This Is Where I Live

I took a pretty good walk today and did a different route. I walked south on Highway 98 which is a fairly heavily traveled road as it is the link between Highway 27 and Highway 90, with an entrance and exit to I-10 in there too. Lots of big trucks so I don't really enjoy walking on that road but I wanted to walk down a little dirt road that is an oasis of shade and peace and to get there, I have to walk on the highway. There's a good wide shoulder on both sides so it's not too dangerous. Also, the highway crosses over Lloyd Creek and I love to look at that. I often see turtles sunning themselves on a log and today was no exception there. I did not, however, see an alligator. 
Dang it. 

Here's the little dirt road.

There are palmettos and magnolias, pines and oaks on either side and I hardly ever see a vehicle on it but today a truck pulled out of what I now know is a future driveway because the truck stopped and I had a little chat with the man driving it and an even better chat with the two boys in the backseat, aged 3 and 5. 
"That's our driveway!" one of the boys said. 
"Do you live there?"
"Not yet! We're building a house!"
"That's the plan, anyway," said the daddy. 
The boys proceeded to tell me about their baby. He is seven months old and he can walk! 
"He can walk?" I asked. 
"Yes! He can walk everywhere!" said the five-year old. 
Their poor mother, I thought. But what I said was, "He must be a genius!" 
The boys agreed that he was and I asked them if they loved their baby brother and they assured me they did. 
"Well, you guys take care of him!" I said, and they drove on their way. 

Here's what the railroad tracks that border our property look like. 

See all that bamboo? Yeah. That's from our yard. 

The post office is just a lot away from the crossing. 

And a closer view.

The old train station, built when Lloyd was bustling enough to have one. There was a hotel that served fried chicken dinners and people would get off the train just to eat. Now, though, it is where we get our mail. 

There's another wall with more boxes but my box is in that area. If there is something that's too big to go into the box, the post-person leaves me a slip in the box and I hand it to her and she goes and fetches whatever it is for me. The clerk is only there until noon. 

I have lived in Lloyd in this house now for nineteen years and I am still charmed by so much of what is around me. Especially this time of year when everything is filled with a sort of spring-coming promise. 

The mulberries are coming along. Last week the branches held barely visible leaf buds and now leaves are opening and fruit is forming. Last year we didn't even get enough of the berries to put into a bowl of pancake batter, much less a pie. I have high hopes for this year. 

I worked in the garden this afternoon, weeding and getting ready for the next planting. I need to go buy my peas and seed potatoes and onion sets. 

So that's what Lloyd looked like today from one perspective, at least. The daddy in the truck with the darling boys asked me where I lived and I told him (making air quotation marks) that I live in Down Town Lloyd. He knew exactly what I was talking about. 

This reminded me of a time when we had a visitor who, when sitting on our front porch asked me, "So, where is Lloyd, actually?"

"You're looking at it," I said. And she was. 

Love...Ms. Moon