selma

 

 When the baby sister trip planner asked me which homes we should tour, Selma was on my list.
It is one of those places in Natchez with serious historical connection in a picturesque setting that is a private home open only during the Pilgrimage.
Choosing a favorite home in Natchez for me is about like choosing a favorite niece or nephew. They are all my favorites. I absolutely love them all for different reasons. They are all special. Just like Selma.
The drive to the house is gorgeous. We parked near one of the five of six surviving live oak trees believed to have been planted when the house was built.
The kind gentleman who showed us where to park instructed a gorgeous shepherd standing nearby to "take these ladies up to the house. They are our guests."
And so we were led, right up the steps, by Fred.
Mr. John, Selma's most recent owner was waiting there on the porch, leaning against the railing, where guests sitting in rocking chairs listened intently as he described his home's history and how he and his wife Mimi came to live at Selma.
Indigo once grew right up to the house at Selma. That legacy led Miss Mimi to prefer a particular color of blue for furnishings and accoutrements inside the house which she calls "Selma Blue."
The owners are collectors of fine antiques and have been for many years. The things they have accumulated seem perfectly at home at Selma, as do they and Fred.
The are featured in a painting done by Shreveport artist Darryl Chitty. That painting was a surprise after they commissioned a painting of the exterior by the same artist. The exterior painting features Fred, at rest in front of his domain. The surprise piece beautifully depicts Fred and his master and mistress in the front room on the house. It is as fine a representation of life at Selma as one could ask for. It, like the owners, their shepherd, the furnishings, their genteelity and their beautiful, historical home, are a delight.