Paul & Diane Boykin

Miss Gail's Southern Cooking in Watkinsville has an updated menu for summer!

The popular Watkinsville eatery has become a meeting place and regular spot for many locals.

Miss Gail's is located at 18 Barnett Shoals Rd. in downtown Watkinsville and is open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday.

If you'd like more information about Watkinsville or to look for homes in Oconee County, please visit our website www.BoykinTeam.com.

Today was the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting for the Georgia Aquatic Center in Watkinsville, GA.

The center is a privately owned year round club that actually opened about 2 years ago with one pool and has since added two more with a fourth huge new outdoor pool under construction.

The first pool to open is this indoor competition sized pool. It is regularly used for workouts year round.

There are 6 schools that hold their swim practices here, making October through January one of the busiest times for the center according to the club owners.

This indoor/outdoor pool can be used year around. The sides of the bubble are open in the summer.

(Even though this is mid-May, we are having a "Blackberry Winter" and it has been very chilly for Georgia in May).

The outdoor pool can be rented for parties by club members or non-members.

Doesn't the giant slide look like fun?

Workers are putting the finishing touches on the huge new outdoor pool before it opens for the summer.

The new pool features a beach entrance with a bench on the side so moms can sit and watch small children play in the water.

The GA Aquatic Center offers swim lessons for both children and adults, stroke and turn clinics, an after school swim camp, the Greater Oconee swim club for children kindergarten through ninth grade, the Blue Marlins Summer Swim Team for children from 5 to 18 years. They compete in swim meets with other teams in Oconee County. Additionally, there is USA Swimming year round for serious swimmers.

The mission of the GA Aquatic Center is to "operate a family oriented, neighborhood club that is modern and energy efficient, to offer the highest quality programs, to employ the most qualified, friendliest staff which will afford our members the highest recreation and family entertainment value for their dollar."

The center is located on South Bishop Farms Parkway just off US 441 south of Watkinsville at New High Shoals Rd.

For more information about the center, visit their website at www.georgiaaquaticcenter.com or give them a call at 706-769-AQUA (2782).

It's almost time fot the Ashford Manor Concerts on the Lawn to resume for this year.

It's great fun to meet up with friends and reserve a table or just bring chairs or a blanket along with a picnic to enjoy the music in downtown Watkinsville, GA on a warm summer evening.

The schedule this year is:

May 25th - The Packway Handle Band (bluegrass)

June 8th - Sons of Sailors (sounds of Jimmy Buffett)

June 22nd - The Highballs (70's & 80's pop)

July 4th - Greg Hester's Van Morrison Tribute

July 13th - Lazy B & The Recliners (rhythm & blues)

July 27th - Grogus (Latin, Salsa & Jazz) Interesting combination, don't you think?

August 10th - Randall Bramblett (Southern Americana)

August 24th Mama's Love (funk, rock & organic jam)

September 7th Dirk Howell (Athens' own 60's style r&b beach music) Always a favorite!!

If you don't want to bother to bring your own food, it can be pre-ordered from local Watkinsville restaurants Mirkko's, Bqarberitos, Maison Bleu and Girasoles which will deliver on site.

For more information about tickets, menus and program information, please contact www.ambedandbreakfast.com or www.amconcerts.com .

Hope to see you there!

If you're interested in more information about Watkinsville, GA or would like housing information, please go to our website at www.BoykinTeam.com or give Diane a call at 706-296-7507.

Pictures are courtesy of Ashford Manor Bed and Breakfast.

Last week was the 3rd Grade Ag Day in Oconee Co. (Watkinsville) GA. Sponsored by the Agribusiness Committee of the Oconee Co. Chamber of Commerce and the J. Phil Campbell Experiment Station, every 3rd grade class in the Oconee Co. school system plus Athens Academy (other private schools were invited but did not attend) visited the Experiment Station on Thursday or Friday morning.

There were 8 stations which included a horse. Volunteers spoke to the students about each topic.

There was a beef cow and calf.

Here a volunteer explains about meat and leather

Children learned about wool from the ewe & lamb

Each child was able to hold a day old baby chick. There were also several exotic breeds of chickens there as well.

One of the favorite displays is the farm equipment. After learning about how horsepower is calculated the children are allowed to climb on all of the tractors.

One of the scientists explains how animals are able to eat large amounts of forage. These are real stomachs, folks!

Another scientist explains that it it "soil" not "dirt". He tells about how water soaks into different soils and about soil erosion.

FFA students from North Oconee, Malcomb Bridge Middle and Oconee Middle Schools took turns talking about their horticulture projects at school.

It's amazing at how interested the children are in the displays and how much they learn about agriculture and where their food comes from. Their teachers have units on soils, water quality, etc. prior to the Ag Day.

It's hard to tell who had more fun, the 3rd graders or the volunteers who put on Ag Day. We're already looking forward to next year!

If you'd like more information about Oconee County, GA or would like to search for homes in the Athens, GA area please visit our website at www.BoykinTeam.com

There is a lot going on in Watkinsville these days. This weekend is the Southworks Arts Festival and juried art show sponsored by the Oconee County Arts Foundation (OCAF). There were many artists displaying and selling their work that includes garden art, photography, paintings, sculpture, jewelry, woodworking, weaving and, of course, pottery.

There was a crowd wandering through the booths and listening to music provided by local bands. There is also plenty of food to be enjoyed.

There were several jewelry booth. Always my favorites!

There are many local artists, both from Oconee and Clarke Counties, but there were also a number of out of town/state artists displaying their crafts.

Happy Valley Pottery is located in South Oconee County. They also have a gallery on South Main Street in Watkinsville. Jerry & Kathy Chappelle's pottery is sold nationwide.

I really wanted this for my back porch! Judy Bolton Jarrett from Columbia, SC will be having an exhibition at the Botanical Gardens in Athens from June 4- July 20, 2009.

Glassblower Loretta Eby is another Oconee County artist. She is well known for her hand blown Christmas ornaments as well as garden globes and hummingbird feeders in addition to her other work.

OCAF Members' booth

This beautifully decorated pottery caught my eye.

There is a juried art exhibit as well as arts festival. Besides the official judging, there is a people's choice award.

A sculpture in the art exhibit.

This is just one of the art events in Oconee County, GA which is well known as an art destination.

To search listings in the Athens, GA and Oconee County area, please visit our website at www.BoykinTeam.com.