Upper King

Here are some photos I dug up that I took six years ago.  This is the Upper King I grew up with.  I bet most of these buildings and lots are now trendy new restaurants serving up local produce and grass fed meat.  Funny how things change.  If I still can't understand how you live on Spring Street, it's because I picture it like this.

Happy Tuesday

Sometimes, a beautiful, quiet sunset is the perfect way to unwind at the end of the day.  

Good Food

This is one of the most amazing videos I have ever seen.  I know how much of a difference diet can make in your daily life, but did you ever think your diet could affect you this much?  Enough to cure an incurable degenerative disease?  I also love Dr. Wahls' tenacity.  She was not going to let MS beat her, and so she tried everything, including a rather radical, untested, self-treatment.  And it worked.  How inspiring!

Camellias

Every time we get a freeze, it is my duty to cut the camellias.  The delicate blossoms turn brown after a freeze, so we always try to save as many as we can, appreciating their beauty in every room of the house.

Our white camellias have a genetic abnormality that causes the plant to produce two blossoms from a single bud, like conjoined twins.  As you can see here, the broad, flat, outside petals are shared by both flowers.  They are so interesting, and also so uniquely beautiful.

Dunino

As I was looking through my pictures yesterday, I stumbled across these from my time in Scotland.  They are of the Dunino well, close to St Andrews.  I'm not sure the exact sacred significance of this place, but a few things are certain...

In a world where water is available at the touch of a button, it can be easy to forget that water is the gift of life.  It is a precious resource without which life is impossible.  It is no surprise then, that springs and wells are common sites of worship.  The well at Dunino clearly has pagan roots, but the religious significance of the site was later usurped by the church.  

Carved into one of the stone walls surrounding this idyllic stream, is an ancient, nearly faded cross.  It is not a far leap of the mind to envision a priest standing in front of this rock face, his congregation splayed out along the banks of the creek.  I am always fascinated by sites such as this, that possess such cultural history and significance.  Here, it is clear that many people have not forgotten the pagan beginning.  They have tied trinkets, keys, and ribbons to branches, hoping for what?  Health?  Luck?  Love?  The mystery is more inviting than the fact.  

Whether the energy at Dunino is from a sacred presence or from the touch of generations of people who came here to worship, I couldn't say.  But you can definitely feel that something is different here.  I hope these pictures provide a glimpse into the mystery and beauty of this place.  

Travellin' Blues

I've got the travellin' blues lately.  I'm itching to get out of here for a grand adventure.  Here's a video that has me spellbound.  How incredible would it be to dive for your dinner, clean your fish in the ocean, have a seafood boil around the bonfire, then let the breaking waves lull you to sleep?  Plus, there's never a better meal than after a hard day's work carrying your own weight - be that backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, whatever.

Happy Mardi Gras

Happy Mardi Gras y'all.  I wish I was in New Orleans (or Venice or Rio or Trinidad) so badly, but don't you know I'm gonna slap on my brightest purple dress with my gold sequin jacket and go out celebrating here in Charleston.  

Florida

I'm off to Florida for the weekend to do a bit of diving!  I can't wait to be back under the water.  

(I can't for the life of me remember where this photo is from.  I guess that's what pinterest is good for.)

The Little Things

I frequently pass this doorknob, and never noticed it until this week.  Isn't it odd how many times you can pass something without noticing?  Then suddenly you do, and for the rest of time you will always see it.  

Firefly

On Saturday I went out to the Firefly distillery and Irvin House vineyard with some of my friends.  It's funny how just 30 minutes away from your house, you can feel like you're in a whole different world when you're on an adventure, instead of commuting.  We had a fun time and enjoyed all the tastings.  I'd never tried muscadine wine before, and I don't think I'll ever drink it again.  But I will continue to eat my muscadines and scuppernongs!  Did you know that compared to normal grapes, muscadines have an extra pair of chromosomes?  One theory is that this may help them be heartier than other grapes, and perhaps a reason for it's above-average healthiness.

My friend and I pulled an 'Office Space' in the Firefly tasting room, and it took us forever to get to the bar.  In the meantime everyone else had already finished, and one girl was gushing about the bunnies outside.  Our bartender off handedly told her to take one if she wanted to.  They had too many, and they multiplied like, well, rabbits.  After she asked him repeatedly if he was serious (he was), and he looked at her like she was crazy, she went outside and got herself a bunny!  Isn't it the cutest thing ever?  

This Must Be the Place.

Doesn't everyone want a corner of the world to call their own?  His kingdom sounds wonderfully appealing to me, especially when contrasted with the condominium in Florida.  

I've never quite been able to shake the romantic notion of the gentleman farmer, but at the same time, I also know that there is a lot of hard work.  Being a farmer is a 25/8 kind of a job, and one that I'm not sure I'm willing to do.  This is the crux of my career problem.  I'm so interested in sustainable agriculture, but at the end of the day, I want to be able to grab a cocktail with friends, maybe followed by concert.  This article was very interesting to me, especially when Emily Oakley says, "We would gladly trade a little competition for more community and collaboration."  That is what I fear the most in farming.  I'm afraid that I could get lost in solitude on a farm. I want to see the world, I want to be able to take a 2 week vacation to Sweden if I feel like it. 

Enough of my silly ramblings.  I found this video to be hopeful and inspiring, but it inevitably brought up my personal paradox of farming.  

