SAG hosts MB Chamber of Commerce 6'14

On Thursday, the Seacoast Artists Guild hosted  a reception for the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce. Nearly 150 people came to the reception  which was in our gallery at The Market Common.

Bruce and I had a great time,  There was lots of good music   food ,and friends

and ,of  course,  lots of good artwork.

My wall  displayed some of t my "Buy local " series

All God's Creatures Great and Small 6'14

A black lacewing dragonfly

One of the fascinating things about the South is just how much  wildlife there is to be seen. Right now we are fascinated by the variety of insects we are seeing.

The dragon and damsel flies seem to come in every imaginable color
This one has a pale blue-green  body and wings and red eyes

This one is colored dark and light blue with green eyes

Bright gold and copper coloration

Some look like they are straight out of the pages of a sci-fi  novel.

A red,  purple, and yellow grasshopper

Brookgreen's Summer Flower Power 6"14

Crepe Myrtle in Bloom

Many people think of Spring as the best time to see the South in bloom.  Few realize that the warmer months of the year also have their own form of  Southern flower power.. Crepe Myrtle, Magnolia and many native  Southern plants are in peak bloom.

Cannas around the Palm Garden Urn.

 And many introduced species thrive in our near tropical climate.

Climbing Gloriosa Lily looks aflame against it's green leaves

Brookgreen Gardens is one the best places in the  state to see just how truly exotic the South can look

One of CC's personal  favorites blooms of the season are the waterlilies

Wild white waterlilies can be found blooming along South Carolina's roadways

But they are not as large nor as colorful as those in Brookgreen's ponds

And Brookgreen's waterlilies are a lot safer to sketch and photogragh

Brookgreen Sculpture Garden Stroll 6"14

Reading with the Reader

We decided to take a stroll through Brookgreen gardens this morning before the temperatures got too steamy. 

We were in a playful mood, so we headed straight for the children's garden.

That is always a magical place,  filled with winding narrow paths and whimsical creatures waiting to greet you at every  turn

Some are very scary, and others meek and gentle

And like all of Brookgreen's sculptures, each is  delightfully displayed  against the beautiful background of the garden.

Next we headed to the fountain of the sprites.

I love how these sculptures' reflections  dance with the movement of the water and the bamboo.

It is pure magic.  At times, they almost seem alive.

What a mess! 6 '14

I don't know how many of you remember my mentioning that a wind storm had toppled a large oak in the woods behind our house last April.  Except it didn't quite take it to the ground... As you can see in the photo, the trunk split about high above the ground and the crown and upper trunk  got hung up between the branches of another oak.  It's upper trunk came to rest  about 15 feet off of the ground at a 90 degree angle with its base. What you can't see is that the top of the trunk of the fallen oak  extends another 15 feet beyond the left side of the photo.  In addition, thick  kudzu vines had wrapped themselves between the upper trunk of the large oak and two smaller trees, so when the big oak toppled, it pulled the two smaller trees over with it.  Yesterday the big oak's base finally gave way  sending its length crashing to the ground.  Both of the smaller trees snapped in half .  And several branches of the trees the large oak had been wedged against were sheared off.  It took us all day to get the major branches  cut up and hauled off to the recycling center, and we still have a lot of small twiggy debris to pick up.  At least I no longer will worry about the oak falling on one of the neighborhood cats.

Visiting with the Neighbors: Rare Fox Squirrel 6'14

A Male Fox Squirrel with Red Tail

While we were golfing at t"The Granddaddy" yesterday, we spotted this  very unique male Fox Squirrel.  Even as adorable as they are, with their cute panda-like appearance, we were not surprised to see one.  Black and white males Fox Squirrels  ( and their gray and white female counterparts)  are indigenous to the low country, and and can be found everywhere there are  Long Needle Pine trees.  But this one did cause us to do a double take.  It has a red colored tail; all of the others we see around here have black tails.  I've read that some of the NE states have a red colored Fox Squirrels.  Could this little fella's genes have gotten confused about where home was???

