Urban Gardening

King St., Charleston, S.C.

Urban gardening....where there is a will, there is a way! I spotted this on upper King St. Looks like a well tended little crop.

College Drink Dispenser

Coming St., Charleston, S.C.

College of Charleston sidewalk drink dispenser.

Hammock with a View

Bohicket Creek, Johns Island, S.C.

I had dinner in heaven last night. Some kind of wicked vodka punch, frogmore stew, sounds of the marsh, a dolphin visit and good company. I sipped my drink and tested that hammock on the dock while those dark clouds rolled in last night.

Don't you love it when the marsh is lush and green?

Thanks Gene and Susan. It was a perfect evening.

I've got a feeling!

Roper St. Francis Healthcare, Charleston, S.C.

The health system I work for has a lot of very generous people. When I think of the amount of internal fund raising we do for charitable organizations it is pretty mind boggling. We do have fun at it though and that might be why we are so successful. This is the promo video we did for our Trident United Way campaign. Almost every department did a wacky dance bit.

My volunteers have a scene with wheelchairs in the middle of it for about three seconds. Don't blink!

At this very moment

Waterfront Park, Charleston, S.C.

I try not to promote graffiti that borders on vandalism but I do snag some shots for my own files and this is an oldie but goodie.

I like people who appreciate the very moment when things are good instead of always talking about the "good old days" after the fact. These kids marked the moment. 6:10 am. Four friends. The best of times and they knew it.

The inscription was marked on one of the pillars at the waterfront park and has been long cleaned off but I know it was there and smile every time I stand there sniffing the ocean air.

Old Charleston Jail

Old Charleston Jail, Magazine St., Charleston, S.C.

After a brunch at the Queen St. Grocery on Sunday morning, my friend Becca offered to walk us through her new office - in the old Charleston Jail. Oh yes, yes, yes. I've taken pictures over the wall but was itching to get inside to explore.

The American College of Building Arts is currently using the jail for their offices and studios but other than being structurally stabilized it remains very much as it was left.

The Old Jail housed a great variety of inmates. John and Lavinia Fisher, and other members of their gang, convicted of robbery and murder in the Charleston Neck region were imprisoned here in 1819 to 1820. Some of the last 19th-century high-sea pirates were jailed here in 1822 while they awaited hanging. The jail was active after the discovery of Denmark Vesey's planned slave revolt. In addition to several hundreds of free blacks and slaves jailed for their involvement, four white men convicted of supporting the 1822 plot were imprisoned here. Vesey spent his last days in the tower before being hanged. Increased restrictions were placed on slaves and free blacks in Charleston as a result of the Vesey plot, and law required that all black seaman be kept here while they were in port. During the Civil War, Confederate and Federal prisoners of war were incarcerated here.

Naturally there is a popular ghost tour. The Bulldog Tour site claims, "This is quite possibly the scariest place you will ever go. The experience is NOT recommended for small children or men that cry easily."

Sing along now....

Down in Charleston Jail
(Sergeant Johnson)

When I enlisted in the army,
Then I thought 't was grand,
Marching through the streets of Boston
Behind a regimental band.
When at Wagner I was captured,
Then my courage failed;
Now I'm dirty, hungry, naked,
Here in Charleston jail.

cho: Weeping, sad and lonely,
Oh, how bad I feel!
Down in Charleston, South Carolina,
Praying for a good square meal.

Rip off. I don't see any ghosts in my pictures.

Pull up a chair...

Morris St., Charleston, S.C.

Uhoh. Someone left a chair out for me.

If I won the lottery I'd repair this chapel.

Guess where?

Charleston, S.C.

Fans of haunted buildings consider this one of their most important shrines.

I have the rest of the pictures but I'm having trouble uploading them. My laptop may be possessed. Boo!

You could say we have beer in our blood....

Pitt St., Charleston, S.C.

"You could say we have beer in our blood and most days you'd be right...."

These students put quite a bit of effort into decorating their beer cooler.

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance

St. Helena Prayer Chapel, Charleston, S.C.

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance

My kind of church I think. They don't even expect you to attend services. The sign reads "Pray as you pass". I like that.

I hope everyone is having a good Sunday.

How hot is it?

Hayne St. Charleston, S.C.

How hot is it in Charleston?

• It's so hot that it makes me want to take off my skin and sit in my bones.

• It's so hot the birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.

• It's so hot I saw two trees fighting over a dog.

• It was so hot today I saw a dog chasing a cat and they were both walking.

• It's hotter than a June bride in a feather bed.

• It's so hot that the trees are creeping around looking for shade.

• It's so hot outside it will make you return things you never stole.

• It's stupid hot!

• It is hot enough to cure tobacco.

• It's hotter than the devil's underwear.

• It's another one of those aluminum foil sweater days.

• It's hotter than a ginger mill in Hades.

....and it's all true.

Good morning, Sunshine!

Pitt St., Charleston, S.C.

Good morning, Sunshine! A cheerful soul lived on Pitt St. and makes me smile every time I cross the pavement scribbles. Years of smiles - that isn't a bad gift to leave behind.

