Day 232 - Windsor Avenue in Roanoke, VA

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

My Grandmother's House and Boxwoods

For a few weeks every summer, until I was about 13, my brother Jon and my sister Anne and I were delivered to my grandparents' house in Roanoke, Virginia. 

White Azalea

My grandmother lived in the house on Windsor Avenue until she was about 97 years old.  At that time,  it became necessary to move her to assisted living, so the house was sold and she was moved to Raleigh, to be near the home of her daughter-in-law.  She died in Raleigh at the age of 100.

Grandma was a master gardener.  She would put on her straw hat and get out in the dirt, taking cuttings of her beloved boxwoods and rooting them in her garden soil, tending them until they were big enough to transfer as small bushes to neighbors, friends, and family.  Her front yard had azaleas and various bulbs.  The backyard was full of Vitex, dogwood, pansies, geraniums, and roses.  Her home was on the garden club tour every year.

The iron fencing

The two story brick colonial still looks much the same, although the yard has suffered without her loving touch.  The front yard is still bordered by the iron fencing she was so proud of.  The side porch of the house, where we spent many an evening sipping iced tea and chatting as the light faded, is now screened in. 

White Dogwood

As kids, my brother and sister and I would skate on the sidewalks, take walks around the block, and play with the other children in the neighborhood.  Of course, we were always taken to visit friends of my grandparents, where we had to be on our best behavior.  A favorite trip of ours was to be taken to the Dairy Queen, where we were lined up in the back seat of the car, eating chocolate dipped cones on a hot summer day.  They would drip and ooze all over us, and probably made a mess in the car.  But we loved that special treat.

A home in the neighborhood

My friend Norma and I walked around the block from Grandma's house.  There were dogwoods and a few azaleas in bloom.  I had expected that this area would be far ahead of Maryland in terms of bloom, but they weren't.  Chilly weather has slowed things down here, too.

It was nice to take a walk down memory lane today.  The neighborhood residents have changed over the years, but the street still had pretty red brick homes, many with nicely tended yards.  I'm glad I stopped in Roanoke for my walk.  It would have been a shame to pass it by.

 ******************

Visit my photography show, "My Maryland," at the public library in Urbana, Maryland, on the lower level of the building.  It is there until the end of April.

Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

*************************************************

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots
Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use whatever camera is easy and convenient for walking comfortably; always have a backup camera at the ready in case of mishaps (I use the Nikon Coolpix P7700)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so