Father's Day Golf at "The Granddaddy " 6 '14

Pine Lakes Country Club is one of golf’s American treasures. Pine Lakes is an historical landmark, and is the birthplace of Sports illustrated. It is also home to the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame. Designed by the legendary Robert White, Pine Lakes opened in 1927. It is the first golf course to open on the Grand Strand and it is known as “The Granddaddy.” It seemed an appropriate place to celebrate Father's Day with Bruce.

Pine Lakes Country Club

In 2009, the original Myrtle Beach golf course and clubhouse reopened after a renovation restored The Granddaddy as one of the best courses in the area. Craig Schreiner worked on the redesign of the golf course and focused on bringing back the original features Robert White had designed over 75 years ago.  

Hole No 1

 The golf course layout brings you back to the glory days of golf course design. It offers one of the only par-70 layouts in the area. 

There are a lot of water hazards on the back nine

The back 9 is a stern test from any length, with the winds from the nearby Atlantic Ocean always being a factor. We faced an additional challenge of having a small thunderstorm pass through while we are playing.

BJ on the 18th green

In spite of his windswept appearance BJ and I had a good time and would definitely recommend  "The Granddaddy" to any one golfing in the Myrtle Beach area.

New Lowes Food in Town. 6'14

Our new Lowes Foods in Pawleys Island is open for business. 

The store is located in the "Pawleys Market," plaza that's right off of highway 17 in Pawleys Island.  That's only 2 miles from our doorstep

By Pawleys standards it is HUGE. It occupies a 45-thousand square foot facility

Even so, Lowes Food has also managed to find ways to make its store, ( which is almost as large as a Costco or Walmart), seem a lot more personal and friendlier.   Note the local names at the check out stands ..  I can just see Bruce getting impatient and having me paged : "CC meet your husband at the intersection of Waverly and Myrtle Ave."   Cute!

The new store offers scads of amenities never before seen in these parts.

Like an on-site custom  sausage making facility

Handcrafted Oils and Vinegars

And a beer den which has on tap (for growler refills only)  the best craft beers from small local breweries  ....   including my personal favorite, Son of  Peach Ale.    OMG!   Peach beer is soooo good that the Mt Pleasant Brewery that makes it can't keep it in stock.  This place is going to be so much fun to shop in.

Brookgreen Gardens Fine Art and Craft Show 6"14

Bruce and I went to Brookgreen Gardens' new two day juried art show today

and I am so glad we did. 

The sky rumbled and grumbled all day long today, but the rain stayed away 

60 exhibitors is a lot.

for the 60 local and national artists who were juried into this two day show.

Held within the backdrop of the beautiful sculpture garden,

Living sculpture

 BJ and I got to meet the artists whose works are sold in  fine galleries across the country. 

BJ chatting with master wood carver, Timothy Banh

There were demonstrations of pottery throwing, glass blowing, hand loom weaving, and a chance to learn the processes used in making much of the work on display. 

A Custom Quilted Kimona

There were whimsical items, new art for the gardens ( like bottle trees), custom commissioned works of art, and hand-loomed fabrics.

BJ and fiber artist Amy Bowden

Bruce bought me several original knitwear items from the very creative fiber artist, Amy Bowden. Now I can really looks snazzy when we go to art events.

Evening Beach Stroll 6 '14

Getting  to the beach requires a walk through the sand dunes and sea oats.

In the sky grumbled with distant thunder and it rained  all afternoon.  But the front blew on through just before sunset giving us a chance to take a a short stroll on the beach.

A Sea Star

The tide was going out leaving the sand bars exposed like miniature islands.  Behind them tide pools of trapped sea water were forming.  We found a beautiful little Sea Star trapped in one of the pools. CC scooped it up and returned  it to the oceans before the gulls could make a snack of it.

Looking south from the North end of the PI Beach

 Pawleys Island is a public beach, but you'd never know that from how few people are there most of the year.  It's nice having a beach to oneself ... 

PI Beach Sunset

Especially at sunset

Even the PI Creek-side sunset was spectacular.  It's very romantic.

Storm Damage 6"14

Large Oak on Pawleys Plantation Way fell overnight

Yesterdays storm didn't  cause any damage on our street, but it took out a couple of large oaks along the main road into the plantation, and caused a deck to collapse at a historic inn on Pawleys Island, injuring several people.

http://www.wbtw.com/story/25716124/deck-collapse-reported-at-pawleys-island-inn