Charleston's Mountains

Cumulus Clouds and the Cooper River, North Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


The "Lowcountry" surrounding the Charleston area is a fitting term, a perfect description of our local terrain. The land along the coast of South Carolina is so flat that clouds like these seem to tower like mountains. In summer, these kinds of clouds build and build until they peak as thunderstorms. But our mountains are transitory, constantly changing shape and ultimately dissipating into thin air.

Happy Halloween

Spooky Skeleton and Antebellum Mansion, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


This skeleton strikes a casual pose while perching on the balcony of one of Charleston's antebellum mansions. On this day we celebrate Halloween, a tradition that dates back to the Romans (Parentalia or Festival of the Dead) and the Celts (the celebration of Samhain). Halloween is followed the next day by All Saints Day, a day of solemnity in the Roman Catholic Church and then All Souls Day.

For Halloween in Charleston, there will be trick-or-treating, costume parties, haunted house attractions with corn mazes, the telling of scary stories, and of course, the watching of scary movies.

Boo!

View Toward Saint Michael's Church

Saint Michael's Church on Broad Street, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


On a soft Charleston evening, Saint Michael's Church stands prominently above Broad Street, the steeple being one of the city's iconic landmarks. Broad Street was a main thoroughfare even in colonial days, a focal point in the original walled city. Today it is lined with 19th century commercial architecture replete with real estate companies, law firms, art galleries, restaurants, cafes...
  and of course a couple of churches.

Celebrity has its Disadvantages

Two Valves, Old Navy Base, North Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


Madonna?

Predictions

Detail of a Red Caboose, Old Depot, Village of Lewisburg, Ohio  © Doug Hickok


It is fashionable to make dire predictions these days.... e-book readers will bring an end to books... according to some the world will end in 2012... global warming will drown half the world's population. But I have my own dire prediction. Beginning today, at 4:58 pm everything will turn into an old red caboose. I know I am no Nostradamus, but I have a really strong feeling. So get ready to don your overalls and engineer's cap, and go for a ride.

Doug Turns with the Autumn Leaves

Autumn Sweetgum Tree, Doug's Back Yard, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


To make this autumn abstract, I stood beneath a colorful sweetgum tree, looked up while balancing my camera between nose and forehead, spun around performing a pirouette with arms wide open, like a whirlybird, and belted out an inspirational hymn in my best yodeling voice. I don't know, it seemed to work.

No Mere Pier

Folly Beach Pier at Night, Folly Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok


Do not fear, for it appears this pier is no mere pier, for it provides the perfect place to steer a spear high into the crystal clear celestial sphere.
(Remember dear, as you come near, bring your fishing gear).
And please, pay no attention to the drunken sneer on that cavalier gondolier with the souvenir beer stuck in one ear.

Waterfall of Color

Flower Boxes, Meeting Street, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


Window boxes adorn many sills in the historic district of Charleston. This lush growth of vines cascades down the wall in a delightful waterfall of color.

Awareness

Railing and Columns, US Custom House, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


In recognition of October's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Charleston's Customs House on East Bay Street was spotlighted with pink light at night. For the past 25 years the NBCAM organization has worked hard to enlighten the public about early detection of breast cancer through education and annual check-ups. You can take a look at their website for more information.

Death and Taxes

18th Century Headstone, Saint Philip's Cemetery, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


Charleston is known for its beautiful 18th century funerary art. Its historic cemeteries feature ornate headstones, such as this one in the graveyard of Saint Philip's Church. The portrait of the woman encircled on this stone displays the fashion of the times. While fashions have changed dramatically over the centuries, a few things have not. Even in 18th century Charleston, citizens could not escape paying taxes nor avoid what we ultimately all must face.

Rustica Red Chairs

Two Red Chairs, Pizza Rustica, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


My wife and I used to grab slices of fresh pizza at this little restaurant when we were walking around Charleston. It was a favorite spot of ours, near King Street. But the restaurant business is very competitive and although the hand made pizza was varied and delicious, the shop eventually closed down. Another restaurant is there now. I have no idea what it is. Time continues at its constant pace. No moment can ever be lived over. Which is why a solid foundation, steady and reliable, is invaluable,
like coming home to loved ones after a long day at work.


Here's to memorable moments with loved ones!

The Whole World in His Hand?

Statue of Charlemagne, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, Italy  ©  Doug Hickok


 This imposing sculpture of Charlemagne (Charles the Great) adorns the exterior of the Church of St. Louis of the French, the French National church of Rome. This baroque basilica is famous for its masterworks of art, including the Caravaggio painting I linked you to on Monday's post.

Charlemagne, often referred to as Pater Europae (Father of Europe) was the first Holy Roman Emperor and united most of Western Europe in a time of strife and darkness.  Maybe that's why he's got the whole world in his hand... though the small size of the orb seems to indicate that the emperor may have had a magnificently large ego.

Hope you have a magnificent weekend!

