All Kinds of Kinds

Loved this song (and subsequently belted it on repeat) since I bought her Four The Record album... now you will too.

Contemporary Church

I happen to be one of those individuals that gets almost as much out of a song as a church service. Don't misunderstand, I'm a church-going, Bible holding, daughter of the King, but sometimes I feel like I can relate better to music. I truly believe that I was a rock star in my past life (not that I believe in past lives etc), and I vaguely remember asking Mere where my next venue was last Friday as I sweetly serenaded (more like forced them to listen to me screaming) the lyrics of TSwift.

Today I slipped back into my coma of country crooners and blared Eric Church's Chief on my morning commute (which was made unusually long by a stalled car on the North loop). There's just something about his voice (and the voices of Luke Bryan, Josh Turner, Jason Aldean, and Justin Moore) that make my Southern side swoon. I can't help myself. In the words of Gretchen Wilson, "I'm just a product of my raisin'."

But c'mon, how can you not just wana drive down a back road or break out the cowboy boots after a few of these (here, here or here)?

Delta, Delta, Delta, can I helpya, helpya, helpya?

Being that I've been born and raised in Memphis, the northern-most point of the Mississippi Delta, it's always fascinated me. From the floods and factories, to the farms and agriculture--it's just interesting to me.

As some of you might recall, I went "country" last fall and had my first true taste of Delta-life. While parusing the Memphis magazine website today, I stumbled upon a new treasure.

{buy it here}

This book is now added to my ever-growing "need to read" list, and it should be on yours too. Don't take my word for it though, Memphis agrees with me.

she's gone country

"When the sun starts slippin' from the Delta sky,

And the last scarecrow tucks in for the night

Make a fire, throw a blanket on the sandy bank

'Bout an hour til we feel the first catfish yank.

Barefoot cane pole wavin' at the riverboats

And when they're gone take a dip in the moon glow

That's what country is..."

Luke Bryan

I finally made the trek to Mississippi to visit Benny, and to my surprise I really liked it. Don't get me wrong here-- I never ever thought I'd hate it, but despite my freakish flare for country music, in reality I actually am a city girl. I've only ever lived in the thriving cities of Memphis and Birmingham, which despite being rich Southern history, aren't exactly the country....

That said, the fear of the unknown rural-lifestyle had me a bit spooked. Thankfully, we (me and the backwoods) hit it off right from the start. My trip was full of fun and new experiences including shooting my first gun, learning new history about the state lines (the Mississippi River doesn't actually serve as a hard-and-fast divide of Arkansas and Mississippi), and trips to both Doe's and Abe's. Here are a few of the pictures I took this weekend, and let me be the first to say they do not give The Delta justice--really and truly it's gorgeous down there.

[walking around some wreckage from the flood of the mighty mississippi]

[one of my favs-- he didn't know he was in the picture]

[deer tracks everywhere--this one looked like a heart]

[again...one of my favs b/c it describes him so well]

[Benny and his true love--his John Deere]

As you're well aware I'm a huge fan of lists in my posts; this one is no exception. While I found numerous things I loved, these next few are among some of my latest and greatest obsessions...

1) Orchards--specifically pecan orchards

[love the endless rows of perfectly landscaped trees]

[pecans]

[I don't even really like pecans, but these were ah.maze.ing.]

2) The Delta Sunset

[gave me chills]

[it lights up the sky like I've never seen it]

3) Open Spaces

[with the amazing sunset over a field at Allendale Farms]

[ok--so, this isn't a field, but c'mon..pretty dang cool if you ask me]

4) Back Roads

[at Concordia Rod and Gun Club]

[must admit it beats a highway any day]

last but not least.........

5) Cotton

[proud of the cotton modules]

In the word's of an all-time favorite,"I hear down there it's changed ya see, they're not as backward as they used to be-- She's gone country, look at them boots; she's gone country, back to her roots; she's gone country, a new kinda suit; she's gone country, here she comes..."

Couldn't have said it better myself, Alan. Here's to hoping that this is just the beginning of my love affair with the mesmerizing Mississippi landscape...

[one of our only pictures together from the weekend--finally figured out self timer]

*post title courtesy of the Alan Jackson song

*Now Playing: Mud on the Tires, Harvest Time, Livin' Our Love Song, Fly Over States, Country Boy's World, Famous in a Small Town, Me and Charlie Talking, Beaches of Cheyenne and many, many more.