Early Fall drive through Middle Georgia

I was scheduled to meet with a couple for a refinance of their house in Fort Valley. Fort Valley is in Peach County, southwest of Macon. When I had the opportunity to leave the office, I headed the Explorer down Arthur K. Bolton Parkway toward I-75 South toward Macon. This was the second time I had made this trip today, the third in two days. The road was beginning to bore me.

This trip, I shot down 475 past Bibb County and headed down I-75 to the Byron/Fort Valley exit. As I exited the interstate, and passed the clutter at the exit, I suddenly broke free of the gravitational pull of Byron and drove between cotton fields, the green leaves on the cotton bushes heavy with the young bolls. The dark green leaves with the decorations of the white bolls was quite pretty.

Later, the soy beans plants were turning yellow as the season took its toll on the bean plants. As I passed mile to mile, the road became more rural and development less frequent. We finally came upon a city limits sign for Fort Valley and I knew I was close.

I navigated downtown Fort Valley, what there was of it, and turned north past a Nuway Wiener Stand to the subdivision in which the borrowers' house was located. I parked and hopped out and spoke with the wife as she ushered me into their home.

After the closing was completed, I left their house and walked out into their driveway. Suddenly, a fragrance of some unknown flowers met my nostrils. I looked around the driveway and couldn't identify the flowers which were blossoming at this time of year. A dogwood nearby was covered with its rusty leaves and the red seeds on its branches. It was pretty, but hardly the source of the floral fragrance.

I headed the car out of the driveway and back north up 3/41 toward Barnesville and home. As I drove, I could see rows of peach trees and pecan trees, scattered across the lands of North Peach County. It was beautiful. The road headed into Crawford County, then Monroe, then Lamar. Farms and small FHA houses surrounded the highway as I headed north. At one point, I passed the familiar sights of Musella and the packing plant for Dickey Farms, a peach orchard we have visited. The "season over" sign made me sad as I remembered our trips down to Dickey's to buy peaches and peach ice cream and peach bread.

Later, I passed the peach stand just north of Culloden and saw that the DOT had created a roundabout at the intersection of 3/41 and 74. The thickly leaved peach trees surrounded the intersection as if an army of peach trees were camped on the hilltop where the roundabout was located.

The air was so dry now and the thin clouds were high in the sky. It looked so still as if the season had held its breath, waiting for Winter to arrive. But there are many days of Fall before us before the year takes it final turn toward December and January and the hardest days of Winter.

I completed my trip through Lamar County, Barnesville and up through Milner, Orchard Hill and County Line Road over to South Sixth Street Extension and home.

The ride was so restful. Peaceful. Comforting in the false sense of permanence the countryside provided me. I drove down to Fort Valley to provide a service. In return, I was paid $250 and a peaceful, restful trip through Middle Georgia in October. The trees had not turned, but no matter. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride anyway.