Aug. 15, 2006
The Adventures of Jacobs Hollow

 

This is an ongoing work of fiction comprised of creative stories surrounding two young brothers and their mischievious adventures on their family farm, neighboring fields and farms and the extended woodlands of Jacobs Hollow.

"The Adventures of Jacobs Hollow" is a literary collaboration between Harriette Jacobs and her two sons - ages 12 and 14.

 

To access all the entries at once - you may CLICK HERE.  I will be adding a Jacobs Hollow icon in the sidebar soon.

 

"The Adventures of Jacobs Hollow"

Harriette K. Jacobs

Copyright 2005/2006

All Rights Reserved.

 

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Dec. 6, 2005
Jacobs Hollow: The Geography

 

Aside from being in rural Georgia, there are various “landmarks” and spots here and there that are unique only to Jacobs Hollow.  Listed below are some of those special settings and locations that you will encounter in our upcoming series of stories:

 

• Goldens Creek – this is the creek that borders the farm of Jacobs Hollow and the setting for many a day of play and adventure for the boys.
• Praying Rock – a large granite outcropping at the creek and special thinking place and high point for observing wildlife at the creek.
• Treehouse Island – generations ago, this sandbar emerged in the middle of the creek; eventually trees took root and grew establishing a large and forested foundation that was discovered by the family later leading to their building the boys’ treehouse there.
• The Swimming Hole – the best place to be on hot southern summer days, especially with a backpack full of snacks and long daylight hours to spend on Treehouse Island.
• The Bridge – an old, old wooden bridge that crosses Goldens Creek at the edge of Jacobs Hollow.
• The Beaver Tree – a major point of direction deep in the woods of Jacobs Hollow.  The origin of its name comes from the distinctive characteristics left by beavers who had been chewing down this tree and for whatever reason, were disturbed leaving this distinguishing landmark behind.
• The Great Tree – a huge and very old tree that yields a grand view to surrounding farms; a great climbing and thinking spot; a great snack bar when the pecans are ready for gathering.
• The Sacred Chimney – all that remains of a former sharecropper’s house but is now used as a family picnic area.  The boys often meet their friends and a few others here.
• The Haunted Overseer’s House – an old abandoned farm house that governs the entrance to the dirt road leading to Jacobs Hollow.
• The Big Lake – a large, large lake on a neighboring farm that the boys often ride their bikes through pastures to get to for many an afternoon of fishing.
• Sylvester’s Pond – a small pond on a neighboring farm where Sylvester, the 30+ year old, 20 foot alligator, lives.
• The Cemetery – an old family cemetery that is in the middle of a pasture: the very pasture the boys have to cut through to get to The Big Lake.

 

These are among the many mystical surroundings that embrace Jacobs Hollow.

 

 

…to be continued…

 

Harriette K. Jacobs

Copyright © 2005.

All Rights Reserved.

 

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Nov. 5, 2005
BACKGROUND

 

Jacobs Hollow is set in rural Georgia.  Georgia's geology provides a variety of physical settings however, this particular region where Jacobs Hollow lies is just below what is referred to as the Piedmont region or below the Fall Line.  It is believed that this was once (in pre-man geology theories) a previous tidal line ~ that perhaps the Atlantic ocean came that high onto Georgia's land mass and centuries later receded to the current day shorelines.

 

The upper third of Georgia, physiologically, is made up of mountains that gently slope to  hilly ranges generously forrested in pines and a multitude of hardwoods.  The next range that embraces both the Piedmont region and beginning of the coastal and southern portions of the state, are at the end of these hilly slopes and begin to level into flat lands of pines and woods that seem to go on forever and ever, Amen.  The coastal plains are the most eastern portion of the state and limited to the Georgia shoreline and inland by about a two hour's drive.  The remainder of Georgia is the Deep South ~ extending into Alabama and beyond.

 

Georgia is known all too well for its infamous red clay.  However, there are many regions that as a result of the decades when cotton was king, the soil is rich and loamy as well.  But with the summer heat in Georgia, the soil can become dusty, parched and hardened; Georgia farmers know all too well the wrath of a rainless summer.

 

Wildlife that claims Georgia as home range from possums, racoons, deer populations that are undescribeable, feral hogs (wild pigs......bad, very bad...), fox, coyote, bobcat, rumored lynx and even most recently: a sighting of a Florida panther as far north as Macon along  with Cumberland Island's shorelines playing home for wild horses.  The eastern portion of the state falls in the migratory bird flight path and enthusiasts flock to the coastal plains regions during migration seasons to photograph and capture sightings of birds species passing through Georgia's flyway.  The state has both fresh and saltwater fishing habitats that range from lakes and major streams and rivers to the east coast saltwater marshes and the Atlantic Ocean.  Darien, Georgia is the shrimp capital of the South.  Georgia is nothing short of paradise for the outdoorsman.

 

While Atlanta is capital of Georgia and many, many people think of Atlanta when they hear references to the state, the truth is, there is more ruralness to Georgia than the population of Atlanta may lend.  According to census data, Atlanta's population is greater than 4 million while Georgia's overall population is nearing 9 million.  Nearly one half of Georgia's population reside in the Atlanta region leaving the balance of its population sprinkled over the remainder of what is the largest state east of the Mississippi.

 

There is no shortage on the historical roles that Georgia has played in the development, growth and ultimate impact on both "The South" as well as the United States.  It was originally and solely inhabited by the Creek Indians (both Upper and Lower tribes), the Cherokee, the Seminole (in the southwestern region) and the Yamassee prior to Oglethorpe's arrival to establish Georgia as one of the original thirteen colonies.  It has also suffered great trial and retrobution with the Civil War, Reconstruction, the industrial age, the Great Depression and the Civil Rights movement.  All of these elements are key in understanding Georgia and the South, its heritage and its people.

 

 

(...to be continued...)

 

Harriette K. Jacobs

Copyright 2005

All Rights Reserved

 

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Oct. 26, 2005
Welcome to Jacobs Hollow

 

Welcome to "The Adventures of Jacobs Hollow".  This is a literary collaborative effort between my two sons and myself as well as an extended school project from our homeschooling endeavors.

 

Please bare with us as this is a work in progress and continue to check back for our official launching of our introduction and first chapter.

 

Harriette Jacobs

Copyright 2005.

All Rights Reserved.

 

 

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