Green Winter Grass

We have had only a handful of days where the temperature dropped down into the 20's at night. It has been so mild, except for a few patches, the grass stayed green this winter.
It has been cloudy, rainy, humid and mild this week and it will continue into the weekend with an increased chance of storms.
We can still get cold weather, March is iffy, but for the most part, winter is over in South Mississippi.

Happy Leap Day.

South MS flower

This flower is from this area, but my daughter forgot the name of it. It grows on a bush and the bush grows pretty tall. The flowers bloom till March when they fall off and bloom again in December. It's our only splash of color in the backyard for those months. There are a few of these bushes around the neighborhood. So far, this winter has been pretty mild, only going down into the 20s at night a hand full of times. I like winter in the south. Low humidity and no bugs to harass you outside.

Gulfport

Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson.
Gulfport was incorporated on July 28, 1898. Gulfport was founded by two men: William H. Hardy who was president of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SIRR) that connected inland lumber mills to the coast, and Joseph T. Jones who later took over the G&SIRR, dredged the harbor in Gulfport, and opened the shipping channel to the sea.
In 1902, the harbor was completed and the Port of Gulfport became a working seaport that now accounts for millions of dollars in annual sales and tax revenue for the state of Mississippi.

From its beginnings as a lumber port, Gulfport evolved into a diversified city. With about 6.7 miles (10.7 kilometers) of white sand beaches along the Gulf of Mexico, Gulfport has become a tourism destination, due in large part to Mississippi's Coast Casinos.

Gulfport has served as host to popular cultural events such as the "World's Largest Fishing Rodeo," "Cruisin' the Coast" (a week of classic cars), and "Smokin' the Sound" (speedboat races).

Gulfport is a thriving residential community with a strong mercantile center. There are historic neighborhoods and home sites, as well as diverse shopping opportunities and several motels scattered throughout to accommodate golfing, gambling, and water-sport tourism.

On August 29, 2005, Gulfport was hit by the strong east side of Hurricane Katrina, and much of Gulfport was flooded or destroyed. Much of Gulfport was also severely damaged by Hurricane Camille on August 17, 1969.
In 2005 I lived in Gulfport with my Daughter and 2 grandkids when Hurricane Katrina hit. It was an experience I never want to go through again.

misi-ziibi

From the Ojibwe word, misi-ziibi "Great River", is where Mississippi state got its name.
In addition to its namesake, major rivers in Mississippi include the Big Black River, the Pearl River, the Yazoo River, the Pascagoula River, and the Tombigbee River. Major lakes include Ross Barnett Reservoir, Arkabutla Lake, Sardis Lake and Grenada Lake. The largest lake in Mississippi is Grenada Lake.

The state of Mississippi is entirely composed of lowlands, the highest point being Woodall Mountain, in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains, 806 feet (246 m) above sea level. The lowest point is sea level at the Gulf coast.

Mississippi is heavily forested, with over half of the state's area covered by wild trees, including mostly pine, as well as cottonwood, elm, hickory, oak, pecan, sweetgum and tupelo.

Hospitality State (previously used on license plates)
Magnolia State
The South's Warmest Welcome
The Birthplace of America's Music (currently being used on license plates)

February 2nd

We are having a mild winter here in the south. I'm not complaining, as long as its not the hot humid summer, I can deal with it. It gets up to near 70 but it cools down at night.

Grace is 13 today. A little teenager, but she has been acting like one for about 2 years now, anyway.

It felt like yesterday was Christmas and here it is, February, already....