Occasional Threads – Ellen Guerrant

Ronnie’s Country Store, 642 N. Cherry St., Winston-Salem NC

We came across this gem not far from the Arts District in Winston-Salem by accident several years ago. Going to Ronnie’s Country Store the day before Easter has since become a tradition.

The store was originally the W.G. White Grocery until 1994, when Ronnie Horton purchased it.  Stepping through the front door, edged with fresh produce,  is like stepping back in time.  Old-fashioned candies, purchased by the pound, wait in wooden cheese hoops.  Whole country hams hang from rafters in the back of the store, while pickles of all types (including pickled egg varieties) and jams and jellies line the walls. Mops and brooms are nearby.   Canned goods such as Spam and pork ‘n’ beans and beanie wienies are well stocked as are several types of corn meal and grits.  Old-timey glass bottled grape, strawberry and orange soda pop await in a cooler. Barrels hold peanuts and dried beans of all types while country antiques adorn walls and hang from the ceiling.  Along with whole country hams, customers will find ham slices, ham hocks, ham meat (and almost sold out that day) fat back, the favored green bean flavoring of southern cooks.  Tomato plants, marigolds and gorgeous dahlias were available out front.

Mr. Ronnie Horton was there the day of our visit and very kindly consented to having his picture taken with my DH.  He was also gracious enough to allow this blog post about his establishment.

Treat yourself to a visit to Ronnie’s, truly a treasure. It’s just a block from the convention center.  I wish we’d had time for a visit to the nearby Rescue Mission thrift store.  Just look for the illuminated cross and Jesus Saves sign a block to the northeast.

For more photos of Ronnie’s, click here:  http://www2.journalnow.com/list/gallery-ronnies-country-store/gallery/

I love April.  It is not only the month of my birth, but the most promising of seasons.  We live on a short little street, just four minutes from uptown.  But it’s like being in another world to us.  Quiet and shaded by giant oaks, it’s as if you’re driving into a forest when the turn is made off Queens Road.  We were just kids when we moved here, and never plan to leave.

Shown above is the gorgeous next door cherry tree which now covers a portion of our yard.  Puppydog Numa surveys her surroundings, ready to become friends or to protect.

This is a part of our new front yard landscaping.  I’ll share more later this week.

The birdhouse was found in my home state.  It’s roof is an Illinois license plate.

I blinked, and it was suddenly spring in the Carolinas!  Each morning when I walk through our back garden, I find more and more plants have emerged. There was not a sign of baptisia yesterday, and today it has poked its sprigs four inches through the soil.  Most of our older azaleas are blooming, and the dogwood are coming into full flower.  The first of our wildflowers is blooming, hostas are bursting forth, and even the lilies of the valley have shown their shoots.  The red knockout rose is covered in buds, with the other strains not far behind.

I know we’ll probably pay later on for having had literally no winter.  Right now peach farmers are holding their breath for fear of a freeze.  Gardeners were once cautioned against planting too early.  The last official frost date here is April 26.  It’s not unusual to have a big snow after the daffodils bloom…..as on my sister Sue’s birthday in 1993.  Thirteen inches of snow on March 13.  But I digress.  I’ll enjoy the beauty and try not to think about what summer may bring.

The last plant shown is a calico euphorbia.  I was fascinated by a beautiful variety my DIL had gotten from her grandmother, who calls it primrose. Apparently there are over 2,000 varieties of the species.  This was the only one I was able to find in Charlotte.

It is unseasonably cold in Charlotte, following a week of delightful warmth.  But the knock-out roses, black and blue salvia, angelonia and Becky daisies are still blooming their hearts out.  The gardenias planted last spring are just now beginning to bloom.  Some years, we have roses until December.

This photo above was an experimental shot with my new camera.

The late afternoon light cast interesting shadows on these ghost pumpkins.

We are so fortunate to have a farmer’s market at the bottom of our street – just seven houses away.  Open Tuesday, Friday and Saturday (daily in October), the market gives us easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables, glorious bouquets, plants, baked goods and even fresh shrimp and grass-fed beef.  Fall is one of my favorite times there, as that’s when the pumpkins arrive!

We and the kids walked down Tuesday with their sweet baby Leven for her first visit to a pumpkin patch.  It was fun to watch her propped up for a photo shoot.