Here is something else I found on Color Me Katie that made me grin this morning. Enjoy!

Travel & Leisure Magazine's Best Cities

Legare St., Charleston, S.C.

Travel & Leisure Magazine published their list of 2010 Best Cities of the U.S. and Canada. I've been to all of them except San Francisco. I might have to take care of that. I was too young to appreciate it when I was in Quebec City so I need to get back there as well.

1 New York City
2 San Francisco
3 Charleston, South Carolina
4 Chicago
5 Santa Fe, New Mexico
6 Vancouver
7 New Orleans
8 Quebec City
9 Victoria , British Columbia
10 Washington, D.C.

Of course, I've also been to Lahore, Islamabad, Kabul, Kandahar, Nairobi....

Old Rice Mill

Old Rice Mill, Charleston City Marina, Charleston, S.C.

It's a grand old building, isn't it? I don't often get to grab a picture from the water but this evening I was invited out for a sunset boat ride by Matt Galvin from Coastal Yacht Charters. What a perfect end to a day! Thanks Matt! It was such a treat to be out on the water.

The Rice Mill building doesn't look like it's changed much through the years. At one point I remember there was a restaurant on the first floor but now I believe it can be rented out for special occasions.

West Point Rice Mill was a small sliver of land protruding into the Ashley River in the 1830’s, when a steam-driven rice mill was built and powered by water from large areas of man-made pond. An 1859 fire destroyed the mill, which was replaced one year later with a structure that housed giant boilers and massive cylindrical shafts for grinding and brushing kernels into polished rice and flour. The 15-acre complex included separate shipping wharves, carpenters’ sheds and cooperage facilities, as well as new artesian wells for water supply.

For more than half a century, the West Point mill was among America’s largest and most productive, annually cranking out hundreds of thousands of barrels, and when a foundering rice business finally forced the facility to close in 1926, much of the oversized inventory was bought by Henry Ford for display at his Edison Institute antique museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Hang on, kids! Friday is coming.

Bastille Day at Fish Restaurant

Bastille Day, Fish Restaurant, King St., Charleston, S.C.

I borrowed a blue beret and went with my favorite french-man to the Bastille Day celebrations at Fish Restaurant on King St. Chef Nico Romo was everywhere and the food was delicious. They had the whole deal....cancan dancers, a horse and carriage, cigarette smoking guitar player, and a pomme fritte guillotine station.

We went for a walk after dinner and I am still happily full.

Stick a Fork in it...

Carolina Nursery, Moncks Corner, S.C.

My evening didn't go as expected (hmmmph). I walked back up King St. and picked up a tasty gyro from the new little hole in the wall - Eat a Pita.

They are rakes rather than forks but isn't this cool? This is a section of the entrance gate at Carolina Nursery in Moncks Corner.

Sadly it looks like the nursery is going through hard times right now. I hate it every time I hear of a business in economic trouble. Sad times. Sad times but definitely a cool gate. The bottom shot would be fun with a colorful sunset behind it.

The Legend of Healing Oak

Charleston, S.C.

Hit by a bolt of lightning years ago, the ancient oak split down the middle and continued to grow in two separate directions. The legend passed down for generations is that the tree absorbed the energy from the lightning and became a healing force often bringing about miracle cures.

Or………the other story is, I was walking to my car yesterday and noticed the crutches laying under the tree. I told myself that if they were still there in the morning I'd carry them into the hospital. I got my camera to take a picture and coming from my cool office to the humid heat the lens clouded up and gave the photo a decidedly spooky look. Boo!

Before......Westendorff building

40 Warren St., Charleston, S.C.

The old Westendorff & Son Hardware store building on the corner of St. Philip and Warren has been empty as long as I remember. This morning there was a glossy postcard on my porch announcing plans to renovate it to be a neighborhood restaurant that will resemble an old timey hardware store. Coolness!

This is good news. It has been a shame to watch such a great building sit abandoned. The new owners are offering refreshments and a sneak preview of what is planned on Wednesday evening, 7/14 from 5:45 - 7 p.m. The architect's presentation is at 6:15 p.m.

I've stayed in my house long enough that one by one all the cool things are landing in my part of town.

The house that is eaten by the vine

Coming & Duncan St., Charleston, S.C.

It begins. By the end the summer the house will be completely covered with the vines. At some point the owner will trim around the windows to let a little light in. By winter he'll trim it back to the ground. I can't resist watching the progress each year.

So, what is the consensus? Do we have to try this work thing again tomorrow? If so, I need to get to my bed. Put your toys away, kids. Lights out.

Exercise, tea and vitamin D

Charleston, S.C.

Just as I'd hoped. I waited long enough for researchers to come up with a study that matched my lifestyle. I drank my tea, walked in the sunshine to take this picture just for you and helped prevent dementia at the same time.

Study: Exercise, tea and vitamin D to ward off dementia
By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY
Improved living and diet habits — including lots of physical activity, regular tea-drinking and sufficient vitamin D levels — could reduce the risk of brain decline, according to three studies presented Sunday.

"These are encouraging," says William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer's Association. "These types of studies make people think, 'Well gosh, maybe I can do something about this disease.'"