The Amazing Grace Baptist Church Pecan Feast

 There were many events staged across Seguin in honor of the pecan harvest during October 26 through 28, 2012. For the second year in a row, one of the local churches sponsored a free feast to anyone who wanted to eat. Barbeque ribs and sausage, potato salad and beans were served to several hundred folks.

The church wanted to feed people both physically and spiritually, so food was not the only thing that the church offered. There were several hours of gospel music, a few people spoke to the crowd about God and his impact on their lives, and the Gideons passed out Bibles to anyone who would take one.

It was a wonderful time of fellowship and love. I was blessed to be a participant in the program. Here are some of the other people who attended....

First, here are some of the cooks and the "muscle" who moved tables and chairs into place.
Kenneth, on the left, is the drummer for the church praise band. Next, Kevin provided and cooked the ribs. They were delicious! Ed, wearing the blue jacket, and Dean, on the right, also helped out.

 Debbie is the church bass player, but she also plays the accordian. Her rendition of "I'll Fly Away," with the church praise band, got the crowd excited.

There were also musicians who are not members of the church who came and sang for the crowd.

The Kingsbury Trio, three men from Kingsbury, Texas, sang the old-time gospels songs in great three part harmony.

 Evelyn, also known as "Bee-Jay" gave a testimony about God helping her through a dark time in her life when she had a heart attack. It was very moving.

The Bride of Christ, a group of ladies from Seguin, listened to Bee-Jay while they waited for their time on the stage.

This lady really knows how to play the saxaphone. The Bride of Christ has accomplished musicians and singers who love to share their talent with others.

At 4:00, the servers donned their aprons and hair nets. After the pastor, Brother Terry Davis, asked God to bless the food, folks got in line to be served. There was enough food to feed 1000 people, though there were not that many in attendance. That just meant that everyone could have as much as they wanted to eat!

 Carol and my husband, Richard, were two of the servers.

Here is Brother Terry serving one of the guests. Next to him, Laura gets ready to serve some fruit cocktail.

  Walking among the people as they ate the meal, I could not help but notice all the smiles.

 The weather was cool, but not cold, so everyone was able to enjoy the afternoon in the park.

One of the members of the church, Rex, is a retired jeweler, so he offered to make some pecan earrings. He even modeled a pair of the earrings, himself. He has a wacky sense of humor.

As the afternoon progressed, more people shared about God and Jesus. Joe was very passionate about how important it is to make God a part of  a person's life.

Looking at the crowd, I saw that people were moved as they listened.

The sun began to set when the final musicians took to the stage. They sang a combination of old hymns and contemporary praise songs. It was a time to worship.

So, as the day wound down, it seems the Pecan Feast was a success, for people were fed wonderful food for both their stomachs and their souls. Praise God.

Pecan Fest features Lions Club Car Show

Pecan Fest 

October 27, 2012

Seguin's annual Pecan Fest, celebrating the pecan harvest, includes a car show. The Lions Club sponsors the show and car enthusiasts come to drool over everything from vintage hot rods to souped up corvettes. 

Here are a few shots of some of the cars. I can't tell you much about the cars, themselves, because, although I love cars, I don't know alot about them. I own an older model corvette, myself, and when someone asks me what size tires it has, for instance, I reply, "They're big tires." Guys laugh and shake their  heads. So that's how it is....

With that confession, here are my favorite shots of the cars parked around the Central Park square. There was a red 2012 corvette which the owner said has 750 horsepower. Then, there was also a mustard yellow 1955 Studebaker. There were sleek black hot rods, and souped up muscle cars. Enjoy!

Pecan Fest Heritage Days Celebrates Harvest Time

Seguin claims the title of the pecan capital of the world. I can attest to the fact that there are pecan trees in abundance...we have five pecan trees in our tiny yard. It makes sense, then, that Seguinites party when the harvest begins to come in. That time is now. We have been outside picking the pecans out of the grass every day, and I have already made my first pecan pie from our bounty.

Pecan Fest is the annual harvest celebration here in Seguin. There were so many different pecan related events going on, this weekend. Here are a few pictures of some of the folks I saw downtown, where the semi-annual Trade Days shared the town square with the Lions Club Car Show. 

These folks did not have their really cool 1956 Chevy entered in the car show. It was parked on a side street leading up to the square. Nonetheless, someone (probably the man in the flannel shirt) detailed the car until it shone. 

Around the town square, there were many vendors selling a wide variety of goods. Folks wandered around in a leisurely fashion, looking for bargains and looking for something they could not live without.

One booth that is a staple at the Trade Days is the Gretchen Bee Ranch Honey store. Mark and Thien Gretchen have quite a few local bee hives, so if you want local honey, they're the people to see.

 I had to smile when I spied this cowboy...Here he sits, wearing his black felt cowboy hat and his scuffed work boots, taking care of his business on his laptop. Technology and Texas, you gotta love it.

Finally, here is a shot of a fellow photographer taking a picture of one of the vintage cars that were parked around the square. Do you see that he has TWO cameras? That's right, two cameras. Each one has a different lens so that he can take different types of photos without having to change his lens every time he wants a wide angle shot or a close-up. Someday, I will be carrying around two cameras, too. Not yet, but someday.

Butterflies At Walnut Springs Park

 The days are getting cooler, but there are still some butterflies in the area. Here are three I spotted in Walnut Springs Park, today.

The first is the regal Monach atop some yellow lantana.

 Next, a Pipevine Swallowtail is sipping nectar from what I believe is called Turk's Cap.

Finally, a brilliant orange and white butterfly called a Gulf Fritillary.

Enjoy.....

It's All About Pumpkins

 Once a year, First United Methodist Church of Seguin, Texas, focuses on pumpkins. They truck in lots and lots of bright orange pumpkins from a farm in New Mexico and set them up all over their front lawn.

Then, the Pumpkin Patch opens...from October 1st to October 31st, volunteers are available to assist pumpkin shoppers. Originally a youth ministry project when it was first started in 1995, it has grown and now, the proceeds from the sale of pumpkins benefits many of the church ministries. The youth still participate, but there are lots of older church members who volunteer their time to work in the Pumpkin Patch.

 There are pallets spread out on top of the grass, and rows and rows of pumpkins for a person to pick.

There are also several scarecrows standing guard. They're not really scary, for they are church scarecrows, you know.

Here are some of the volunteers who were working when I visited the Pumpkin Patch.

The schools and day cares come and visit, too, and sometimes, they get to play with one of the volunteer storytellers. I met Helen, the lady in the pink blouse, after she told a pumpkin story to one group of pre-schoolers. She told me that there are many storytellers, each taking an hour or so of the day. I could tell she really enjoyed meeting the children.

This young man is one of the youth from the church. He has been coming to the Pumpkin Patch since he was a little boy, and now, he helps out as a volunteer.

 There are many different sizes of pumpkins to choose, from the mini all the way up to great big pumpkins.

The hardest part is choosing which one is your very favorite!

Watching the Parade...Guadalupe County Fair 2012

The annual parade celebrating the fall harvest, in tandem with the Guadalupe County fair, took place on Friday morning, October 12. After photographing the participants as they waited for the parade to begin, I made my way to the historic Aumont hotel to continue photographing the parade as it took place. Here are a collection of some of the sights....

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