Showing posts with label The Old South. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Old South. Show all posts

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Dixie Fresh ...



“A recipe is a story that ends with a good meal.”
                                  ~ Pat Conroy
                                       ~1945-2016

As soon as I spotted this cool sign at the Bluffton Farmer’s Market on a warm October afternoon in South Carolina, I knew I had to capture it with my camera!

On a personal note, I brought a dried cotton stalk bought at the market home with me to Pennsylvania, and luckily it survived the airplane flight without getting crushed! Today it is in a vase in my livingroom reminding me of Dixie, “the land of cotton.”

Fresh, locally grown vegetables, fruits, flowers, plants and herbs abound at the Farmers Market of Bluffton, a weekly community event where locals and tourists gather not only to buy excellent produce but also to enjoy delicious food, listen to entertainment, and relax with friends. Located in historic downtown Bluffton along Calhoun and Lawrence Streets and through Carson Cottages, this family friendly market showcases local growers, local food vendors, local entertainment, local community causes and local information about the Bluffton area.

The outcome of a grassroots movement that began in 2006, this vibrant market opened in 2008 at the Bluffton Oyster Company Park on the May River and was managed by volunteers. Because of the huge public response and its potential growth, the market moved to its present location. The current site not only serves the public better but also promotes downtown Bluffton merchants to tourists and locals alike.

The market, located in the Historic Bluffton Arts District in Old Town Bluffton, has been an overwhelming success. The Arts District features distinct galleries and offers an experience of eclectic mix of art and artists located in South Carolina’s Lowcountry tucked between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Good Morning Dixie ...



“Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton
Old times they are not forgotten
Look away, look away, look away Dixieland
Oh I wish I was in Dixie, away, away

In Dixieland I take my stand to live and die in Dixie
For Dixieland, that’s where I was born
Early Lord one frosty morn
Look away, look away, look away Dixieland

Glory, glory hallelujah
Glory, glory hallelujah
Glory, glory hallelujah
His truth is marching on …”

                 ~ “An American Trilogy”
             ~ songwriters Don Reedman, Nick Patrick and Robin Smith
          ~ recorded by the great Elvis Presley
                                           ~ 1972

The peace of a beautiful southern fall morning floats along with the Colleton River in the Lowcountry of Beaufort County, South Carolina on a late October day in Dixie.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Confederate Rose ...



“Memory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders.”
                     ~ William Faulkner
                           ~ 1897-1962
     ~ Southern American author,
                  Nobel Prize Laureate

The grace, beauty and memory of The Old South dreamily bloom in this beautiful pink Confederate Rose on an October morning in the Lowcountry of Beaufort County, South Carolina.

The Legend Of The Confederate Rose

Once the Confederate Rose was pure white. During the Civil War, a soldier was fatally wounded in battle. He fell upon the rose as he lay dying. During the course of the two days he took to die, he bled more and more on the flower, till at last bloom was covered with his blood. When he died, the flower died with him. Thereafter, the Confederate Rose (or Cotton Rose), opens white, and over the course of the two days the bloom lasts, they turn gradually from white to pink to almost red, when the flower finally falls from the bush.

The Confederate Rose or hibiscus mutablis is actually a Chinese import. Brought into English gardens in the 1600’s, it is said to have gained favor in the South due to its ease of cultivation during the hard financial times after the Civil War. The hibiscus mutablis is a member of the hibiscus family which includes both the tropical hibiscus and the hardier Rose of Sharon. It is considered a large bush or a small multi-stemmed tree. The plant roots easily from cuttings and grows vigorously during the summer. Once established it is drought resistant. The blooms appear in the fall.