Our Adventures With Retired Racing Greyhounds, Truly, Maggie and Walker



Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Walking with the Hounds, Part 2

Quick Recap:
Sawyer and I had such a good time in January when I took my camera on our walk with Truly and Maggie that we decided to expand on that theme.

We expanded by 1. taking the camera more often and 2. taking Walker out for his first walk in the neighborhood.

Here's the next part of our walk with all three of Those Brindle Kids:
(Note - Walker continues to wear his harness with a leash and his martingale collar with a second leash - just to be safe.)

While we were thinking good thoughts for our friends to the northeast as they experience a huge snowfall, there was no hint of snow here.  Saturday was a gorgeous day.

We started by walking between the Woodruff House and Mercer Law School both of which sit on top of Coleman Hill.  At the bottom of the hill is a monument to soldiers from Macon killed in WWII.  Tim came with us.
Tim with Those Brindle Kids.
We wanted to cross the street.  We paused to see how Walker responded to the cars.
He looked left.
He looked forward.
He looked right.
 Walker was curious but didn't seem to be scared by the cars.
Getting ready to cross the street.
On the other side of the street is the Hay House.

From the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, "One of Georgia’s most distinguished structures, the Johnston-Felton-Hay House in Macon was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. It was built from 1855 to 1859 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, a marked contrast to the more restrained Greek Revival architecture of the antebellum period.
The 18,000-square-foot mansion spans four levels and is crowned by a three-story cupola. Commissioned by imaginative owners and constructed by the most skillful workers of the time, its technological amenities were unsurpassed in the mid-19th century: hot and cold running water, central heat, a speaker-tube system, in-house kitchen and an elaborate ventilation system."

Headed up the driveway.
Walker is having no problem at all.
View from the side yard. 
Walking through the back yard garden.
The fountain in the center of this koi pond bothered Walker.
He didn't like the sound of the splashing water.
Truly and Maggie don't mind the sound but they've been here many times.
This is the first time Walker has seen or heard it.
Walker needed just a little reassurance.
He didn't like the sound of the fountain but he didn't want to turn his back on it, either.
It is pretty, though.
Front of the house.
We were afraid Walker would have problems coming back down those marble steps.  He did not.
People say the Hay House is haunted by the ghost of a young woman, the daughter of the man who built the house.  She is said to occupy the three levels of the cupola.  Hmmm . . . 

Next, we walked a little further down the street to the Cannonball House.

From the website:
"The Cannonball House, named for damage sustained during the War Between the States, was built in 1853 as a planter's townhouse. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is an example of authentic Greek Revival architecture containing fine period furnishings.

The house is also the repository for the Founders' parlors of the Adelphean (ΑΔΙΙ) and Philomathean (ΦΜ) societies, recreated from Wesleyan College, where they began in 1851 and 1852."
The sun proved to be a challenge.
When I was in college, I served as a docent giving tours on the weekends.  The house is kept in pristine condition.
This is a cannon used by Confederate troops during the Civil War.
It is not the cannon that caused damage to the house.
Camellias in the front garden.
The wrought iron fence was cast here in Macon by Taylor Iron Works.
The house was the site of a murder during the late 1980's.  The caretaker opened the house one morning and found a dead man laying on the floor in the dining room.  It was a very hush, hush situation as the victim was a prominent businessman.  Hush, hush means that everybody was talking about it and the related and quite sordid details.

Yes, you guessed it.  The house is said to be haunted.  Though I worked there for three years, I never once ran into a ghost.  Believe me, I tried hard to find one.

Just across the street from the Cannonball House is Katherine Court Apartments built in the early 1900's.  It's one of the first true apartment buildings in the city.  Prior to the construction of Katherine Court, most apartments were large wooden, boarding house-type structures. It's on the National Register of Historic Places.  It was sad to see that a resident has chosen to attached a satellite dish to the front railing of his/her balcony.  :(
Katherine Court has a beautiful rooftop deck and garden
We headed toward home.  Since Walker doesn't mind cars passing by him, we walked straight up the street.
Masonic Temple
Walker being good.
Truly and Maggie being good.
The Bennett House.  This house has a spring-fed swimming pool in the basement.
Mercer's Walter F. George School of Law is just across the street from the Bennett House.
And here's the fabulous regional AT&T headquarters.
When it was constructed in the 1970's, they tried to make the monolithic building fit into the neighborhood
 by putting white columns on the front.  Oh, well.  They are good neighbors.
See?  Walker is unconcerned by the passing of the red car.
Back home now.  Those Brindle Kids were hot and tired.
It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood!  Mr. Rogers would have been proud.

**Special thanks to Tim, who wrangled three greyhounds and four leashes.  Without his expert assistance, this pictorial post would not have been possible.  :)

8 comments:

  1. Great job, Walker! Thank you for the lovely tour of your neighborhood!

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  2. Yay for Walker. Now he can live up to his name.

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  3. What a fabulous place you live.

    So glad Walker enjoyed the historical places, but glad he didn't see any ghosts.

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  4. What a wonderful tour and I'm glad Walker did so well. I'm a docent at Copshaholm in South Bend, Indiana, so I'm a sucker for historic homes.

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  5. You live in a stunningly beautiful neighborhood. As one of your friends in the Northeast STILL digging out from the (expletive omitted) snow, I am incredibly envious of the flowers, green grass and sunny blue skies.

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  6. I am giddy with joy at seeing Tim walking all 3 hounds! One big happy family. Lynn, I hope you know that months ago this would not have been possible. The love, time and patience you all have been giving to Walker is paying off big time. You all have done such a fabulous job with him. You and your family are excactly what he needed!! Excellent work!

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    1. Thanks, Kathy! He is such a good boy and it really is a pleasure to have him here. Watching him learn is awesome!

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  7. Walker did so well! Bless his heart, I suppose they don't have plashy fountains at the track!

    That Italianate building is gorgeous. I'd love to be shown around that one! And the Bennett House with the spring-fed swimming pool ... what a great way to deal with damp in the basement! Channel it!!

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