Seth and Scott

Oh how these boys kill me.  I went to see them again last night, and they were great.  The crowd wasn't exactly Jazz Fest, but it was still an amazing experience.  I cried.  I would see them a thousand times over, and never get tired of it.  In reality, every single song of theirs is equally magnificent, but there are two that hold a special place in my heart; they sang them both.  

They sang "Living of Love," which is so special for me what with this blog and how I've taken that to heart, and really try to live that way every day of my life.  I really didn't expect it, but during the encore, Seth sang "The Ballad of Love and Hate" all on his lonesome on stage.  It was so sweet.  And again, because of how amazing and loving these guys are, he really interacted with the audience.  Someone shouted "I LOVE YOU!!!" in the middle of the song between verses, and he stopped singing to say "Thank you, I love you too.  I love you too."  The crowd went wild, and then he sort of chuckled a little and went back to singing his beautiful song.  

(Seth singing the Ballad.  Please excuse the crummy iPhone photo.)

If you don't wish to read my ramblings (manic raving, is more like it) then no need to read any further.  Here are some random quotations that give a little more insight (I hope) into just why these boys are so lovely, and will probably always be my favorite band.  They don't just sing these things.  They live it.  

When talking about their Album "I and Love and You," these boys had a few monumentally poetic, piercing things to say: 

(Seth) "I love you...is arguably the most important phrase we have, in any language." 

(Scott) [about the line "I and Love and You"] "It has a double meaning instantly, that maybe it just becomes difficult to tell someone you love them because you don't love them anymore.  Which is improper, you should love everybody, right?"  

(Seth) "Every song we write, every day we live, [love is] the centerpiece of our existence."

Cabins and Creativity

Whoa.  My new favorite addiction: Cabin Porn.  I think the one below may be my favorite (from page one).  In addition to the appeal of the cow skull, the idea of Deep Springs is very interesting to me.  At least everyone that I know just assumes they will go to college, but wouldn't it have been really awesome to have had an experience like this?  Alternative colleges like this and Warren Wilson probably wouldn't have appealed to me at all as a senior in high school, but now the idea of them is very intriguing.  

Imagine the creativity you would be surrounded by.  How often do you really get that intense dose of isolated creativity and camaraderie?  It's good for the soul, and hard to come by.  

Alright, I can't post them all, but how dreamy is this landscape?  The cabin looks so welcoming, and I can imagine feeding logs to the fire, almost desperately, while being swaddled in a giant fur coat.  So very Dr. Zhivago (minus the whole satellite dish thing).  

Beaufort

This weekend was the most fabulous weekend you could ever hope for in February.  (Thanks climate change!)  Saturday was a spectacular day: doughnuts in the car, the scenic route to Beaufort, 70º weather, ice cream on the waterfront, witnessing the tail end of a proposal (while I squeaked my swing, oblivious), super sour citrus fruits, graveyards and general meandering.

Abstract brick and tabby.

Blue ceiling.

Mermaid hair.

Moss taking over.

Well worn joggling board.

Weathered cypress.

When we came upon this citrus tree teeming with fruit, they were just so cute, we had to try them.  I remembered trying one before, so I knew it would be sour, but even so, I was unprepared for the level of tartness these tiny fruits pack.  If you see these tiny things, beware!  It's probably the most sour thing I've ever tasted.  I have since looked them up, and discovered that they are called calamondins, or calamansi. Now that I know what they are, I think I'll stick to Myers lemons, satsumas and kumquats in my garden!

Teeny tiny!

Dirt

Have you ever noticed how there's something just so wonderful about the smell of soil?  I can't quite place it, but for some reason that smell is comforting and grounding.  Aside from the pure genius of the process, the smell of dirt is one of the reasons I love composting so much.  Getting that beautiful, delicious soil from your smelly, rotting veggies will never cease to amaze me.

Well, perhaps here's why we love that smell so much - a bacteria in the soil is an anti-depressant!  Read How to Get High on Soil, to find out exactly how this all works.  The whole concept seems so silly, but I don't think I've ever been in a bad mood after digging around in dirt.  Wonders never cease.

Gorillas

This is one of the most incredible videos ever!  I've watched it, like, four times since last night, and it makes me smile so much every time I see it.

 Can you imagine what an experience this must have been?  I love to hear about people's most awe-inspiring moments in nature, and I'm sure this is one of the highest on John's list.  And I guess that human nature, isn't quite so uniquely human after all.

February

Holy Moly!  I can't believe it's February already.  When I was in cotillion, one of the dances we learned was square dancing.  I can't remember the name of the square dancing teacher, but she would shout the steps over the music.  At the end of whatever pattern you were doing, she would shout "And onnnn tooooo the next!" and every other couple would shuffle on down to the left and start up the pattern again with that couple.  

For some reason this quick transition from January to February reminds me of that.  I feel like I'm spinning madly around the ballroom, barely having the chance to greet January, before - "And onnnn tooooo the next!"- February comes barreling around the corner.  

You know what keeps you from losing your balance when you spin and spin and spin in a dance like contra?  You look into the eyes of your partner, the only fixed point in a room spinning out of control.  But I don't have anything to focus on in this wild dance of time.  I don't yet have a goal that I can set my sights on to keep me from reeling as the weeks and months whip past me.  

By summertime I hope to have chosen something to keep me steady.