Magnolia Springs

Tags

Hiking, photography, state parks

Lime Sink Trail

After a week spent neck deep in editing a book for my cousin on top of dealing with the idiocy of our governor who decided it was time to open up hair and nail salons, tattoo parlors and bowling alleys, I really needed to “get away” Saturday morning.

So, my husband and I took my little Turbo Abarth and motored up to Magnolia Springs State Park where we had the Lime Sink Trail all to ourselves.

Magnolia Springs has always had a special place in my heart as we often drove there with my grandparents when I was a child and picnicked next to one of the springs, cooled off in the swimming holes in the torrid southern heat, and toured the little aquarium with its native snakes, fish, and turtles.

According to its history: Magnolia Springs State Park encompasses over 1,000 acres between Perkins and Millen, Georgia. The park is named after, and built around, the crystal-clear spring water that flows through the area.

The biggest of the springs.

During the Civil War, the area now encompassed by the park, was known as Camp Lawton. A stockade held Union soldiers captured as prisoners of war. The site was selected due to the abundant water supply. Between August and November 1864, Camp Lawton was planned, built, operated, and eventually abandoned. Despite its brief tenure, the prison held over 10,000 soldiers and was said to be the largest prison in the world at the time. The stockade was closed in November 1864, and its prisoners routed to other camps as General William T. Sherman’s army closed in during his infamous “March to the Sea.”

In 2010, archaeology teams from nearby Georgia Southern University uncovered parts of the stockade wall and artifacts from prisoners. Several of these artifacts are interpreted at the Magnolia Springs History Center located inside the park. Presently, archaeologists and historians continue to study this historic property to uncover more details about the camp and its occupants.

After the Civil War, The springs became a popular recreation destination long before the park was established. This area was used for picnics, church gatherings, reunions, and swimming for local citizens. These same citizens pushed for the development of the area for years until the park was officially created in 1939.

Like many early Georgia state parks, much of the infrastructure of Magnolia Springs was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, also known as the “CCC.” The CCC was responsible for damming the spring-fed stream to create a large swimming area for visitors, as well as building roads, a bathhouse, and other park buildings.

The land adjacent to Magnolia Springs State Park is the site of what was once the Millen National Fish Hatchery, later renamed the Bo Ginn National Fish Hatchery. The fish hatchery used water from Magnolia Springs to supply 25 ponds that raised sport and endangered fish. The fish hatchery was also home to a popular aquarium where visitors could observe native and raised fish. The hatchery operated until 2010, when it was closed by the Federal Government.

Spring side water plants

These days, I would be hesitant to swim there as there are a number of alligators and water moccasins that call the swimming area their home!

To Fly Heavenward

Tags

Mysticism, photography, Poetry

Laurel Grove Cemetery

This is Love: to fly heavenward,

To rend, every instant, a hundred veils.

The first moment, to renounce life;

The last step, to fare without feet.

To regard this world as invisible,

Not to see what appears to oneself.”

~~Jalalu ’d Din, “Selected Poems from the Divan”

Alleluia!

Tags

Easter, photography

In the midst of Death there is Life.

This sermon is read at the Paschal Divine Liturgy on the Sunday of the Resurrection in Orthodox churches throughout the world. It was written circa 400 AD by Saint John Chrysostom and we feature it in our book, A Spring in the Desert on Easter Sunday.

Are there any who are devout lovers of God?

Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!

Are there any who are grateful servants?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary from fasting? Let them now receive their due!

If any have toiled from the first hour, let them receive their reward. If any have come after the third hour, let them with gratitude join in the feast! Those who arrived after the sixth hour, let them not doubt; for they shall not be shortchanged. Those who have tarried until the ninth hour, let them not hesitate; but let them come too. And those who arrived only at the eleventh hour, let them not be afraid by reason of their delay. For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first. The Lord gives rest to those who come at the eleventh hour, even as to those who toiled from the beginning.

To one and all the Lord gives generously. The Lord accepts the offering of every work. The Lord honors every deed and commends their intention. Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike, receive your reward. Rich and poor, rejoice together! Conscientious and lazy, celebrate the day!

You who have kept the fast, and you who have not, rejoice, this day, for the table is bountifully spread! Feast royally, for the calf is fatted. Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the banquet of faith.

Enjoy the bounty of the Lord’s goodness!

Let no one grieve being poor, for the universal reign has been revealed.

Let no one lament persistent failings, for forgiveness has risen from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us free.

The Lord has destroyed death by enduring it.
The Lord has vanquished hell when he descended into it.

The Lord put hell in turmoil even as it tasted of his flesh. Isaiah foretold this when he said, “You, O Hell, were placed in turmoil when he encountering you below.”

Hell was in turmoil having been eclipsed.
Hell was in turmoil having been mocked.
Hell was in turmoil having been destroyed. Hell was in turmoil having been abolished. Hell was in turmoil having been made captive. Hell grasped a corpse, and met God.

Hell seized earth, and encountered heaven.
Hell took what it saw, and was overcome by what it could not see.

O death, where is your sting? O hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen, and you are cast down!
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life is set free!
Christ is risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead.

Palm Sunday

Tags

G.K. Chesterton, Poetry

The Donkey

by G. K. Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil’s walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.