Scenic Adair Co., KY: Redbuds & Walnuts on ColumbiaMagazine.com

2014-10-18 - In betwixt Antioch & Chance, District 3, Adair County, KY - Photo by Linda Lewis.
Linda Lewis wrote on April 20, 2014: "This was just too beautiful not to send in to ColumbiaMagazine.com. The contrast between these walnut trees and the redbuds is breathtaking. The late Backyard Oilman Jimmy Reliford had the walnuts planted some years ago, and the Almighty is responsible for the redbuds. These are located on the Sparksville-Fairplay Road. A note: Sometimes, the editors at ColumbiaMagazine.com fail to find a great pictures we receive and they are lost to readers forever. This was one which was retrieved from over six months ago, and we posting now as a reminder of another fabulous season of the year. It's from April 20, 2014. The picture was found when an executive aid winnowed out some text messages (haven't learned how to do that yet, so it's always a slow way to contact me, but my executive assistant does know how, and the webmaster is a whizz) and I thought this one was too good to not to post now. At first, before discovering the text you sent, I thought it was the walnut grove on Stults Street in Columbia, then I called Linda Lewis, I was downright shocked I hadn't known, instantly. This familiar marking place is on KY 768/Sparksville Road between Antioch and Chance. She reminded me of another fact which ought to have been a cue - it is, as she points out, above, another legacy of the late Jimmy Reliford, who knew the long term business value gained for his heirs and future owners by planting walnut groves. I don't know if the redbuds were planted by Mr. Reliford, happened naturally later, or were there when the walnut grove was planted. Don't know what the market value of the walnut trees will be at maturity, but it will be, we'd guess, fabulous. An el Dorado. A Spindletop. A LeGrande. Which brings to mind that at his core, the planter was a mathematician. Jimmy Reliford didn't leave much of anything to chance. His mind was always doing the arithmetic, whether playing checkers, wildcatting, buying whole chunks of Adair County land, or playing poker.. And the grove above is a reminder that, down deep, he cared deeply about land and the forests. Thanks to Linda Lewis, the co-proprietor with husband Carson Lewis, of Columbia's Magnolia House B&B, 307 Merchant Street, in Columbia, KY. (270-634-0694) who also established the delightful lodging with the faith that one day it would catch on and inspire others here. It has caught on, is very busy and yes, Adair County can now accommodate a lot more people in scattered sites, than anyone may have ever thought. (Would the total be 100? 200? it would be a good metric to know. Maybe Sue Stivers at the Chamber has it; we hope to find out from her, soon. - EW