"Y" as in Galveston YARDS

YIKES!  We're already up to the letter "Y" for Alphabe-Thursday.  Thank you Ms. Jenny for sponsoring Alphabe-Thursday.  I sure hope you're getting to the bottom of things and finding a good treatment for what has been making you feel YUCKY for so long.  I miss your funny posts and want you back!

This week we are studying the letter "Y" as in Galveston YARDS.  Last weekend
 I went down to Galveston on Sunday for the Galveston Historic Homes Tour sponsored by the Galveston Historical Foundation.  The tour takes place on two weekends.  I missed going on Saturday because the weather was perfect for getting some furniture painted in the garage.  I knew the heat and humidity would be coming back and I needed to paint while we had a few good days.  Glad I did because the last couple of days have been miserable.  I'm afraid for us summer is here!

I only had time to visit three of the nine homes on the tour.  This coming weekend I'll try and visit the rest. I've been going on this tour for years and always enjoy it.  If it wasn't for hurricanes I'd buy a home in Galveston.

The first home I visited was a restoration in progress and the YARD hadn't been landscaped yet.  I didn't even think to take pictures. 

The second house I visited was the 1856/1859 John H. and Minnie Knox Hutchings House.  The home was originally built in 1856 and after hurricane damage in 1885 it was remodeled in a Romanesque Revival style.  The house was huge and filled with what I'm sure were very expensive furnishings.  Not exactly my style though.  It reminded me of a museum.  The homes I enjoy the most on the tour are the ones I could imagine myself living in with my dog and cats!  However, I loved this home's huge YARD with wonderful live oaks.  Lots of shade.

 I thought this was kind of cute...

 I wondered if this live oak had been damaged during Hurricane Ike.  There was a large bolt that went through the tree and then chains were wrapped around the trunk to help hold it together.  It was a huge tree and I guess the weight was pulling the trunk apart.

Then I visited the 1909 Fordtran Viotto House.  I would not mind living in this one!  I believe my dog and cats would enjoy the large balcony and I loved the style of this home.  There wasn't a lot of landscaping in the front YARD, but there was a magnolia tree that was blooming.

The back YARD gave me some ideas for what to do with my fence.  I have some old shutters in the garage.

Photographs aren't allowed to be taken inside the homes, so I snapped a few outside with my cell phone.

Now head over to Jenny's blog for a list of this week's participants.  Thanks for visiting...