The Japanese Magnolia at the Graysville House

Japanese Magnolia blossoms carpet the lawn

of the 1800s Gray House, Graysville, Georgia

 

From 1970 to '75 we lived in a subdivision in the East Brainerd section of Chattanooga, about a half-mile from the Tennessee-Georgia line. We were a young family then, and very active, frequently taking long walks or bike-rides around the area with our two boys.

Just over the state line was the village of Graysville, laid out in the 1840s by John Gray, the English-born contractor who dug the railroad tunnel at Tunnel Hill and liked the Northwest Georgia area so much that he bought 4,000 acres on Chickamauga Creek. He built the Queen Anne-style Gray House, dammed the creek, and built a large, three-story mill.

Every spring we rode our bikes to Graysville, hoping to find blossoms on the magnificent Japanese magnolia tree which sat beside the Gray House.

Most years we were disappointed, because those were the days when the environmentalists had their undies in a wad because of global cooling. Frost usually bit the blossoms before they could reach full bloom. Fortunately, global warming came to the rescue, and now we are treated most years to the sight of the largest Japanese magnolia I've ever seen, in glorious, full bloom.

(Speaking of global cooling/warming/climate change, I have one question for environmentalists: What, exactly, is the ideal temperature for the earth?)

Photograph and text copyright 2022, David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo

For the glory of God alone