Cotton Crop

Yes, indeed there is cotton growing on the old plantation. One of my neighbors has planted a nice cotton plant in their yard and, as all around the South, the crop is coming in

Halloween

The Halloween season has come to Chickasaw, and, as usual, most of the houses are sporting decorations that signal the spooky evening. This is just one of many displays in Chickasaw.

Let Us Spray

One of the several lovely kitties that frequent our yards and gardens during the day and night

Haile Plantation

One of the nicest things about driving home to Chickasaw Way is the Tower Road entrance to Haile Plantation. If one has never seen it before, the road leading into Haile looks like a drive in the country. The most immediate site is a large pasture, surrounded by a white fence. Inside the fence are beautiful horses. The whole scene looks like something out of a 1940's technicolor movie. This is one of the horses, which I've modified for whimsey's sake.

Century Tower Comes to Chickasaw Way

There are many football fans in the Way. They root for teams ranging from the Big Ten to The Pac Ten to the Southeastern Conference. There are probably even some Seminole fans here. The team that most fans in the neighborhood will be watching on Saturday is, most likely, the Gators.

Gardens

Within the various residences in Chickasaw Way there are small gardens and lawn. They are small because of the design of the neighborhood. Many residents found the proximity of one house to another to be an attractice aspect of the neighborhood. Although one might not define the design as "zero-lot line", the house are nestled very close to each other.In spite of this, many of the houses manage to have very attractive "mini-gardens".

Chickasaw Charm

This is typical of Chickasaw. Beautifully simple and understated. Never grandiose or pompous. Just pure charm. This is also part of the over-all style of the community and lends a lasting quality, one that wears well through the years.

On Exhibit

No, it's not the Metropolitan...it's not even the Harn. It's the museum of the mind...but it is Chickasaw Way!

Trees

Although Chickasaw Way is not one of the older communities in Haile Plantation it does, surprisingly, have some rather large and well-developed trees. A few years ago some of the smaller trees were brought down by the fringes of a passing hurricane, but they were quickly replaced and Chickasaw is back to aboreal splendor.

Flowers

Flowers are in abundance in Chickasaw. Virtually every house has flora in evidence. The nature of the neigborhood largely probits big and expansive flower beds. Instead, potted plants and window boxes seem to be the preferred method of growing flowers, although there are some very attractive flower beds around as well as flowering shrubs . Also, many of the houses are designed in a way that prohibits public view of patios and tiny garden areas at the house. Many of these are private in nature. Crape myrtle abounds and there are many azalea shrubs. Bougainvillea and hibiscus lend a tropical look to many of the houses. Impatiens is seen in many baskets and there are a few rose bushes present. Yes, indeed, Chickasaw Way is a flowered community.

Animals

And most of our residents do, indeed, pick up. There are a good many dogs in Chickasaw Way and the residents are very good about walking them and seeing that it is done in a fashion that respects the landscape . We also have cats. Ah, what shall I say about the cats? They are adorable animals and, even though I am a "dog person", I have found a soft spot in my heart for the felines. My wife and I saw three kittens dart out of the space under our back stoop on an early morning a few weeks ago. The next night I spied the kittens and a cat, apparently the mother, leaving Chickasaw and heading toward another neighborhood. It seems that there are feral cats in the neighborhood (the result of negligence on the part of their owners) and they roam freely. This cannot be said of the dogs. It also tells me that these poor animals probably have a great deal more sense than their owners.

Where We Are

Enter Haile Plantation from Tower road and you are on Haile Boulevard. Drive down this thoroughfare until it ends in a tee. Take a right turn onto SW 104th Terrace, and , after about a half block, the first right turn is SW 52nd Avenue which leads you into Chickasaw Way. The first impression of this little community might remind you of a movie set, with it's little wood frame houses and neatly manicured commons and yards. The houses are rather deceiving from the outside in that many of them are quite commodius.

Chickasaw Style

Yes, there is a a kind of style or design that runs thru most of the residences in The Way. Many of the houses will have muted tones with white trim. They are all woodframe and, of courses, will have the trademark picket fence running across the front of the property. I will try to include a different house in Chickasaw Way each week during the coming blogyear, starting with this one. Due to privacy concerns I will not say who the owner is (unless they ask me to). Click on this image for a larger view.

The Streets

Chickasaw Way's streets are wide, but not too wide. They are quiet and, except for SW 52nd Avenue (which leads to The Links - the condos just east of Chickasaw Way) there is not much traffic. . The noisiest it gets is on Monday when the garbage trucks come by to collect the trash.

A Magical Night in Chickasaw Way

This is actually an image of our side yard at Chickasaw. It was early evening and the stars were out. I was playing music from Mendolsohn's Incidental Music to A Midsummer's Night Dream, when I looked out at the yard and saw this magical sight. Yes, we have fairies in Chickasaw!

Critters

Chickasaw Way has it's critters- many of them nocturnal in nature. This is one of them. This armadillo was burrowing into a layer of leaves along the bike path in front of Chickasaw. We had an armadillo family set up shop under our back stoop and they would travel in and out, mostly at night. We think that they suffered the attrition created by the incompatibility of automobile traffic and the relatively slow moving animals attempts to cross the road (a nice way of sayinf they were run over by a car). There are also many squirrels in the neighborhood, some of whom gnaw holes under eaves and crawl into attics. Perhaps the most prolific of our critters at Chickasaw Way are the many lizards and geckos that ones sees on the and by the sidewalks and in yards. On rare occasions they enter the house and must be gathered up and returned to the outside.

The totem of Chickasaw Way

If this little neighborhood could have a symbol or totem it would surely have to be this: a picket fence. All of the houses in the area are fronted by fences of this nature. They are all painted white but they differ somewhat. Some of the pales are narrow and some a bit broader. Some are spiked at the top and some flat. This was because the builders of each new house varied the style of picket fence and, apparently, there was no standard set early on. This is being remedied now and the fences are becoming more uniform as they are replaced.

Haile Planning

This is not a path into the woods; it is the bike lane running along the front of Chickasaw Way. This is typical of the planning at Haile Plantation. Many of the neighborhoods are almost invisible from the streets winding through Haile. Just beyond the cover of trees are the residences. In the case of Chicksaw Way, it is surrounded by the fairways of Haile Golf and Country Club on both the north and south sides. To the east of Chickasaw are condominiums.

Chickasaw Way

Chickasaw Way is a community within Haile Plantation near Gainesville, Florida. It consists of modest, zero lot lined dwellings, inhabited by a range of folks: retirees, professionals, graduate students, etc., many of whom relate to the Unversity of Florida or Shands Hospital in Gainesville. This blog will feature the Chickasaw Way neighborhood and is designed, primarily, with the members in mind. For those of you who are new to this blog, click on the images to see larger versions. Leave comments by clicking on "comments".