Category: News

Highway 17 is a scenic road trip in and of itself; one doesn’t really even need a destination.  Here are a couple of images taken in the Gardens Corner  area.

Every summer I look out for fields of sunflowers as I go about my day to day business.  I spotted these recently and the owner of the farm was kind enough to indulge my photography obsession.  I found I had an involuntary smile on my face as I wandered up and down the rows of bobbing yellow orbs.  Sometimes joy is found is such simple things.

Last night a friend and I spent a few hours photographing the boneyard beach at the southern tip of Hunting Island State Park.  We arrived in daylight and before we knew it the time was 10.30 p.m. and we were still on the beach. Time flies when you’re having fun!  The cabin out to sea is the last cabin standing and apparently will be taken down sometime this summer, since it obstinately defies everything that nature can throw at it.

Well really, if a tropical storm had to ruin a Memorial Day weekend and wreak havoc with Spoleto events, it could have been a little more exciting than Dreary Bonnie.  For the past couple of days I’ve been driving around attending to my usual routine business to the background of weather reports telling me I’m surrounded by lashing rain, thunderstorms, and wind gusts of up to 45 mph.  Seriously?  Not in my world.  In fact most of today was pretty good.  Cloudy yes, but outside events were doable from mid morning onwards.  I decided I needed a walk on the beach this afternoon and I don’t think I have ever seen Folly Beach less populated on this holiday weekend.   

This evening I am better educated about the origins and scope of the Gullah culture, and also the history of slavery in America, specific to the Drayton family and Magnolia Plantation.  This morning, Anita Singleton-Prather gave a rousing presentation on all things Gullah at the Slave Mart on Chalmers Steet, enlisting the participation of all attendees, both willing and reticent.  She is a wonderful performer and it is hard to remain detached from her engaging personality, even for those who had initially no plans to become part of the show.

Later in the day, I stopped by Magnolia Gardens where Joe McGill (of The Slave Dwelling Project) had put together a living history day entitled “Inalienable Rights:  Living History through the Eyes of the Enslaved”.  There were cooking and blacksmithing demonstrations, lectures and story-telling. Here are a few images of both events.

Before I move on to life back in the US and more portraits of my impossibly cute and talented grandchildren, here are a few more random slices of  the Western Cape area of South Africa.  What a beautiful country it is.  I find myself straddling two lives, my life there with beauty and family, and my life here with the same.  If you ever get the chance to visit, or if you’ve been thinking about it and just feel like it is too far or too different, don’t hesitate – as Nike says, “Just do it”.

By now some may have a suspicion that I love farms and rural scenes.  This is true.  While I was in South Africa I spent a couple of nights at the Waylands Guest Farm in the Western Cape.  The 1,200+ hectare farm has been in the same family for many generations.  They run a large herd of free range Nguni cattle and Merino sheep, and grow many crops including vines for wine production.  The area is also world renowned for it’s spectacular annual display of wildflowers in September, but I will have to revisit to experience that. 

My mother had a hip replacement about 10 days ago, and has been pretty much immobilized since.  Today however she felt strong enough for a day trip to Hermanus for lunch.  My sister Judy and I made some modifications to the back seat of her car, loaded all the necessary medical support equipment and off we went.  It was a poignant mix of concern and hilarity, but we all got back in one piece, albeit with leaving her walker behind in the restaurant parking lot.  I think we were distracted in our euphoria over our success.  The weather was kind to us and it was a good day.

I am in South Africa visiting family right now and I have to say that something stirs in my soul every time that big ol’ jet touches down at Johannesburg International Airport.  It doesn’t stir for long because then the realization hits that I have to clear customs, passport control, and then wait another two hours for my connection and almost three hour flight to my final destination, Cape Town.  

Anyway after I had slept it off it felt wonderful to be back and I happily settled back into my African life.  This time my mom is having hip replacement surgery so a lot of time has been spent shuttling back and forth to the hospital. Nevertheless she is doing well, all things being considered, not the least of which is her ripe old age of 88.  God is good.  I did spend this last weekend with Sister #2 in the winelands area of Paarl and Franschhoek, heaven on earth, so here are a couple of images from my travels.

Well, ordinarily I would not have given this a passing glance, but now that I have a 5 year old grandson, it was a perfect opportunity to spend some seriously fun one-on-one time with him. He had been crossing the days off a calendar and by the time Sunday arrived, he could hardly contain himself.  Needless to say, the circus didn’t disappoint, and it was certainly a show to remember.  Here are some of the highlights.