This House on Campbell Street.....

....is just too good to be true. 

Of course, my mantra has always been "if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is." That said, there are exceptions to every rule and I am hoping this God-send is one of them! There is just so much to cover, again where to begin? How about a Robin's nest in our front tree?

One must look carefully to spot the Robin on her nest, but after watching this bird fly in and out of the tree, I doubled my efforts to find it. Our bluebirds may be still tenants on Warren Drive, we are unsure, but there appear to soon be new hatchlings for us to ogle! Speaking of nests, the neighbors we have met have been exceptional and it goes without saying that I am loving the presence of children playing in the back yard next door. To date I can only remember the young boy's name, Jude who is nine. Well, the high winds in the recent huge storm knocked off plenty of blossoms in their, I believe it is called a Snowball tree because, well, the flowers are the shape and color of a snowball.

The ground was covered with tiny white petals and when I expressed interest Jude invited me over to see the nest they found that his Dad had replaced in the tree. Oh my goodness, you have to know I was freaking out. Hard to photograph, but here it is nonetheless.

We shall see what happens next!

There is so much to like about the house including one thing I have already mentioned, and I suspect will come up time and time again, is the light.

It is just fantastic at all times of the day and what I have discovered is that there is good reason for my claim. Or maybe I should say there seems to be something that is aiding in that and it is these huge junipers planted on either side of the house.

The above photograph doesn't exactly do them justice but there are lots of them and all are very, very tall. Not as tall as the 100 foot Magnolia in the back yard, but tall all the same. Thus there is no harsh light to be found in this sweet house of many small rooms. Bruce and I are traipsing down the hall, up and down the stairs and don't mind it one bit! For the worriers amongst you, we hang on tight! 

Mr. Vespasian received his mail on the amazing porch, however, he was special and apparently we are not. At least not yet anyway! A notice was placed in the box saying we needed to put a mailbox out by the street and you know Mr. Johnny-on-the spot was all over that! 

There is plenty to say about our activities however, today let us turn our attention to a walk I took just this morning under grey and threatening skies. First off, across the street, as in catty-corner to our yard, there is a small bed and breakfast called Angel's Landing. Her gardens are wonderful, filled with bird feeders and just yesterday I spotted this fellow as well.

Speaking of bird feeders, we have not put ours up yet as we are still trying to figure out the best location. I will say that their is a cacophony of bird calls from morning to night here. So much so that last night at eight o'clock I had to shut the front door in order to hear the television! It is fantastic and so unexpected.

Back to my walk, everything is insanely green. Green everywhere!

I just started wandering the streets to see what I could see and it was good. Lots of lovely homes,

and more green.

Mostly the streets are at a gentle slope, but not all of them! I am doing pretty good for a Florida gal! 

Vegetable gardens, along with flowering bushes.

The word verdant comes to mind. 

On one of the streets, the name of which I have since forgotten,  I looked up and saw both the courthouse and a tree filled with white blossoms.

Once I actually walked down that street my heart leapt at the beautiful sight of a Dogwood tree laden with flowers.

Continuing the green theme, well seriously it is everywhere, so expect more.

Looking up that street,

the fog was visible on the next level of mountain. Or at least that is what I'm calling it knowing no better way to put it.

Through the magic of AI on my iPhone, I now know this is a European Pear tree.

Of course I will forget that information just as quickly as I received it! Not a clue as to what these flowering trees are, but there are a lot of them to be found on the streets I traversed.

Perhaps you have noticed the flag still hanging at our home on Campbell Street? It was one of the things he left and it just seems to fit, so for now it will remain. 

In front of one place that appears to be maybe some apartments? The streets are filled with absolutely every house looking different than the next.

Some much better than others, a fact that would bother some folk,s but it does not bother me in the least because, in my view, it adds to the character, as long as it is not too extreme. One thing that definitely bothers some here is the lack of zoning laws. I read a piece in the paper the other day that said North Carolina was founded for personal freedom and they still take that very seriously more than 200 years later. Below is an example of when I said extreme!

I am pretty sure the above is empty, or so one would hope. It makes for an interesting photography though.

My walk took me by the library which is two blocks from the house. As to the missing letter on the sign, I suspect it is on order.

Just across the street from the library is the Senior Center which we may or may not visit! We are most definitely seniors though so why not?

The longer we have been here, the more I think that while Murphy might not be the prettiest town out there, Blue Ridge, GA comes to mind, however, it is a good place to live. While on my walk, a woman stopped and asked if I were okay, or had I broken down and was looking for help? I explained that I was new to the neighborhood and just doing some exploring. Have a good day she called after giving me directions back to my street. 

That's the way it is. Most all the folks we meet are nice. It is quiet, small, and peaceful. 

I'm pretty sure this is a neighborhood cat and by that I mean you might find it on your street or the next. 

Does this look like the same cat to you? Two streets from the above, I saw it walking on the sidewalk across the street from us.

Maybe, maybe not?

For someone who said they did not know where to start I sure took off running, didn't I? The courts were wet this morning so Bruce went to help with the cooking for tomorrow's Soul Table. Thus, I sat down in our new little office and took off typing like nobodies business. I hope you enjoyed seeing the neighborhood and I promise to next show you more of the house on Campbell Street that we are already in love with.

How could we not be?

your friend,

Gail