Views of the Neighborhood and a Surprise

~ John W. Howell

Another slow day in the neighborhood, so I thought I would catch up on my top of the mailbox photo collection. Just as I was finishing up, I came upon a surprise.

Views of the neighborhood

The car in the foreground is a 1954 Cheverlot Bel-Aire. The one with the hood up is a 1967 Pontiac GTO. The green one is a 1956 Plymouth Belvedere. I was on a road with no pull-off and a truck behind me, so this was as good as I could get.

Views of the neighborhood

So, back to the mailbox toppers. Here is an eagle that made me cautious in taking the photo.

The sun makes it hard, but this is a bright metal bowl.

Here is a cute bowl of succulents.

Kind of mid-century modern.

Big ole yellow bowl. The sign says its a wildlife sanctuary. (In the middle of a subdivision? Right. I guess it makes the owner feel better.)

A non-descript rock. Looks almost like sandstone.

Here is that cute raccoon-like figure. I couldn’t resist.

Big gothic bowl. Looks like something used in sacrifice.

Perkey cat. Can’t help but smile.

An urn that looks like a fire should be burning in it.

Little white bird.

This is a pig but hard to tell. You can see I’m coming up on those cars.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. We had some rain today, and I wanted to take a photo of the rain gauge, but Twiggy kicked it over before I got to it.

92 thoughts on “Views of the Neighborhood and a Surprise”

  1. Great tour, John. I love the mini car show. Those are classics. I love all the variations on the tops.

    Maddie welcomes Twiggy to the photo-ruined-by-dog club. Her membership certificate will arrive in 8-10 days.

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  5. What a fun tour. How about interviewing some of the owners (by phone of course)? I suspect the owner of the mailbox with the “non-descript rock” to be an interesting character. LOL! 😀

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  6. These mailbox toppers are so cool. And what a score with those cars. Too back you couldn’t pull up behind and get closer. Makes you wonder just what was going on there…

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    1. I read a little on “Next Door” which is our neighborhood site. This guy has seven such cars and they are parked in fromt of his house. His neighbors are apoplectic about it. I for one liked it.

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  7. I enjoyed the drive around the neighborhood looking at mailbox toppers and speculating a bit. The eagle is my favorite. It says people with gravitas live here, and we don’t suffer fools gladly, Speaking of which, when Twiggy kicked over the rain gauge, did she get the stink eye or the eye roll ffrom Lucy?

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  10. Thanks again, John, for showing those mailboxes. I really like the different mailbox decorations here. The most curious mailbox I once saw – and I still regret that I didn’t go back there with my camera – was one in the shape of an airplane on a 10 or 15 foot pole, with the inscription “air mail only”! 😀
    According to the weather map, you got more rain than we did. Our rain gauge barely registered any.
    Have a great Sunday,
    Pit

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  11. Oh don’t make Twiggy feel too bad over kicking over that rain gauge — you’ll probably be getting some more from those two hurricanes out in the Gulf. Loved the tour — those classic cars look like they’re in pretty good condition, and I like that bowl of succulents.

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  12. Always enjoy your tours, John. And the idea of topping mailboxes like that is something I’ve never seen. Of course, in my neighborhood, they aren’t imposing structures like those, but even in places where they are, I’ve never seen folks adding toppers.

    BTW, any urban yard can qualify to become an official wildlife sanctuary if it provides shelter, food, and water for any species of wildlife, such as birds and squirrels. That yard was wooded enough to house all sorts of birds, I think, so I’m guessing they’ve either added some feeders or know that bushes bearing fruits or seeds are plentiful. Throw in a birdbath, and count the trees as shelter for nests, etc, and voila. A happy place for avian wildlife. 🙂

    Twiggy and Lucy might have something to say about that idea in your own yard, of course. 😀 After all, that’s their sanctuary, and they’re probably all the “wild” anyone could ask for. 😀

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  13. Loved the tour, John. It makes me wonder when people chose to start adorning their mailboxes? It is so rural here, everyone still has just a box on a pole in the ground. Very whimsical!

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  16. These stone mailboxes look sturdy. Nice that owners can personalize them a bit. I like the ones with a bowl. The cars were a nice surprise and a good way to start the tour. I had heard Austin got some rain but we didn’t get any of it here. Cotton farmers don’t want rain as they are still harvesting. Looks like we will miss the hurricanes this time.

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  17. Sunday is certainly the day for classic cars, at least around here – now I see by you as well. I love knowing that someone has taken the time to keep them running.
    Those mailboxes are all creative. No one coping their neighbor, also good to see!

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  28. We have stone and brick mailboxes in my neighborhood, John, but no toppers. Maybe I’ll go first with something like the nondescript rock or the big ole yellow bowl. Loved the tour!

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  31. My parents had a ‘54 Pontiac Chieftan in the early sixties.It was running badly, so they needed to trade it in. Times must have been hard since they came home with a ‘56 Chevy. Boy, was I disgusted. I thought we were getting a new car, not a slightly newer old car. They drove that ‘56 Chevy until after I left home in 1968. It certainly kept me humble. They finally got a new Chevy Caprice in 1972, their first new car since 1953. A large family is such a blessing! Keeps your bank account from growing uncontrollably.

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