Becoming River People 7' 22

 

My brother, Tony, would be pleased to know that we are fast on our way to becoming "River People" Dorchester and Charleston Counties have both built several public parks on the banks of the Ashley River to allow picnicking, boating, and fishing access on the river. The newest of these River Parks is just two blocks away from our front door with an entrance to that park available to us through our housing community. All of these parks are connected by walking trails. Bruce and I have just begun to explore some sections of these trails.

For More about the Ashley River See: https://www.americanrivers.org/river/ashley-river/

with photo credit  ro Larry Gleason

Fourth of July walk along the Ashley River Trail 7 '22

 

 Bruce and I have  both had our fill of unpacking boxes and have decided that that we want to celebratethe Fourth of July by spending the day  enjoying our new home and community.  So to celebrate,  we decided to take a walk along the Ashley River ,   Dorchester and Charleston Counties  have built a series of Public Parks along  the Ashley River  to provide acces to the river for picnicking, boating, and fishing.  A network of river bank trails connects these parks.

The nearest of these Parks is just two blocks awayfrom our front door  at  the edge of our housing development.  But that park was already crowded with  picnicers celebrating the Fourth Of July, so we opted to drive to the next  nearest River  Park with is only a few miles away off of Dorchester Blvd.  

That Park is more oriented less towards picnicers and more toward  kayakers and other small craft.   We pulled into a large parking lot that had four picnic pavillions lining the north side of the lot  and  a boat launch on either end of the lot.  The parking area and the pavilions were nearly empty except  for  lot of cars with small boat trailers .  Everyone was already out on the water. 

View of the Ashley River from a Picnic Pavillion

 That gave us a chancce to enjoy a cool drink while taking in a view of the river rolling by  while we watch a small sail boat being  launched from the nearby ramp..

Sailboat being launched.

On the South side of the parking lot, we found an entrance to one of the Ashley River walking trails.  

The cool shaded path along the green river bank offered a welcome respite from the oppressive summer heat.  

Bruce was especially appreciative  that the trail was paved 

which assured he had a safe even path to walk on.

The walking  trail stayed pretty close to the bank of the river.  I've never had any experience with rivers environments so I  enjoyed being able toget close enough to really study both the river and the micro-climate habitat it supports

Every so often the river would take a turn away from us and the path ahead of us would widen out into a vast  green field of cattail and other reeds. 

 

The trail continued on through the wetland on a raised boardwalk keeping us high and dry.

Where the river turned to rejoin the path, a large fishing pavilion had been installed. 

The Pavillion also functioned as a nicely shaded rest stop where we could take in the views of other habitats before crossing the river and looping back to the lot where we had parked our car.

Charlestowne Landing SP: 10 '17

We paid a short visit to Charlestowne Landing State Park this morning. The Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site sits on a marshy point, located off of the Ashley River, where a group of English settlers landed in 1670 and established what would become the birthplace of South Carolina. Charles Towne Landing introduces visitors to the earliest colonial history of Charleston colony.

Unfortunately, we were limited on time so we concentrated on seeing all the educational exhibits in their visitor center, where we Interacted with hands-on exhibits and took an audio tour on the self-guided history trail.

There is much more to do and see in the park, including touring the Adventure, Charleston's only 17th-century replica sailing ship, see cannons fired, or taking a peek at otters, bears, bison and more at the Animal Forest natural habitat zoo. The grounds also include 80 acres of gardens, with an elegant live oak alley and the Legare-Waring House.

Unfortunately, today, the time we had was limited, but we'll definitely return.

For more information on Charlestowne Landing go to:

https://southcarolinaparks.com/charles-towne-landing

New Bern Tyron Palace work areas: 11'16

After touring the Governor and his family and formal rooms, we were free to explore the separate unattached buildings that housed the kitchen area and other working areas of the palace household.

The kitchen was large and roomy with many different areas for food preparation

A costumed expert  colonial cooking processes was on hand to answer any questions we might have while she  prepared an authentic meal for the day, 

Another room was set aside for weaving and tailoring

The head of the female staff.(above)  as well as the lead butler each had their own modest, but reasonably comfortable  private accommodations.

Other servants however bunked together in minimaly furnished accomodations.

Other areas we viewed were the blacksmith  house,

the stables,

and the herb and kitchen gardens.

BJ and Bernard 7 '14

Bruce decided to get all chummy with Bernard Baruch at Brook green Gardens.

  They even look a bit alike.

Brookgreen River Boat Tour 7 '14

I think I remember being told that the sculpture gardens, open to the public,  comprise only about 450 acres out  of Brookgreen's 9000 total acreage. Much of Brookgreen property is in preserve .  The preserved areas can only be viewed on prescheduled tours such as their riverboat cruise which takes you up and down the tidal creeks within the Brookgreen Preserve. 

As part of it's' Cool Summer Evenings' program, Brookgreen Gardens has extended its  boat cruise tour schedule into the early evening hours.  Bruce and I decided this would be the perfect time to see  this lesser known  side of Brookgreen , so we hopped on board  a 48-foot pontoon boat  for a hour long cruise along historic ricefields now home to alligators, waterfowl, and osprey.

Our tour guide, Don Spriegel,  interpreted the distinctive landscape of the rice plantations and helped us to understand the role of enslaved Africans in the cultivation of the rice crop.

Small Cyprus tree 

First,  the massive cypress trees were dug up by young male slaves from, what was at that time, a mature old forest cypress swamp.

Dykes  held back the tidal waters

Once the swamps were rid of the forest, the branches of the cypress were pounded into the mud to make  a dyke, and soil dug out of the swamp to build up the rice beds fields behind it. 

Trunk opening

Openings were left in the dykes  to called 'trunks'.  On the earliest plantations, hollowed out cypress tree trunks were place in these openings, with gates at either end, to control the flow of tidal water in and out of the fields. A later design looked like the Rice gate below..  

Rice Gates control water flow in and out of the rice fields

Shortly before the civil war, Georgetown county was the richest county in all of the colonies.  Except for the oaks in the residential areas, all of the land had been denuded of trees and converted to rice fields

Trees  grown since the civil war

After the war,  the slave labor force need to maintain this industry was no longer available, and the destitute landowners did not have the means to pay for the labor intensive farming.  The land began its slow  return to its natural form.  Today the Bald Cyprus and

Tupelo trees are once again reclaiming the land that was once theirs.

The hour went all too quickly, and soon we were seeing the sun playing peek a boo with the edges of the  horizon.  It was promising another beautiful sunset over the peaceful tidal creeks.

Beth Elohim Temple and Cemetery, Georgetown, SC: 7 '14

Temple Beth Elohim

This afternoon, Bruce and I decided to visit the  local Jewish Temple and Cemetary  nearest our home.   Jews arrived in the historic seaport of Georgetown, S.C. in the mid 1700s. They worshipped in each other's homes, and also at the Winyah Indigo Society.  Although the sign outside the temple says it was established in 1904,  that does not begin to tell the whole story of the importance of this Jewish Congregation in this area of South Carolina.

By 1800,  Jews were a small but important portion of the population. Although proportionally only 10% of the white population, Jews have held a disproportionately large role in civic life as evidences by the historical markers below.

As you can see from the SC State historical signs, the Jewish cemetery in Georgetown was established in 1772 and contains the graves of three of Georgetown's Jewish mayors.

The cemetery is  roughly a  city block  in size, which relatively small compared to some we have visited in the Northeast.

But it is well maintained, and both Bruce and felt it to be the most peaceful cemetery we have ever visited.

In part that is because there is a sense of continuity and belonging here that one does not find in the larger more anonymous cemeteries.   Whole families, with names like Cohen, Moses, and Solomon are buried side by side here for generations .

 The oldest grave we found was 1772  and the newest 2010. The oldest graves were often the saddest because they told of how hard life was for the early colonists, many of whom lost child after child, or died in childbirth trying to give life.

But seeing the graves  of so many generations also tells a story of commitment to family and community that is sorely missing in modern society.  

 For more on the history of the Temple Beth Elohim Congregation check out:

http://www.jhssc.org/Georgetown_Temple_Beth_Elohim_History.html

What are those pink flowers? 4 '14

  "What are those pink flowers?" a friend from the West coast wrote.  "They're azaleas",  I wrote back... but wait I thought... I don't know if she will believe that answer.   It's a good question to keep in mind when one is attempting to paint a scene the viewer might never have experienced. I grew up in the wide open ( but arid) spaces of the west coast myself.  A large azalea on the west coast might reach two foot tall and three foot wide.  Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I might have suspected that  the profusion of vegetation was a bit overstated  if not outright fabricated.  Let me assure you, it is neither. 

Small Part of Brookgreen Gardens' Pine forest in Spring

The sheer size of the flowering plants  in Spring can be overwhelming.  In the older established gardens the azaleas can reach twenty feet, and the flowering trees are taller.

The photo below will give you some sense of the heights...  They dwarf me

CC  with azaleas at Magnolia  Gardens

And they are everywhere

 Magnolia Gardens path

There are acres and acres of woodland paths  like these at at Magnolia Gardens and Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens walkway

Even personal gardens are a mass of blooms.

Azaleas and Dogwood  at Pawleys

 It can all be a bit overwhelming.  The sheer profusion makes it hard to  know what to focus upon, much less even get a clean photo of it.. Painting the scene becomes an exercise in deciding on what is the center of interest, and trying to remove anything in the scene that  might distract the viewers' focus.

Brookgreen Garden's Gate

The photo  above shows the garden gate that was the basis for the painting above.  Far from being overstated.  I actually had to subdue a lot of color and edit out  many shapes to keep the painting  from seeming cluttered and even garish.

My painting of "The Garden Gate"

 Maybe that is why so few artists tackle full blown flower filled  Spring landscapes.  They require hard mental work and  are very tricky to pull off well.