April's New Year's Resolution

April at last. At last. Spring spring spring. So happy it's not winter any more.

Mind now, Spring is taking her own sweet time. The poplar tree has yet to unfurl the tiniest leaf - so it's not officially spring. Maybe today it will be. Surely by the end of this weekend that harbinger tree will have it's mist of gold clouding it's branches.  But 3 days without having to wear a coat is spring enough for me.

We're back from a Birthday Visit with LD and PD in South Carolina. It was a perfect trip - easy driving, no bad traffic, and of course - mountains of happy love from the moment we got there till the moment we drove off. The young darlings took us to the most magical place: Forty Acre Rock 

It's really 14 acres - but what a place - surrounded by several thousand forested acres that we trekked through - complete with caves and waterfalls!

And of course - there's no trip to South Carolina without hunting down Haile landmarks. Here I am, looking like a bobble head ...Lord - that man just can not take a good photo of me.

Here's the Birthday Boy himself - with his second cake. 

I took knitting and actually got a few rows done on my Fiona Ellis sweater but the knitting mojo just hasn't been there this winter. (not much else has either) I did get in some practice sketching though and am getting more confident about putting pencil to paper.

 But I know you all came here to read about my April Resolution, right? It took me a while to decide just what I wanted it to be but then fate - in the guise of an HVAC crew stepped in and made the decision for me. The Guys With Tools are here putting in a Mitsubishi Ductless Heat Pump system here at TheCastle. Here is Unit 1 and though it does feel big - and does feel different - honestly, that wall is so cluttered already - it hardly matters, now. Does it? And warm in winter, cool in summer does have to come at a cost. One aesthetic will just have to move over to accommodate another.

As for the Resolution? Well - first the back story. On the second floor there is a 4 foot knee wall, accessible by 6 cabinet doors. Perfect spaces to cram STUFF and over the years I have done some serious cramming. And for more years than I like to admit I have started my New Years Resolution list with Clean Out The Knee Wall Closets. Three of them have been done. Three are disasters. The Guys With Tools had to get into one of the disaster areas and now all of that stuff is dumped on the guest bed - so no. Nobody is invited to spend the night till I get that put away. So April's resolution will be to restore order to at least one gutted knee wall closet and also the other disaster area that must be shifted in the spare room. That spot where I have dumped yarn bins, family photos, Unfinished Knitting Projects, and who knows what else. The Guys With Tools have to get behind that mess too so, duh. Right. Resolutions by default - but I will be so glad when they're accomplished, so relieved and so proud, that I plan to reward myself with a desk to put in that corner of the room and make it my home office.

And then I will follow Juno's example and crash on the sofa.

Gold, Gardens and Gamboling

After a quick lunch back at LD's house we headed north (sort of) to Kershaw to find the Haile Gold Mine. I'm not up on the genealogy but I do know that after the Revolutionary War some Hailes went to South Carolina and we always like to claim that they're kinfolk. Hey - it's the south. Who cares if it's true.

LD had been to the mine sometime last winter and brought us a souvenir as well as the sad news that the mine has not been in the family for a looong time.  So much for long lost inheritances.

Still - the name stuck and left quite a legacy from a road


to a Church 

After poking about the mine and chatting with the guard on duty we headed back into Hartsville to explore the Kalmia Gardens . Built on the site of the Thomas Hart (Hartsville) house - where he raised 8 kids on this spacious porch - and environs.

It's a beautiful garden, initiated by the daughter (-in-law) of another Hartsville family -  "Miss May" Coker. In Hartsville, everything is Coker. Coker real estate, Coker College - Lots of civic minded Cokers who left a real legacy for local citizens and tourists alike.

This is one of my favorite types of outdoor garden-isn landscapes - the boardwalk through wetlands. I could spend a life time traipsing around these shady reflecting swamps and streams. It's all about, green and black and freshly moist smelling.

The gardens are now maintained by Coker College.

 Here is TheQueen with LD peering at our reflection in the black swampy water.












These boardwalk paths went on forever.










                                              There was even an

Complete with students!

 Even though the gardens are not particularly large - 35 acres is big enough to get lost in - especially if they're threaded with waterways and shaded by tunnels of greenery.









We couldn't see it all though we traipsed about a good while - and took it easy too on smooth wooden benches and mossy stone seats. It was just all lovely and peaceful and meditative.

