Mt. Vernon, Texas

Before leaving Mt. Vernon this morning, we decided to venture into the historical district and found the town museum, housed in a stone structure built by the WPA in 1940 and served as Mt. Vernon's City Hall and fire station. What a find it turned out to be. The current featured exhibit is that of football great, Don Meridith who, as it turns out, is from Mt. Vernon. Although I am quite a football fan, I found the real treasure upstairs in a temperature and light controlled room: the bird egg collection donated by A. W. Nations, an amateur naturalist and orinthologist.

The collection contains over 220 bird eggs, collected during the 1880's before egg collecting was outlawed through legislation designed to protect threatened bird populations. Among the collection are eggs from 3 extinct species: the Carolina Parakeet, Passenger Pigeon and Heath Hen. These beautiful birds became extinct in the early 20th century. Apparently the Smithsonian got into the act when Mt. Vernon (Franklin County) acquired the collection, to ensure that it is properly stored and displayed. It was well worth our time to visit--I must admit that I was surprised to see how tiny some eggs are--hard to imagine that a bird would actually hatch out of such a tiny object--while others are huge, or oddly shaped and spotted. There are great arrowhead and butterfly collections, too, and 3 stunning photos of the extinct (local) birds I mentioned above. In case you are wondering, Mt. Vernon sits on the edge of the northern plains and southern pine forests. It's quite a mecca for many bird species as well as for migrating birds. The gentlemen at the museum were very warm and welcoming to us, and I'd go back in a heart beat if I'm ever in the vicinity. It's nice to see people enthusiastic about their town, their environment and their history, and quite a bonus that they are willing to share their stories with others.

After a delicious lunch at Lou's, we headed south, taking all the back roads to Austin. Lots of cattle and horse country, some corn and cotton farming, and gorgeous wild flowers. After a long, but satisfying drive, we are finally back Austin. Tomorrow, I get to see my only nephew and will finally meet his wife. I can hardly wait!

I keep hearing rumblings from Peggy and Rosemary about a little jaunt to New Orleans next week! We'll see....

Kathy