Sunny photo on a rainy day

Montagu St., Charleston, SC 

Holy monsoons, kids! We have had some rain. I haven't seen my yard (post drainage installation) this flooded for a long time. I am very glad I didn't need to be driving in town this evening. It was a fine night to be snug as a bug in my little nest.

I don't usually walk Montagu St. this far west and spotted this bright beauty on a recent walk. I will be using some blog filler from recent walks and jaunts for the next week or so since I am busy as a:

Busy as a beaver

Busy as a humming bird with two tails

Busy as a one-armed paperhanger with the hives

Busy as the day is long

Busy as the devil in a gale of wind

Busy as a cross-eyed boy at a three-ring circus

Busy as a hen with fifteen chickens in a barnyard

Busy as a hen with one chick

Busy as a boy killing snakes

Busy as a beehive attacked by a bear

Busy as horses in a field of clover

 

Montagu St., Charleston, SC

Thanks for the sentiment but I am simply too busy!

All outta gas!

Abandoned gas station, Wentworth St., Charleston, SC 

Such a sweet little building this abandoned gas station on Wentworth St. It would make a darling cottage, wouldn't it? It's been empty for so long there must be issues with underground tanks that make it prohibitive to restore. That is my guess. I was snooping around the intranets to see if I could find any background information and came across this old picture. I love google!

Looks like we have some rain coming tomorrow, kids. Take your brolly to work.

 

This is one of the busiest weeks of my year. I am hosting my health career summer SCRUBS Camp at work and will be shepherding twenty two young people interested in careers in medicine. Today was their welcome day, tours and CPR certification. It takes a lot of juggling to keep them busy all week. Wish me luck. I had no trouble getting  my 10,000 steps before I left work this afternoon.

 

 

 

Sculpture Competition & Exhibition

I visit sculpture gardens in other cities - most recently St. Louis and Seattle and have actually complained that we fall short on large dramatic art installations. Hello! I saw a picture of this fun bicycle piece on facebook and knew it was time to go for my morning walk at the North Charleston River Front park again. Isn't this fun?!

This is ithe link to information on the National Outdoor Sculpture Competition information. They are currently featuring fourteen sculptures by established and emerging artists from across the nation and are on display for eleven month. I learned that the colorful bike art is by Meuller & Charzewski and that I missed some described on the site and will need to go back. Thank you North Charleston!

Edit: forgive my typos! I hope not too many people read it before I fixed them. Blogging in a hurry, multitasking. Shame on me. No spell check in the title box apparently.

Park band stand - art in it's own right!

 

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - Bethany

Bethany Cemetery, Charleston, SC

Usually it is the gray and dreary days that take me to the cemeteries but these dramatic skies give the setting an entirely different look. Bethany is next to Magnolia Cemetery and St. Lawrence and I roam back and forth between the three of them reminding myself that I shouldn't really be walking alone through the thick grass with thin sandals after all the snake pictures folks have been sharing lately.  I made it home safely once again.

Rutledge Avenue favorite

90 Rutledge Ave., Charleston, SC 

This house on Rutledge Avenue has always been a favorite of mine and now that it is for sale we can get a look inside. Time to buy a lottery ticket!

Whoops...just checked back and it is off market but we can still see the images. I am sure the new owner will invite me over.

Although it is lovely I am very much enjoying my downsized lifestyle. I may be more suited to my little Jolly Rancher after all.

Have a good weekend kids! It's been a whirlwind of a week so I am having a lazy morning and getting ready to go out for my walk now.
 

Hot Boil Peanuts

Hot Boiled Peanuts, SC 

Salty and slimy, they aren't everyone's favorite delicacy but we sure do enjoy them in South Carolina. For some reason even the stands and trailers selling boiled peanuts seem to be colorful and quaint.

Boiled peanuts are green or raw nuts that are boiled in salty water for hours outdoors over a fire. The shells turn soggy, and the peanuts take on a fresh, legume flavor. A green peanut is not green in color, just freshly harvested. It takes ninety to a hundred days to grow peanuts for boiling, and they are available only during May through November throughout the southern states. One of the drawbacks of boiled peanuts is that they have a very short shelf life unless refrigerated or frozen.

What is the verdict? Who likes boiled peanuts? 

 

A peaceful resting place

Kittredge tombs, Cypress Gardens, SC 

You can't tell by this image how large the cross is in this family cemetery plot. It is huge. It is a lovely surprise to find this peaceful resting place for the Kittredge family who donated the land for Cypress Gardens along the walking trail around the lake. 

Magnolias tall against the sky,

Whisper to this silent cry.

"Weep not! For here eternally

In love together they shall be"

 

I was initially puzzled by the small tombstone with the inscription "My Happy" until I saw the family pictures on the history board. It must be a beloved pet dog snuggled up next to them forever.

 

Historic Rice Mill building

West Point Rice Mill, Lockwood Blvd, Charleston, SC 

I have had requests for use of an earlier picture I took of the Rice Mill building at the Charleston Marina by couples wanting to use it on their wedding invitation. Now they have another view as their option. Funny how everyone who asks to use a picture promises to send me a copy but they never do. Wedding invitations, books, book covers, bank debit cards etc. I've never been sent a copy of what they needed my image for. I've tracked back to a couple of web sites that asked for permission and I do appreciate being asked. Luckily I have often received a donation to the American Heart Association for photo use so no harm done.