Back home there were hungry dogs who wanted to bark and dance and play some more. Dinner was Mexican and More Cake. Bedtime came early for TheQueen who had walked 10 miles by the end of the day. Just enough to make sleep delicious but not too much that she wasn't ready for more on Sunday.

We went next to see some of the countryside closer to Hartsville. It's very different from home - even the parts that aren't exactly the Sand Hills are very sandy. The narrow strip of farming land that runs down the middle of SC butts up to the Sand Hills just a few miles outside of town. Autumn flowers were rank with morning glory blossoms and 5 kinds of legumes!

There was also beautyberry blooming everywhere.... well. I guess they weren't blooming but they were beautifying anyway. Beautyberry is native from Virginia south to Florida and in parts of the country that have a similar climate. I love it and always intended to plant it in my (now defunct) garden. Maybe it's time to act on that intention, though. Maybe.

We discovered a Ghost House too - can you find it in this photo?











This was a walk that included dogs - Happy leaping field dolphins sniffing the air as they explored each new tempting scent. We knew there was a long drive ahead for this little white pup and we wanted to wear her out if we could.

All too soon it was time to wave goodbye - weep weep - but this is just our FIRST visit to the little white house in Carolina. We'll be back. Till we are, we'll have these photos to remember. Bye bye William. See you in October!

A Birthday Visit to South Carolina - Pt. 1

Without a doubt - nothing really could be finer than a birthday visit to Carolina - if LD is down there waiting with a pan of smoked pork shoulder and a fine crumb birthday cake for TheQueen. Even the day we left was the first cool blue sky day after weeks of hot hot hot surprise September weather. In fact, the only reason to leave such a day as this would be to go see PABDOS.

We took Callie with us. I'm not a fan of taking pets along on trips. The changes in environments, the territoriality of dogs, the danger of them being spooked by sudden noises or worse - not a good idea. But Callie has been pretty clingy since Jack died and LD's dog Buster is an old friend. There was lots of nuzzling - like this

Or great outdoor companionsip - like this

But most of the time they played like this!

Hartsville is a pretty little southern city - a small city - full of lovely architecture in just about every price range. The city isn't very old - built in the 1890's - it hasn't any antebellum charm but it has plenty of good quality old and even some rather nice new.

The home team is the Red Foxes and you'll see lots of red fox signage dotting green front lawns.

Saturday morning dawned fairly cool with a mackerel sky and low humidity. We headed off to run the dogs in the sand hills - the Carolina Sand Hills National Wildlife Refuge.  Which is mostly long leaf yellow pine - planted in straight rows, with very little undergrowth - designed to promote the Red Cockaded Woodpecker - which we never saw. But if this is what they like - there are acres and acres and ACRES of it.

Here are two seedlings ... planted at the grass stage. Cute, aren't they? I think they look like elf hats or maybe fairy tutus.










We hiked through this sandy forest for about 6 miles  or so.

It was a glorious day in SC too - and I couldn't resist snapping shots of LD - silhouetted against the sky


Or this one of Buster, in the tannen dark water of a stream. Both dogs got lots of good dunking wet time on this walk.

Unlike our loblolly pines, the long needle version is prone to some pretty weird twisty shapes. I loved this one - imagining it as Apollo's unstrung lyre. 

After a great hike we moved from the national refuge to Sugar loaf Mt. State Park - just across the road and past this lake. We saw half a dozen camping groups scattered around this park. 

We also laughed till we cried at the idea of being told to climb the stairs when traversing the mountain. 

 We didn't keep laughing, though, when we started climbing. Instead, we were grateful for the steps. Made it a lot easier to go up and come back down.

Close to the summit was a wonderful rock, perched in an odd and perhaps precarious angle. Both LD and I could crawl underneath and once there we realized there was a hole in the rock ... with daylight coming through!

At the top was a rocky spot and a square viewing stand with benches.

And What a view it was! Enough to tempt one to perch - and to gaze at something bigger than the usual - vast, blue, glorious. We really savored this breezy mountain top.

There was another smaller mountain right next door - Horseshoe Mt. It had caved on one side, leaving only U shaped rim. We climbed it too and explored the shapes, paths, and steps. 

Especially the shapes of the gnarly long leaf pine trees. They'd make perfect Ents, wouldn't they?

Then it was back down to the lake and back to LD's house where we had lunch before heading out in search of HAILE'S GOLD MINE! Which will be tomorrow's post.