Fall is falling...

Fee.....Fii.....Foe.....Fum....

I see the fall

coming in my field of view....

I sort of hate see summer flowers

go to seed...

But I love

dearly love the fall leaves...

smiles.

I may have already told you....

About this wonderful place on the Eastern Shore of

Maryland....

in the locale of Public Landing, MD....

The Mansion House

is where we booked the

Sunset Cottage....

a sweet intimate place....

perfect for a private getaway.

View from the dock, toward the east....

the dining room, a delightful Hodge-podge of chairs and a large table,
with an old map of the Eastern Shore
on the wall...

Crabbin' cage, if you are feelin' crabby...

and neighbors in the distance...

The front of the cottage, which I didn't even see until

morning, as we were so enamored with the sunset from the dock the

night before, that we didn't even venture out....

The back side of the house, complete with fish cleanin' station...

Leading up to this visit,

we had been with family constantly for several days,

talking till our mouths hurt...

we had driven from

Cape Cod down the DelMarVa peninsula

to Public Landing,

all in this one day,

so we were

tired,

bone tired.

This place

restored our souls...

A Word about this video...

Click here to view this video

I was fooling around with a site called

Motionbox

and after a bit of playing around,

created this video....

My intention was not necessarily to "publish",

but to show my son what a great time

David and I had "touring" around

Brookgreen Gardens,

Huntington State Park, SC

and Atalya,

which is located within the park.

This all took place 2 weeks ago,

and confirms that fall is the best time to visit.

Uncrowded, cooler weather, and

quiet....

really quiet....

so quiet that on one of the tours we took...

I listened to my breathing....

birds chirping...

wind blowing thru the pines...

distant fishing boats....

eagles...

really quiet.

If you are ever in SC,

are a photog,

like plants,

like sculpture,

or

just want some quiet...

smiles.

Loaves and Fishes...

This time of year...

seems to bring on a series of fund raisers...

but none of them tug at my heart the way

Loaves and Fishes does...

L&F is a non profit org. that

helps provide people,

who are down on their luck,

with food.

Not tons,

but just enough to get them through the week.

This year,

there was a

Cajun Theme...

including the Carolina Gator Gumbo Band,

Carolina Cajun Connection catering,

and a good old fashioned

auction....

Fun was had by all...

and many will benefit from the generosity.

I was lucky enough to provide

a bit of my own talent in the form of

documenting the event.

No matter what you are able to give...

it always makes you feel better to have

helped.

Why not find a fund raiser in your area,

that will give you an opportunity to meet other

like minded folks, be entertained, and maybe

have a taste of cuisine that you might not regularly order..

smiles.

I am lost in a maze of photo files....

But,...it's fun...

I love re-living the experience of our trip to

Brookgreen Gardens...

If you have the opportunity to go...

do it.

The gardens are made up of 4 former rice plantations,

bought and saved by a couple in the early part of the twentieth century.

The wrought iron is everywhere....

The lush gardens have been manicured in a most natural way...

Some areas of the gardens are more formal..and arranged...

Others are quite wild....

The day that we visited for the first time,

was overcast, grey, and a bit cool...

The weather made photography interesting...

One might think it would leave things flat..

it could have...

but a little manipulation..and

wah-lah!

an image that I really love....

I love that!

When I first cradled a camera,

many years ago...

the technology was such that your manipulation

took place at the time of focusing.
Now I can think about what I want to do with my image

while it is uploading to my computer...

Over the weekend

I am taking the time for myself...

so that I can smell the swamp water...

hear those cranes, egrets and
eagles...

feel the splatter of the water from the fountains...

Ah...

fall in the south...

smiles.

Dig the Pig!...

OK,

I am not kidding here...

I have a strange fascination with

Piggly Wiggly stores

Not that I would like to be

buried there or anything like that...

it's not a morbid fascination,

its just that when I was

growing up....

many long years ago,

the Piggly Wiggly stores were located,

only at the beach,

and therefore, took on a sort of

mystic...sort of like the aura

you might find around the

"beach bums" of

Beach Blanket Bingo fame.

Now,

back to the PGs

Back then, groceries at the beach

were only a slight step up from the

road side market...

there might be sand on the floor...

maybe a dog lounging by the cash register

(perhaps to scare away potential robbers)

and well,

you might also find

more hog's jowls,

fat back,

gizzards,

and of course,

chitlins...

(I must interject here that the spellchecker doesn't recognize this word)

in the meat dept than

what we currently identify as "meat".

So it is with this understanding that you

see I simply couldn't believe what I saw

as I stepped into the new PG,

located in the development that has sprung up

on the former Air Force Base at Myrtle Beach....

Trader Joe's might have a difficult time competing with this

place for variety, cleanliness, bright sunny faces,

flowers,

salad bar,

wine dept,

gourmet foods....

and

get ready...

Starbucks!

Holy Hog Heaven, Batman!

I had to buy a T-shirt!

Smiles.

My vacation...

Have I mentioned just how incredibly

blessed I feel...

I am no Pollyanna, believe me...

My natural disposition tends

to be sceptical,

pessimistic,

aggravated,

practical,

rational (except on hormone driven days),

warily cautious,

so, knowing this about myself..

I aim everyday to find the "good"

in my life.

I have to ....

if I don't, I will fall into a funk that

is morbid and dank.

So, today I choose to see the

blessings that have been bestowed upon me...

The most prominent

example is the vacation that I

have just returned from.

My son sent us to the beach.

He paid for it....

Yes, you read right...

he paid for it....

Mind you,

I have no idea

what I did to warrant

this blessing.

Yes,

I gave birth to him,

took care of him,

but I've made lots of mistakes too...

You know what I am talking about moms.....

the times you are pushed to wall with things to do..

and you just snap..

say things you shouldn't

do things you shouldn't

all the while

knowing

that taking these things

back...

well, will be impossible.

I have tried

very hard to be the best mom

that I can be,

it has not always been enough.

But this trip

tells me

that

I

am

forgiven

for

not

being

perfect...

smiles.