A Perfect Afternoon

Our Art Group has been invited to mount an exhibition at Charlestowne Landing this December--with the theme being, of course, Charlerstowne Landing.  Last fall, we spent the afternoon there walking around, taking pictures and generally soaking up the atmosphere for inspiration.  I was very inspired and took lots of pictures.  Just one problem--I had inserted the memory card in the wrong direction and ended up with a huge ZERO in terms of photos by which to call forth the inspiration. (I really got some good shots, too.)
So, anyway, I've been waiting for a nice spring day to head back over there to be inspired once again.  And, as you can see, I didn't have a disagreement with my camera this time.  This first shot just reminded me of how I liked to climb trees when I was a young girl.  Have you noticed that climbing trees are hard to find these days?  It seems they're either cut down for progress or they haven't had enough time to grow into climb-able getaways in newer subdivisions.  I used to climb the maple tree in our yard, hang upside down and swing (Hmm..that may account for some of my off-kilter thought processes now  . . .) and just sit there and dream.  Time well spent, I'd say.  These three girls were having a great time.

 And the formosa azaleas were at their height--and the aroma of their flowers!  Formosa azaleas grow much larger than the average azaleas in our yards today and they look great in park-type situations.  Another wonderful place to see them in Charleston is at Hampton Park (well worth visiting).

And this split rail fence is an example of how fences were constructed back in colonial times.   Without chain saws and log splitters this effort took quite a while, I'm sure.  They have a little demo area set up to show how they sawed logs into boards.  Whew. . .A good muscle builder.

 This wooden Indian sculpture has been at Charlestowne Landing for years but there was a plaque that said it had been restored a few years ago so I guess it had fallen into some hard times.  They have changed the configuration for the park and this statue used to face you as you came to the Animal Forest.  It's still in the same place but you have to walk around a little to see the full frontal view.  Pretty impressive from any view.

 Mrs Waring was the person who owned all of the land that now comprises Charlestowne Landing.  She spent many years developing the gardens and gave the entire property to the state.  This is the view she would have seen from her house.  Almost like a perfect postcard.  One little thing though . . .Can you see the sign by the water?  It says, "Watch Out For Alligators."  I don't think I'd be walking around there much after dark.  There was an 8-foot alligator siteing while we were there yesterday but I'm just as happy that I wasn't the one who saw it.

And Charlestowne Landing has its own Angel Oak potential with some of its very old trees.  This huge limb is propped up with steel to keep it from breaking.  I don't know if they were afraid it could potentially fall on someone or if they just didn't want the limb to break but it was impressive with its size.
So, these are just a few pictures from my afternoon at the Park.  The weather was so gorgeous--just enough breeze to keep away the bugs, flowers all around and, hopefully, enough inspiration for me to make a quilt that will honor this wonderful place in our part of the world.