Digging myself into a hole: 11 '16

I had parked both of our vehicles at the end of our cul-d-sac while the trees were being removed.  There isn't room to turn around at the end of the street, so in order to retrieve them, I had to back up the street and make a y-turn into a neighbors driveway. Unbeknownst to me, there was a large deep pothole right where I started my turn.  The right front wheel of BJs Vehicle slipped into it leaving the car perched on pavement on three wheels.  The hole was too deep to drive out of.  Thank goodness for AAA. It only took them 30 seconds to pull the car out, but I probably will never stop hearing the end of the woman driver jokes.

Post Hurricaine Mathew Cleanup: 11 ' 16

Remember,  the photos in my Oct. 9 2016 post which showed the trees and branches broken by  Hurricane Mathew being piled along side the curbs in our community?   Shortly after that photo was taken, our  Community Home Owners Association  contracted with a firm to come in and cart off the debris.  The contractor was supposed to cart it off to a location , shred it, then return the shreds to the plantation for use as a ground cover.  Instead they pushed all the debris along Tanglewood  Dr.into a mountainous firetrap right next to the 18th fairway's green.  And there it still sits.  What can I say... It's the South.

Burly Bill's BBQ : 9'16

You know you are in the South when the best BBQ pork is served from the back of a trailer.

What can I say ITS (Its the South).

Problem Solving Southern Style: 6 '16

Remember that little problem I mentioned yesterday about a second sink hole  opening up in the causeway to the 13th green?  Well today our brilliant repair crew figured out how to fix it. It's so simple ... just fill the hole with sand and drive over it like nothing happened.  Now why did we not  think of that? LOL!

 What can I say,  It's The South!

Can we get a wall? 6 ' 16

Aerial view of  causeway leading to 13th green. 
(Our home  is just off the bottom right of this photo.)

 The 13th hole at Pawley's  Plantation Golf Course is a man-made island which is surrounded by Pawley's Island Marsh.  To reach  the  13th hole you have to cross the marsh via a causeway supported by a sturdy dike..

Causeway before the cable snapped

 Last month a cable which ties together  the pilings  supporting the causeways dike walls  broke , allowing the pilling to collapse,  and tidal flow to erode the soil  below the wall.  .

Sink hole which developed in May

Consequently,, a large sink hole developed near the 13th Tee- off area.

 New sink hole developing in Causeway 

To fix the sink hole , the golf course brought in some massive new  pilings and some heavy duty  equipment with which to move them .  Apparently it was too  much weight  for the causeway to support, because the  wall  next to the cart path has started to collapse, which is creating a second sink  hole in the causeway.  So now there are two repairs needed, not just one, and something tells me this isn't the end of the story. 
 After all, ITS ( It's the South).,

77th Annual MB BikeWeek 5 ' 16

For 77 years, Myrtle Beach has hosted its annual Bike Fest during the last two weeks of May . Bikers come from all over the country to participate in this. It's really quite a sight to see. In reality it is actually two rallies: one white, one black. 

May 13 - 22nd just ended the 77th annual Harley bikers' week in Myrtle beach. This mostly white crowd was into Harley Davidson leathers, slowly cruising on painted Hogs, and the sound of 'rolling thunder.' 

Although there is often a bit of whimsy thrown into the mix.

May 23rd Sees the opening of the Black Bike week and riders showing up in force.

Over 500,000 black riders are expected to rally Myrtle Beach this Memorial Day weekend.

These fans are all about going zoom zoom on a sleek Yamaha , Suzuki, or Kawasaki.

And, of course, making sure everyone takes notice.

New Year’s Day Supper 1 '14

According to Southern Living Magazine, this traditional Southern  New Year’s Day supper will bring you fortune in the year to come: Pork, Greens and, Black-Eyed Peas, Cornbread, Hoppin’ John, and Pot Likker Soup.  Southerners embrace this tradition in a big way... Restaurants feature it on their menus; produce sections of markets are piled with fresh collards, and by New Years Eve, all the ham, and even all the canned black eyed peas are sold out.  Since the South is now our home... guess what we had for New Year's Supper

 You got it...

