Greensboro Daily Photo

Roses at Night......

2013-05-21T05:30:00-04:00

These roses, clinging to a wall near our garage, were photographed basking in the backlighting of floodlights. During the drudgery of taking out garbage, just after the rain, we looked up and these lovely, luminescent flowers greeted us. By day and by night, cut and on the vine, roses are lovely in Greensboro this week. If the rains don't beat them down, the lovely display will continue through the summer. Sometimes, as was the case with the above roses, one finds beauty when and where least expected.

Sometimes, as experienced by people in Oklahoma yesterday, you find tragedy when you least expect it. The destruction from yesterday's tornado will be felt for a very long time. We are fortunate in Greensboro in that we don't usually experience natural disasters. If your are in the position to help the residents in Oklahoma in some way, Greensboro's Red Cross Center is located on Yanceyville Street. Consider helping, if you can.

If you have friends or family who have been affected personally by the storm, remind them that when and where they least expect it, something of beauty will shine through.

Friends Homes Inc.

2013-05-20T05:30:00-04:00

Friends Homes, catering to the 60+ demographic, was founded as a non-profit by the North Carolina Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Friends Homes Inc. was chartered in 1958, in 1968, opened the New Garden Road facility and in 1993, opened Friends Home West. Both communities try to provide an affordable environment that fosters independence and a sense of wholeness in a secure environment*

We chose this unit to feature because when we were out walking around, we loved the sense of individualism that radiated from the stepping stones to the dressed cement goose on the patio. If you head out that back door, you can be relatively removed from neighbors and all of the planned and structured events. If you head through the other door, to the interior hallway, you can be as connected as you want. Greensboro has plenty to offer for people at all stages of life.

*reference.

Our Lady of Grace

2013-05-19T05:30:00-04:00

How do you know it is Sunday, here on GDP? Well, you see something spiritual. Here is a picture of Mary holding her Son at Our Lady of Grace Church (OLG) on West Market Street. OLG was built in 1952 and made possible with funds donated by Julian Price, Chairman of the Board of Jefferson Standard Life Insurance. The church has a great deal about the church's history on their website. Details about the artwork are even shared on their website (here). Unfortunately, it didn't mention any details about the above artwork, but we like it. It is calming. And, we thought that for this time between Mother's Day and Father's Day, it would be appropritate to feature something that highlights the bond between parent and child.

Happy Sunday, and if you are a parent; do something to celebrate the love you have for your children. Mary would be pleased; you will be, too!

On Westover Terrace

2013-05-18T05:30:00-04:00

Some people dream of the future and technological innovation. Others are quite content to live in the present. Still others, have a little piece of their heart in the past. We suspect the residents of the above home fall into the past-loving category. In front of their house we see the retro lawn chairs and that beauty of a 1956 Dodge Royal. Can't you imagine sitting in that yard in the evening, catching fireflies with your children, and piling in that sedan to head for an ice cream... maybe even at nearby Yum-Yum.

The Westover Terrace of today is a street dissected by Benjamin Parkway. It has a busy part by Grimsley High School and Wendover Avenue. It also has a little section on the edge of Westerwood. The above house is located on that section that cuts through from Friendly Avenue to Aycock Street. As we drove by, we could almost imagine Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, and Carl Perkins music playing on that car radio.

27403..... On College Hill

2013-05-17T05:30:00-04:00

This weekend is Preservation Greensboro's Third Annual Tour of Historic Homes and Gardens. This year's neighborhood is College Hill, Greensboro's first neighborhood and home to some of our city's oldest homes. College Hill was settled in the 1840's around the time that Greensboro College opened. The houses, many of which were built in the early 1900's, haven't changed much over the past 100 years. Here and here are examples of the single family dwellings. The homes on show are a larger and more elegant, but these smaller homes are equally cozy.

The above view was taken on South Mendenhall, not too far from the Troy Bumpass Home and beside Greensboro College. Read Preservation Greensboro's Facebook page (here) and you will be running to buy a ticket for the tour of homes. The weathermen say the weather will be perfect. While photography is not allowed inside the homes, we'll be there taking photos from the street. Hope to see you there!

School is Winding Down... and Gearing Up

2013-05-16T05:30:00-04:00

The Institutions of Higher Education in Greensboro have had their spring graduation ceremonies and are gearing up for summer school. High school students are in the middle of AP exams as well as International Baccalaureate and EOC common exams. The North Carolina curriculum and exams have changed this year. Teachers have worked very hard to implement the changes.

The above photo, taken a couple of months ago on the campus of Greensboro College, represents the students' side of education. It captures that feeling on being alone, pensive, and carrying a great weight one one's shoulder. Students are the reason teachers are so dedicated. Students are the reason schools, colleges, and universities try so hard to make school seem like a home away from home.

Greensboro College, affiliated with the Methodist Church, was founded in 1838 on 80 acres located near downtown Greensboro. If you want to see an expanded view of the View House (by Assistant Professor Ted Efremoff) go here. Better yet, head downtown and see if the View House is still on display. Greensboro College is a lovely place to go for a walk. If you see any students, send them some words of encouragement.

R is for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

2013-05-15T05:30:00-04:00

Whole Foods in Friendly Center is making an effort to educate the public about disposing of trash. Before us, we see three bins: 1) trash/landfill, 2) recycling, and 3) compost. This sorting helps us reduce, reuse, and recycle. Some items inevitably head to the landfill; however, there is plenty of waste that can be recycled or composted. The City of Greensboro takes yard waste that can be composted. They now takes all plastic bottles and jugs numbered 1-7.* This is a more generous policy than we had in previous years, Whole Foods helps educate us on what exactly can be done with which items. Greensboro has learned that nobody wants a garbage dump in their neighborhood, so the less trash that we have, the better off we all are. Every composted or recycled piece of trash makes a tremendous difference in what gets sent to the dump.

Today is ABC Wednesday and for our GO GREEN Greensboro series, "R" is for reduce, reuse, recycle! We can also add, "repurpose," that great effort to make something useful out of something that has outlived its usefulness. If you look closely on the wall, you can see that Whole Foods made decorations out of old wooden spools from local textile mills, a local, repurposed touch.

*view the city's plastic recycling page here.

On Church Street

2013-05-14T05:30:00-04:00

Church Street is changing before our eyes. This photo of the corner of Church Street and Pisgah Church (Lees Chapel) Road shows one of the buildings of yesteryear. At one time, Church Super Market, was a barber shop with an older barber who would give his young clients mosquito houses. They were shaped like bird houses and about the size of a quarter. Likely, given the FOR RENT SIGN from last year, it is already something else and not inconceivable that the bilding will be torn down to become a 21st-century franchise. Don't you love the way the businesses are painted different colors? So clever and practical.

Canterbury School is located about a mile up the road and, beyond that, the Lake Jeanette neighborhoods. Just south, is Skateland East. Do you have any memories of this part of town? At one time, this area was strictly country. Now, it is strictly suburbs.