Those sirens are called our Outdoor Warning System

Yesterday's storms set off tornado sirens and dropped about a foot of rain, making for a pretty wet and dramatic day!

However, before the day was done, we spotted one of these in the sky:

It doesn't matter how many times I see a rainbow in the sky, each time is beautiful and magical.  

And such a sweet symbol of hope at the end of a storm.  

The Outdoor Warning System is operated by the City of McKinney's Office of Emergency Management.

Random Shots around town

Frogging Around

McKinney's adorable town square has shops and restaurants of all sorts.  

Antique stores, cute clothing store, a consignment store, a winery, a boutique hotel....and frogs.

Yep, you heard me right.

Frogs.

Most of the shops have a painted frog planter on their doorstep.

The frogs are guides to shopping.

I decided I didn't want to be left out, 

so I bought myself a frog this weekend as I toured town square taking photos.  

And mine now sits on my back porch, sporting some sweet potato vine growing out the back.  

I don't have a name for him yet...any suggestions?

Do you want a frog?

Have you seen the frogs in downtown McKinney?

Founded in 1848

McKinney, one of the oldest towns in North Texas, was named for Collin McKinney, 

a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.

For the first 125 years of its history McKinney served as the principal commercial center for the county. 

The county seat provided farmers with flour, corn, and cotton mills, cotton gins, a cotton compress and cottonseed oil mill, as well as banks, churches, schools, newspapers, and, from the 1880s, an opera house. Businesses also came to include a textile mill, an ice company, a large dairy, and a garment-manufacturing company.

McKinney was also home to James W. Throckmorton, the 11th governor of Texas and a U.S. Congressman.

Below is a photo I took yesterday of the historic Collin County courthouse that is now home to the 

McKinney Performing Arts Center (MPAC) 

and the center of historic downtown McKinney, a charming shopping destination.

A random fact you might not have known:

In 1908 McKinney banned elephants on the town square after a circus parade damaged the newly-bricked streets.

Homegrown McKinney

I have an idea.

I'm starting a blog to celebrate McKinney, Texas.

I want to highlight the history of the town & historical markers, local events & celebrations, favorite shopping spots, the arts community, local artisans, Third Monday Trade Days, and anything and everything else.

I'd like to interview people who've lived here all their life...and people who've just moved here.

It will be interesting to see if this will take off and how it might evolve.

Let's see what we can come up with...a blog for the people of McKinney, by the people of McKinney.