Pork, Pork, and more Pork
The more pork in your meal, the more luck you will have. So don’t just use ham hock and fatback to flavor your veggies; eat a baked ham or pork chops as a main dish.  I used a Blade Chop, lightly braised in a frying pan, that had been season with bacon drippings and garlic (these were used later in the collards greens), then roasted the blades in the oven at 325 for 30 minutes.  They came out as tender  as butter,

Collard Greens and Black-eyed Peas
These two Southern classics all but guarantee a prosperous year. Some say the greens represent dollar bills and the peas, coins, ensuring wealth and luck.

According tof Southern Living Magazine, "this auspicious New Year’s Day tradition dates back to the Civil War, when Union troops pillaged the land, leaving behind only black-eyed peas and greens as animal fodder. Rich in nutrients, these were the humble foods that enabled Southerners to survive. Details of stories differ, but each celebrates a communion of family and friends bound by grateful hearts and renewed hope for good things yet to come."

Cornbread
Cornbread, which some say symbolizes gold, completes the Southern New Year’s triad. Native Americans were the first to bake a cornmeal mixture, and Southerners made it daily when wheat was a rarity in the region. It is still a regional favorite, although We prefer ours a tad less sweet than the South Carolina  natives

Southern-Style Collard Greens
Slow-cooking collards with pork makes them mouth-watering and tender. I added ham  scraps,  onion, garlic and fresh crowder beans to mine.  It was really good and very nutritious.


Hoppin’ John
This Carolina Lowcountry dish pairs black-eyed peas with rice. The rice and beans are cooked slowly with bacon, fatback, or ham hock along with onion and salt.   Bruce found this dish too dry for his liking... I thought it might have been more flavorful if I had used a genuine Sounth Carolina Golden Rice instead of a California long grain.


 
Pot Likker
Pot likker, is the juice left in a pot after collards cook, and is traditionally valued as a delicacy and aphrodisiac.  I added  turnips, okra, and some fresh shrimp to mine and served it as a first course soup, while I was waiting for the pork chops to cook down enough to serve.  Sorry, my camera batteries failed me , so I didn't get a picture of this course.

Be sure to save a few uncooked greens to tack to the ceiling for good luck or hang over the door to ward off evil spirits.

Not so good a read: The Kitchen House 2 '15

Just finished next months book club selection The Kitchen House which is billed as a masterful historical novel by author Kathleen Grissom. Charlotte Bronte would have loved it. I thought it beats pulp romance but not by much. I quickly tired of the central character's unending naivete . It seemed too construed for someone who grew up under her circumstances. And the plot was just all too tragic and melodramatic. The only unpredictable action was when the doped out Big House Mistress ( Miss Martha) overcame her opiate stupors long enough to chase off her evil plantation overseer and his thugs by threatening to shoot them with a gun ( only to feign away as soon as they were gone).... How very Victorian of her.

Waccatee Zoological Farm 6'12

Waccatee Zoological Farm Is a small family run enterprise  that is run  entirely on private donations. 

 

  The zoo houses thousands of animals and over 100 species.
The first to greet you are the Peafowl (aka peacock).

 

 They are both beautiful to look at and good security.  At the least small disturbance these lovely creatures  begin  screaming ear piercing alarm calls, alerting  the staff and everyone else that mischief is afoot.

 From the road you see herds of buffalo and zebra roaming the open sunny grassland, but most of the zoo is located within 500 acres of private, carefully preserved, wooded property.

Some of the larger herd animals like the ( North African sheep above) are given  large tree sheltered enclosures These are the lucky ones.

Many of the animals are located in relatively small enclosures

Many of the animals are located in relatively small enclosures

While clean and well fed, it did not seem entirely fair to keep such large animals in such small spaces

I was especially uncomfortable with the  cats and other predators

 The zoo's website brags that  "big cats like the leopard, lion, cougar and tiger eye you up close".  It is true that one can get close.  I could get within a foot of this  little serval cat, but  it  wouldn't meet my eyes.  A  large lioness paced endlessly back and forth  between the cinder block walls of her  rooms.    It left me feeling guilty and sad to see these beautiful animals caged like this.

