifetime.

When suburbia crowds you out, we can build you a little place out back in Gilmer. Just keep your dogs away from the donkey…

Last edited by on Sun 02 Dec 2007, 5:22 am; edited 1 time in total

Oh, that is a wondrous vision, and I believe that very it soon will stand before your eyes and beneath your feet flower

Upshur County is a kind of compromise between the Redwoods of California, and the "desert of dullness" (in the potential appraisal of Robert E. Lee) that we have here. Its land reaches upward to meet the countryside south of Pittsburg .... in Camp County, and that is some of the loveliest terrain I have been blessed to be surrounded by in the fall. My late grandfather-in-law pastored a tiny Baptist church out thataway in the post oaks and sprinkling of pines. 'Almost heaven, Northeast Texas ...' Razz

So, give me the tour, soon .... pretty please Smile

_________________
The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves

Subject: Re: Places in the World a Person Could Remain Sun 02 Dec 2007, 5:18 am

PS. No summons from the 'Big Coyote' (the train with its horn, the sounding of which apparently evokes an irresistable response), but God's dogs are just outside our backyard this late night .... and singing mightily for the moon to show her face from behind the clouds Wink

My own pups and kitten are safely behind closed doors.

I don't believe that the dogs are afraid of coyotes so much as they seem an enigma to them ~ so like them, yet beneath no master. Betwixt and between ... tricksters (but usually sweet trixters). Denton, especially, is troubled by these creatures. But they are in his bloodline; he has their ears, and his mom was likely Catahoula. Fascinating history, that breed.
_________________
The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves

Wrangler Joined : 13 Nov 2007 Posts : 49

ANY day that I am not at work, I am available to give you the Gilmer tour. And we'll have lunch at the Bread Pudding Cafe in Gladewater.
You won't want to go home.

Subject: Re: Places in the World a Person Could Remain Sun 02 Dec 2007, 9:47 pm

I fear that you're right. But let's do it anyway!

I adore bread pudding and trees (though not communing with them so closely as you do) and town squares and valleys "that nobody knows" (J. D. Souther) or places that have been forgotten.

I've forgotten .... did the Cherokee Trace (-proper) pass through Upshur County? For sure, it was heavy Caddo country.

Let's go!
_________________
The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves