Visitng with the neighbors, Broad Headed Skinks: 5 ' 16

Meet Ms.(top).and Mr. (bottom) Broad-headed Skink.

Broad-headed skinks are a form of arboreal of lizard that thrives in the low country of South Carolina. They forage on the ground, but also easily and often climb trees for safety, shelter, and to sleep,or to search for food. Although they do occur in residential areas, they can be hard to spot. Their preferred habitat is humid forest areas with abundant leaf litter, especially oak forest,, where they rapidly bury themselves in leaves or climb the nearest tree at the first sign of nearby movement. 

We were lucky enough to get close enough to photograph these two, only because love is in the air, and well ( how can I put this delicately)... they were a bit distracted.

The Broad Headed Skink gets its name from the wide jaws, giving the head a triangular appearance. Adult males are brown or olive brown in color and have bright orange heads during the mating season in spring. Notice how excited this fella shown above is.

Females  (above) typically are larger than males. By larger I mean girth, not length since the tail of these lizards will break off at the tip if the skink is captured or threatened by a predator. (We think that might explain how the young lady above is so plump, compared to her suitor, but so much shorter in length.)

And so our garden grows: 4 '15

Temporary Seed Beds

I set out all of the remaining young  herb plants today, and sowed six dozen vegetable starter pots with mustard, lots of different bush squash: both green and golden zucchini , crook neck, acorn, and white scallop .   Most of these will go to the community gardens projects.  Our upstairs patio table has been into a seed bed where I can hand water them. Once the seeds have germinated and have a couple of leaves (should be a week or two),  I will transplant one of each into larger pots for us to keep. The rest will be given to the community gardens projects and our deck will go back to normal.

Ready for Spring: 3 '15

 

 Of course there are always fresh flowers and birds 

and birdhouses.

But there are also bunnies:

 lots  

and lots

 of bunnies everywhere.

Assessing the storm damage 4_21_14

View from our Carolina Room

The heavy winds and rains of this last storm took its toll on the woods behind us.  The large pine visible in the upper right of the photo above came crashing down in the middle of the night. It had died long before we moved in, and I am just grateful it only fell on another couple of near-dead oak trees instead of our house. It is now hung up on those trees; let's hope the wight doesn't send them crashing down our direction.

The bad news is that a large branch of the oak nearest our house was ripped off by the wind and landed on our upstairs deck.  Fortunately there was no damage to our structure.   We dropped it over the railing ( before it's weight did cause some damage) and dragged it to the edge of the woods.

One mad Kat

You can see from the look on Kat's face that she was not pleased by having this obstacle  placed in her litter box

Stinky Inky sulking by the fallen pine

Stinky Inky wasn't very pleased either.  The dead pine had always served as a lean-to shelter from the rain.  He got soaked yesterday after it fell.

Self- proclaimed environmental protection committee.

The two of them walked around the fallen trees for an hour this morning  seriously considering whether they should file suite against humanity for environmental damage to their shared territory.

Happy Easter 4 '14

Happy Easter Everyone, from out home to yours.

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.

Forsynthia 4 '14

The forsythia bush at the edge of the Pawleys Plantation putting green is in full bloom. It is so beautiful when it is back lit. I couldn't resist trying to capture it on canvas.

On CC's easel: 4 ' 14

It's been a cold wet winter, made even more depressing by the passing of several loved ones..  As always, I  have turned to painting the beauty of nature for comfort.

At first I had to look for it... At the End of January the skies were gray, the ground wet, and the grasses and most trees still dormant, but here and there a shrub would burst into bloom reminding me that life does goes on.

  By the end of February  the grasses were greening , the  Flowering Pears were starting to bloom and spring bulbs were starting to appear.

 

 These were followed by the more colorful peach and cherry trees.

And now everywhere I look there are massive displays of  joy in being alive.

While my heart is still heavy with loss, but  the act of documenting all this youthful exuberance has been teaching me a good lesson.  Life is a process,  not a single event, and  one should appreciate each and every moment with the  people and the beauty they bring into our lives.

Atlanta, GA: Orchid Show 3 ' 14

By far my favorite part of the whole day  was the visit to the Atlanta Botanic Garden's Orchid Show.

Held amidst their  massive epiphytic plant collection in their enormous hothouse it was the most spectacular orchid display of orchids and tropical epiphytes I have ever seen.

All the plants were in pristine condition and at their peak of bloom.

There were many species I had never seen before

It was exhausting trying to see it all

But I was certainly happy to try.

Weekend getaway to Atlanta GA 3 '14

Atlanta, GA: Skyline

We're here in beautiful Atlanta Georgia visiting with our good friends Cheryl and Mike Damore

Mike ( Center) Cheryl ( right) Daughter Ashley ( left)

Peach tree in blossom

The weather is great.

The restaurants are fabulous

Cheryl and CC

And we are really enjoying our friends'company.

Pinehurst Country Club and Golf Course 5'13

Pinehurst Country Club and Golf Course is one of the finest golf resorts in the country, offering eight championship golf courses, world class tennis and spa facilities, conference meeting facilities, dining rooms, and fabulous gift shops with a selection of golfing merchandise to die for.  

The stories of champions and the traditions of championship golf have been created at Pinehurst since 1898. As the site of more championships than any other golf course in the country. Pinehurst welcomes the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open Championships in 2014.   Walking down the hall to the pro shop you pass trophy's, memorabilia and photos of all of the Biggest Names of Golf who have played there over the past century.  It's more than a little intimidating.

You do not have to be a champion to play a championship golf course.  Pinehurst features 8 unique golf courses, making us the largest golf resort in America. Ross, Fazio, Maples, Jones and most recently, Coore & Crenshaw have made each course a unique test of golf. Pinehurst No. 2, No. 8 and No. 4 are consistently ranked among the world's best, while Nos. 1 & 3 reflect Donald Ross's most original Pinehurst works.

We chose to play the No 1 course which  is the most scenic and picturesque and the most true to its original turn of the century design. Don't let the short 6,089-yard par 70 fool you - it's more of a challenge than it first appears. The course was graded with mules which gives it a distinct character.   Wild drives or a sloppy short game  on this course can make for a long day. 

 Like the famous No. 2 course , there are crowned greens on No. 1 but they aren't quite as severe. That's good, because CC's only been playing for 6 months so it was nice to find that Pinehurst offers a course that was within her skill level and would still challenge Bruce. The 11th hole is one of the toughest par 3s we  have ever played. The hole plays up-hill and over water with a tiny green that is nearly impossible to hit in regulation. - 

As with any course bearing Ross's name,the  No 1 course is ultimately very playable without losing its challenge . Bruce wound up with a score of 97 and CC had 107.  Given the challenge, we were both elated with our results.

Belated DOB Party at the River Club 5 ' 13

It rained yesterday, so our plan to celebrate Bruce's DOB with a round of golf at the River Club was put on hold until today.

The delay and beautiful weather only seemed to improve his game.

And he seemed to be having a great time.  Happy Belated Birthday, Bruce.