One are that I did find enjoyable was the raised wooden walkway that winds through the  wetlands .   A raised wooden walkway winds through  the

Located where the Waccamaw River, Intracoastal Waterway and Socastee Creek  join, Waccatee Zoo is a natural wildlife sancuary and breeding ground for many species of migratory birds.  At several times of the year it's not uncommon to see thousands of beautiful native egrets or heron in one small spot.  

The birds were everywhere, posing like photographers models

 The egret above had built its nest right over the walkway,

while the heron below was posing on a branch beside the walk. The difference between the birds and the other creatures in the zoo is that the birds are free to come and go as they like.  If the zoo area does  not please them, they could simply fly on down the river to another site.

There's a lot more animals than I have shown, so if you like small private zoos or are looking for a good site t to do some bird photography, at  check it out at 

 8500 Enterprise Rd

Myrtle Beach, SC  29588

843-650-8500

Holiday Greetings from Pawley's Island

It's official... 

The Christmas holiday season is upon us.

Visitors crossing the North Causeway onto  Pawleys Island

 are being greeted by  a Santa Claus fishing the tidal creek

Seagrove Pottery Festival '11

To celebrate my birthday Bruce took me to  the Seagrove Pottery Festival in North Carolina

Artists had started telling me  about Seagrove NC almost as soon as we had moved to South Carolina, so I was  well aware that this is a well established pottery center.  And I knew that Seagrove's pottery tradition dates back to the 18th century before the American Revolution. Many of the first Seagrove potters were English and German immigrants. They primarily produced functional, glazed earthenware. Due to the high quality of the local clay and transportation access for traders, Seagrove became known for its pottery.  But  what I wasn't prepared for the how important  the craft is in the area.  There are even large state funded signs along the  freeway telling travelers they are approaching   the "pottery capital of North Carolina".

Seagrove is notable for its many potteries, and it is sometimes referred to as the "pottery capital of North Carolina", or even the pottery capital of the world. In this usage, the name Seagrove not only refers to the town proper, but includes several other communities that are part of the pottery tradition along and near the North Carolina Pottery Highway. Over 100 potteries  shops and galleries are located in Seagrove  with even more potters located in  the neighboring towns of Star, Whynot, Westmoore, Happy Hollow, and Robbins..  So many  potteries are located along NC Hwy 705 or its side roads,that the state to designate Hwy 705 as the official “NC Pottery Highway".  Seagrove is also home to the North Carolina Pottery Center, which was established on November 7, 1998 and has since received visitors across the continent and around the world.

And once or twice a year tall these potters come together to hold a pottery festival.

This year the festival was being held on the playground of the local elementary school.

The school buildings blocked my view of all but the driveway to the festival, but the lack of  parking within a mile in any direction gave a strong hint of how large and popular this event was going to be.    Three humongous circus style tents stretched 3/4 of the way around the school playground.

Food and beverage tents took up the remaining side of the lot, while craftsmen demonstrating skills like raku firing, throwing, and glazing , filled in all the gaps in between.

Inside the tents we were met with an amazing  meld of  pots and people as far as the eye can see. Most of the pottery was functional, but even that came in every color shade, form and and texture  known to man

Others, while still useful, relied on their decorative appeal

Some combined pottery with crafts like basketry and woodworking

 While others were so non-functional that they could be termed fine art craft

 For those who had the time and the money to bid,  a silent auction 

offered  something for everyone's taste.

And what did I buy?, you ask.   A teapot of course.  

After all it was my birthday.

Potter, David Edwards, holding the teapot we purchased from him.

Brookgreen gardens Harvest Festival '11

Once again, Brookgreen Gardens has held its annual Harvest Festival,

and as always it is a lot of fun !

There are pumpkin painting contests

Hayrides

Artisans like this sweet grass basket maker

And my personal favorite  ...

Scarecrow Making

It really shows how much creativity is hidden in each of us

 when you can  make something so interesting out of so little.