A snippet of what it's like here

Little things let me know that though I'm still in the United States I am now dwelling in a different culture. We really do live in a patchwork quilt of intersecting and coexisting sceneries, cultures, and mores. For example, the typical signs at the library are 'no cell phone use', ' no borrowing materials without card.' But there's also a printed sign at the circulation desk from the American Cancer Society that states "Thanks for not smoking" and under which someone added in marker, 'or chewing tobacco or dipping snuff.'

The streets all have three names. "Mama B Drive," Harmony Bog Road." An exception to what seems to be the norm is "Chicken Alley". This last one is actually a cute little drive between historic brick buildings in the middle of town.

Y'all is as ubiquitous as 'ayuh'. As in, "I heard y'all had a killing frost already." Down here we have apples right through to Nov 21. The fruit season goes like this: Blackberries June 1-July 30; Blueberries June 1-Aug 15; Cantaloupes June 1-Aug 20; Muscadines (whatever they are) July 1-Nov 1; peaches May 8-Aug 25, Strawberries march 1-July 1; and watermelons June 25-Sept 1. There's lots of others too, of course, my favorite being figs. My friend has three fig trees which this year bore fruit for the first time. Picking figs was a first for me.

It's a little bit cloudy today but if the sun peeks out later I'll take a video of the area and post it.