HOUMAS HOUSE GROUNDS - PART 2

Poseidon in the pool.

Perhaps the statue above represents nobody and is simply an anonymous figure.

The pagoda. And a Japanese bridge?

Another fountain.

Is it just me? The number of statues, structures, pools, etc. (and I did not photograph all!) begins to seem too much. The individual pieces that contribute to the landscaping and building plan are all tasteful. No expense is spared to beautify the grounds, but perhaps more plants and fewer structures would have been the better way to go.

HOUMAS HOUSE GROUNDS - PART 1

Beautiful flower beds. I love the ornamental cabbages.

Neither Grandpère nor I can think of the name of the small, low-growing flowers pictured in the flower bed. (Update: I now know that the flowers are pansies.)

The flowers in the foreground of the photo are nearly black. Again, we've had them in flower beds, but we can't think of the name.

A Houmas House version of Old Faithful?

I did not photograph the attractive formal gardens with low hedges and maze-like paths through the hedges.

LESTER & CHARLIE: Last of the Last Straws

Thanks to bondwooley in the comments for the link to the video about Americans running away to Canada or other places to escape the government if...if...if.... No! It couldn't happen here!

Check out the The Lester & Charlie show, where you can find other satirical videos. You won't be sorry you visited their website.

FEAST OF FELICITY, PERPETUA, AND COMPANIONS

 

Saints Perpetua and Felicity
By Brother Robert Lentz, OFM. © 1996
Courtesy of www.trinitystores.com


Felicity and Perpetua lived in Carthage in North Africa in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries and were martyred, along with several of their companions, for refusing to deny their Christian faith.

El Padre at Padre Mickey's Dance Party has a lovely post about the two saintly women, which includes the icon pictured above, along with another beautiful icon.

The faithful witness of the martyrs, of people like Perpetua and the others, have made it possible for us to hear the Good News, have made it possible for us to learn of salvation, have made it possible for us to have eternal life. May we all share the bravery and faithfulness of Perpetua, Felicitas, Revocatus, Secundulus, Saturninus, Saturas, and all the martyrs.

Kittkatt at Jesus in Love, using the same wonderful icon, posted another beautiful account of the the lives of the saints.

Perpetua was a 22-year-old noblewoman and a nursing mother. Felicity, her slave, gave birth to a daughter while they were in prison. Although she was married, Perpetua does not mention having a husband in the narrative.

There were arrested for their Christian faith, imprisoned together, and held onto each other in the amphitheater at Carthage shortly before their execution on March 7, 203.

I recommend the two commemorations highly.

PRAYER

O God the King of saints, you strengthened your servants Perpetua and Felicitas and their companions to make a good confession, staunchly resisting, for the cause of Christ, the claims of human affection, and encouraging one another in their time of trial: Grant that we who cherish their blessed memory may share their pure and steadfast faith, and win with them the palm of victory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

"...THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY THING...." SARAH PALIN

If you can't or won't make it to church today, or even if you go to church, you could do a lot worse, a whole lot worse, indeed, than to read Rmj's post at Adventus for the 3rd Sunday of Lent.

HOUMAS HOUSE, DARROW, LA

 

Grandpère and I attended the awards luncheon for the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. In a later post, I'll tell you about the people who won the awards. We did not. Above is Houmas House on the East Bank of the Mississippi River, where the ceremony was held. We headed up Bayou Lafourche, then over to cross the river on the Sunshine Bridge, and - miracle of miracles! - we arrived early and had time to tour the grounds.

 

Grandpère standing next to a large oak tree. Does he see a spaceship or a vision in the sky? Something up there seems to have captured his attention. He looks good in his suit, doesn't he?

 

Today the weather was mild and sunshiny, a lovely day for an outing and for walking the beautiful grounds at Houmas House. Usually, I don't like photos of myself, but this one I like. Of course, I'm wearing my old, out-of-style blazer, but so what? I'm old and out of style myself.