Mist in the Cove

Cades Cove Meadow, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee  © Doug Hickok


When the Great Smoky Mountain National Park was established, the plan was to allow Cades Cove to return to its natural, original condition. But the plan was changed when park authorities decided to keep the meadows intact, and to preserve the old cabins, churches and mills.

Today a loop road encircles the secluded mountain valley making it possible for modern day visitors to get a glimpse of the 1800's, of a place that seems like a time capsule of pioneer life 150 years ago. You can see part of the loop road (along the fence line) in this picture, which also shows smoky mists rising from the valley.

Road Curving into Autumn Woods

Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee  © Doug Hickok



This dirt road leads off the beaten path of the Cades Cove Auto Tour, and winds its way through forest to an old 19th century church. Like a Robert Frost poem, the autumn colors and curving road take us back to another time that we recognize in our distant memories or dreams.


We like Cades Cove so much that we named our son Adam Cade (because "Adam Great Smoky Mountain National Park Hickok" seemed a bit much).

A Fine Mountain Cabin

Henry Whitehead Cabin, Cades Cove,
Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee  © Doug Hickok


A well worn path leads to this old cabin in Cades Cove, a low area surrounded by peaks in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The cove is preserved to look similar to the way it did in the 1800's. It may not look like it, but this cabin was once one of the finest ones in the mountain valley. Built in 1898 by a widower for his new wife Matilda, it had a brick chimney, which was rare in those days because mountain folk had to actually make the bricks themselves out of the clay soil. It was the only square-sawed log home (thick, well insulated walls with very little space between logs) in Cades Cove. And it is the only one of its kind left in the park. Because of this, the cabin is considered a transition house from the early rough built cabins of the pioneers to the modern frame structures that became popular in a later era.

True to the rugged individual spirit of these cove residents, when the Federal government set aside lands for the formation of the National Park, which included Cades Cove, the valley people resisted the most. But by 1937 the last resident was forced to move out.

The Emergence of Autumn

Fall Foliage, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina  © Doug Hickok

Deciduous tress begin changing color as autumn dabs the mountain sides like a painter brushing his canvas. As the leafy greens, oranges and reds emerge, the variety of plant species in the Appalachian ecology become more apparent.

The dramatic chiaroscuro light spotlighting the mountain side is from sunlight momentarily bursting through dark storm clouds. This type of theatrical lighting was favored by the Italian painter Caravagio who used it to great effect in some of his masterworks.

Photo note: This image was made on Velvia 35mm slide film several years ago during a road trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Cathedral Spaces

Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok

Beneath Folly Beach Pier at Sunrise, Folly Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok

Oak Lined Road to Botany Bay, Edisto Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok


This post was inspired by MT and Keebs.

Mad as a Hatter

Hat Man Sign, Broad Street, Charleston, SC  Doug Hickok


Most readers are familiar with the frenzied Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll's fantasy Alice in Wonderland. If you haven't read the book then you may be familiar with Johnny Depp's eccentric interpretation of the character in the movie version. There is actually truth to the phrase "mad as a hatter". In the 19th century, mercury nitrate was used in making felt hats. Hat makers exposed to this chemical could eventually contract St. Vitus' Dance, (Sydenham's chorea) a nervous disorder which causes frenetic jerking behavior.

This image shows Charleston's Hat Man, a painted sign discovered on the side of a building on Broad Street during renovation. It marks the place which used to be a haberdashery. It is a curiosity, a downtown landmark most people walk past without noticing. Mad as it may seem, the figure is made almost entirely of hats, hats of all sorts.

Oh Man, Oh Man... Friday!

Sunrise over Sea Oats, Folly Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok


In Daniel Defoe's classic novel, the castaway Robinson Crusoe happily discovers a companion on his deserted island (on a Friday), and names him Man Friday. 
Little did he know he continued a long tradition of welcoming Fridays 
that dates back to ancient times.

The Roman word for the sixth day of the week was dies Veneris, a day dedicated to Venus (who wouldn't mind welcoming the sight of this renown goddess of beauty?). In Norse mythology, the counterpoint of Venus was Freyja, hence Friday, from the Old English interpretation of the word. Freyja was the goddess of love and marriage. So it is no surprise that Norsemen considered Freyja's day one of good luck, and they often 
held weddings on this day, another reason to celebrate the arrival of Fridays.

So I welcome Friday with open arms, and thankfulness for the start of a new weekend.

Here's to Friday... Prosit!

Foghorn

East Quoddy Lighthouse, Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada  © Doug Hickok


If you ever wanted to know what a lighthouse foghorn (diaphone) looks like, this is it. Even though it is pointed toward the ground, the sound it makes is loud and carries
long distances. It operates by forcing compressed air through an apparatus, making extremely powerful low frequency notes. So don't stand next to one when it is blowing. This one, by the way, was quiet.

East Quoddy Lighthouse is one of the oldest in Canada. Although it is unmanned, it serves an important function in warning fishing vessels of the treacherous rocks
at the tip of Campobello Island. And it is especially useful for guiding boats through the dense Bay of Fundy fogs.