It is an impressive building. For a while there was a bar and restaurant named Pussers which seemed an unfortunate name, but now it seems to be mostly used for events. I didn't know until this very moment that it was known at the West Point Rice Mill.

In 1840, Jonathan Lucas III built a four-story brick, steam-powered rice mill on the Ashley River.This mill burned on November 20, 1860. Construction of a new mill began quickly. Although hampered by the Union blockade, the mill was capable of full operation in late 1863. When Charleston was occupied by the Union Army in 1865, the mill was used as a food distribution center. Its neighbor the East Point Rice Mill had been rebuilt in the mid-1840s by engineer James McLaren and the Scottish merchant James Robb. The mill passed to Robb's sons James Jr and William on his death in 1859. After the Civil War, the mill resumed operations and its production increased. In 1886, it suffered damage from the 1886 Charleston earthquake. Brickwork was damaged and the gables were brought down. At some point before the 1920s, the entire roof was replaced except for the kingposts and trusses.

My cell phone step counter says I have walked 9,464 steps today but I think we will round that off and count it as 10,000 since I am not going back out. 

This old house

Vanderhorst St., Charleston, SC 

This old house. It was built around 1840 and was my old house. I noticed it is for sale again and had stickers taped up offering a sublease for the summer. When I walk by I still feel responsible and want to close the gates and shut the shed doors. My brother Jim painted that house for me from top to bottom - a couple of time, and the trees were planted in honor of my parents. Now it appears to be a rental property with no more window boxes, flags or rocking chairs on the porch. Two pairs of tenants fell in love and ended up marrying while we owned the house. I hope the new owners enjoy living there as much as we did.

The Spoleto Festival is in full swing and today I finally feel like a participant. Vivaldi at St. Philip's Church, a bite to eat at Leaf, and then Casus Circus at Memminger Auditorium. Color me artsy!

New sidewalks on Cannon St.

Cannon St., Charleston, SC 

Cannon St. is a mess at the moment. The sidewalks are all torn up and blocked causing a traffic mess. It's part of the new two way traffic plan for Cannon and Spring St. and includes new curbs, street lights and landscaping. I have to say I've enjoyed the character of that part of town on my frequent walks but this will definitely be an improvement. No one knows how the two way traffic pattern will work out but the landscaping is long overdue.

Fortunately I documented most of the sidewalk graffiti before it was destroyed.

Hydrangea Blue

Bethany Cemetery, Charleston, SC 

If the most incredibly deep blue hydrangeas are found in cemeteries I wonder if I can offer up my yard as a final resting place. I have room for a tomb or two. Something is working! The hydrangeas at Bethany and St. Lawrence Cemetery are glorious right now.

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - Old Sheldon Church Ruins

Old Sheldon Church ruins, Yemassee, SC  

It is well worth the detour on the way back from Beaufort to see the Sheldon Church ruins - each and every time you go to Beaufort because they are that special. Built 1745-55, burned by the British army 1779, rebuilt 1826, burned by the Federal Army 1865. Now it is beautiful just as it is.

To Hell W Sherman, Sheldon Church, Yemasee, SC

 

Beautiful Beaufort by the Sea

Beaufort, SC 

Beaufort is the perfect distance for a day trip and I am the perfect passenger - I hope! Exploring antique stores, walking the water front park and historic district, lunch at Paninis and a stop at the Chocolate Tree for a praline on the way home.

Day tripping - Cypress Gardens

Cypress Gardens, SC

There are some places worth annual revisits and Cypress Gardens in one of them. They have row boats to explore the lake but on the beautiful day I went, there was a line of costumers waiting for a chance to paddle through my pictures. Luckily I enjoy the walk around the garden just as much. Check out the Bat Hotel in the bottom shot. I wonder if it works.

Beautiful Cypress Gardens has been a preferred group and family destination since 1931. Visitors from all over the country come to experience this unique and exciting attraction, which has been featured in numerous national magazines and popular television shows and motion pictures including The Notebook and The Patriot.

Artsy Parky

Marion Square, Charleston, SC

I should just put a certain amount of money aside each month for art. I see it, I love it, I'm just not ready to pay the money for original art but I should. I just isn't the way I buy things. Normally I find something I like, I revisit it a few times. I trust my instinct and go back and buy it. So often with art, it needs to be a spur of the moment purchase and sadly I'm not very good with that.

I try to walk through the Piccolo Spoleto art show at Marion Square each year. It makes me feel better about not buying tickets for all the other shows. I love art but I still have trouble handing over my credit card and buying original art. Shame on me.

This lady stood out as new this year and I liked her paintings. Maybe I will go back and hand over my credit card. Her name is Kay Lybrand and she lives on Pawley's Island. She likes to kayak and paint. I liked her and I liked her work and that sounds like a pretty good life to me. I hope she has a successful introduction to Spoleto Festival. If you see her you can ask her if she remembers some wacky blogger taking her picture.

Teeny, tiny buildings of Charleston

The Taco Spot, Coming St., Charleston SC

Haha. The Taco Spot on Coming St. So tiny. I eat burritos bigger than their building.

Chez Nous!

Mine, mine, mine! Chez Nous, Payne Ct., Charleston, SC

How does that look? Just a little bit tasty! It's tiny, it's hidden, it only has two appetizers, two entrée choices and two desserts but Chez Nous is always a treat. On the way out take a look through the open window to see Chef Jill Mathias looking like she is preparing your dinner in a painting.