 

Spanish Moss in the oaks.

 

Do you know what is shown in the picture above?

Since I have more good pictures of the grounds, I'll probably do another post.

OUR JAPANESE MAGNOLIA

 

At one time, the blooms on the Japanese magnolia in our front yard covered the entire tree. I don't know what happened over the years to cause the blooms to be sparser, but the flowers that DO bloom are still lovely.

 

YOUNG BUTLER CHILDREN

 

Above is one of my favorite pictures of my children when they were young. My daughter loves the picture, too. Although you can't see what the kids look like, I think its a wonderful piece of photography. My neighbor, Kathy Silverberg, took the picture. Kathy worked for the local newspaper, The Daily Comet, and the picture appeared on the front page. We'd had rain for days and days and days, and the children hadn't been outside to play in a long time. Like many children and parents, we were restless. The children couldn't work off their energy, and, as a result, were into more mischief than usual. We'd all had enough. Kathy photographed the wistful scene of the kids looking sadly out the window at the never-ending rain.

In those days, if you went to the newspaper office, they'd let you look through their glossy black and white pictures and take any that pertained to you or your family. I framed the picture, and it hangs upstairs in my house.

FEAST OF ST. CONO THE GARDENER

Cono the gardener lived during the reign of emperor Decius in 251. He came from the town of Nazareth. He left his hometown and went to the city of Mandron, in the province of Pamphylia. There he stayed at a place called Karmela or Karmena cultivating a garden which he used to water and plant with various vegetables. From this garden he obtained what is necessary for life. He had such an upright and simple mind that, when he met those who wished to arrest him and saw that they greeted him, he also greeted in return from the bottom of his soul and heart. When they told him that governor Publius called the saint to go to him, the saint answered with simplicity: "What does the governor need me, since I am a Christian? Let him call those who think the way he does and have the same religion with him." So, the blessed man was tied and brought to the governor, who tried to move him to sacrifice to the idols. But the saint sighed from the bottom of his heart, cursed the tyrant and confirmed his faith in Christ with his confession, saying that it is not possible to be moved from it even though he might be tortured cruelly.

From Mission St. Clare.

Thanks to Ann. I'd never heard of St. Cono before today.

In garden catalogs I've seen statues of St. Fiacre, also named as the patron saint of gardeners.

YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP

From the Shreveport (LA) Times:

The Bossier Parish sheriff's office is launching a program called "Operation Exodus," a policing plan for an end-of-the-world scenario involving a mostly white group of ex-police volunteers and a .50-caliber machine gun, inspired in part from the Book of Exodus in the Bible.

"The buck stops with Larry Deen," said Bossier Parish Sheriff Larry Deen. "The liability stops with Larry Deen. I am the chief law enforcement officer in this parish, and it is incumbent upon me protect all of the people in it."

Deen said he had been formulating a plan to protect Bossier Parish's vital resources, like food and gasoline, in the event of a catastrophic event, such as war or a terrorist attack. Deen said he had been thinking of the plan since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
....

These volunteers will be armed by the sheriff's office, using, among other things, shotguns, riot shields and batons. The members are mostly white men. Five are black. Women involved will only be used in "support roles," Deen said, which indicated non-combat activity. One of their first official training sessions was Feb. 20 when they learned basic hand-to-hand combat techniques.
....

Deen said in a press release last week that he named the program in part from the Book of Exodus in the Bible. However, on Wednesday, when asked whether he believed in a true "End of Days" scenario, he declined comment.


Last night, Rachel Maddow showed videos of the men during training sessions. A good many are - ahem - men of a certain age, and I spotted not a few pot bellies amongst them as they kicked the protective pads of their "opponents" in the session. You can imagine that Rachel had a good time with the scenes and even speculated about the Rapture, and that if a rather large group of Republicans are "taken", health care reform would be easier to pass. I can only hope and pray that the idea of "Operation Exodus" doesn't spread to other parishes in Louisiana.