This week I realized I have been neglecting the summer season in terms of local photography. So, rather than hike the entire town, I walked around our immediate block then photographed St. Patrick Street (where our new home is being renovated) up as far as the Town Common then back to the church.

The homes, of course, represent everything that is possible (and impossible), right (and wrong), encouraging (and frustrating), beautiful (and not so much), accessible (and out of reach) and inspirational about a historic district like this.

You will see homes that have been renovated, homes that are being renovated, homes that need to be renovated and homes that desperately need to be renovated.

The three houses that I believe have the greatest potential have been empty for years (I think you can easily pick them out), and two of those have absentee owners who refuse to even talk to serious buyers willing and able to purchase and restore them.

I think that St. Patrick is an exceptionally cool street, and I love the way it presents: beautiful homes, a little overgrown in places, picturesque; overall a very classy urban landscape.

All I did was to walk around and take photographs. I am not labeling the houses, or saying “this one” is nice and “that one” is shabby, but simply sharing the beauty and the dignity of the architecture and the amazing story of possibility and potential represented.

In order, the images will take you north on St. David St., then west on Church St., then north on St. Patrick St., then through the Town Common to the intersection of St. Patrick and Park Avenue, then back down St. Patrick all the way to Howard Memorial Presbyterian Church before looking back up St. Patrick one more time.

So enjoy the pictures. And, if you are trying to decide what you want to do in your retirement years, consider joining us over here. Find something, fix it up, and invest in this marvelous little town.

Putting our resources to work on behalf of the community just makes sense when we think about being faithful to how God wants us to approach this time in our lives.

It’s about as opposite to, “Find a retirement community and be taken care of until you die” as we could imagine. And that’s fine with me.

Peace and love – DEREK