Musings

Drayton Hall, c. 1750 (but for over a century believed to date a decade earlier), mantel detail.

We visited the American version of the English version of Classical Greek/Roman decorative arts. Not sure what mythical moment this is honoring, maybe…let’s look at flowers because it’s really cold out…thankfully sunny, but still cold.

A little chemistry and political economy…. In the depression that followed the Civil…umhem, War between the States, an economic downturn that lasted for about six decades in the Charleston (SC) area, savvy landholders benefitted from mining calcium phosphate along the Ashley River and nearby (upstream of Charleston). The calcium phosphate was processed to make particularly rich agricultural fertilizer. By the 1880s, the phosphate from this field dominated world production. But it didn’t last long…new fields discovered in Florida were easier to mine, and there were other market shifts.

Enough of this…sleep tight.

Posted at 9:32 PM | 1 Comment »

This “side porch” is officially a two-story piazza here in Charleston SC.

Posted at 6:38 PM | Comments Off on For better breeze-catching

I really liked that the post for the right side of this gate was a turned newel post, painted the same red, and also flaking grey. I also liked the construction method for this wall, with different techniques used for various sections. The part had large stones and little mortar. To the left, the wall was sloppy with drooping layers of fairly fine-grained concrete and smaller, flatter stones. All portions had about the same amount of floral encrustations.

We found this flower, an anemone, elsewhere…after dark.

Posted at 9:30 PM | Comments Off on Hinged gate in a stone wall

Mighty sharp…that is, the nephews, and also the piranha we saw in one tank at the GA_Aquarium. Which was totally packed by the way, so my dosimeter on humanity is through the roof, but beginning to drop since we left the peopled-zone around three this afternoon.

Pretty darned fun day all around, in spite of the intensity/magnitude of human-crush, augmented this day by rafts of cheerleaders…rah rah sis boom bah.

Posted at 9:55 PM | 1 Comment »

An orchid for my Valentine…. This means YOU.

Posted at 9:36 PM | Comments Off on Flowery (verbiage, conditional)

Even though it lacks the hustle-bustle of teeming throngs like a major train station, I experience the excitement of travel waiting in the cell phone lot at the airport.

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

I don’t know what dessert Abe Lincoln would have requested for his b-day, but our family b-day guy on this day requested apple pie. I tweaked my recipe once again, and the flavors were great, but still too much liquid (or not enough thickener—these modern well-watered fruits mean more pounds to be sold (yeah for the farmer and vendor), but also having “wet” fruit to cook with—and compensate for in recipes…if that makes sense).

Posted at 9:28 PM | 1 Comment »

I futzed around and didn’t get out to see the sky until the orange-golds had arrived. The trees are all still winter-skeletons, but change is coming. I did find one Prunus, I think a cherry, with blooms on a few lower branches. Must mean a cold snap is coming….

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

There’s something of my energy today in this…rather dark without flash. Not dark…grim, but dark…lethargic. So, darkish.

A winter thing?

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Temporary torpidity

Mostly, today was rainy and not-rainy-but-overcast. However, there were several blips of sunshine. This photo, however…a trick; it’s from the other day….

Posted at 9:20 PM | Comments Off on Unpredictable