Dr. Seuss Visits Charleston

Old Planter in Courtyard, Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Thing One
plays hide-n-seek in an old planter
at Middleton Place.

Adorned Door

Ornate Door, Harleston Village, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Wrought iron gates aren't the only things to have decorative patterns in Charleston. Ornamentation adorns old wooden doors and letter slots too.

Formally Green

Topiary, Middleton Place Gardens, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Magnolia Gardens (seen in the previous post) features wild informal gardens. 
Its neighbor down the river, at Middleton Place, features well tended and groomed formal gardens. Either way, you will find green, 
even in the depths of our winters.

China Grove?

Bamboo Forest, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC 
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Soaring poles of bamboo grow thickly together to form a small grove, not in the panda populated forests of China, but in the semi-tropical gardens of Magnolia Plantation. Somewhere in the background I think I hear the music of 
the Doobie Brothers!

Winter Menu

Pool Side Tables, near Harrison, Ohio  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved




On the menu today... fresh snow,
served soft and chilled.

Earth's Flux

Monument Rocks, Kansas  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



In the least expected places, one may find monumental sights, such as this cluster of "chalk pyramids" that rise above the tall grass prairie of Kansas. Formed 80 million years ago, these layers of limestone are full of small fossil shells from when this area was an ancient inland sea. These formations are a reminder that in the big geologic picture, our Earth is in constant flux.

Misty Monday - Pride in the Mist

The Schooner Pride, Charleston Harbor, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)



The Schooner Pride was constructed to replicate an old coastal tall ship, the kind that populated Charleston Harbor during the 18th century. Here it sits quietly on still waters, all evidence of the modern world veiled in a thick morning mist.

Skeletonic Ketch

Ship's Ribbing, Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site, Charleston, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



On display at Charles Towne Landing is the skeleton of a ship's hull. A completed and working version of the ship, called the Adventure, is a floating classroom docked nearby. It resembles a 17th century coastal trader, a ketch that would have carried provisions and even livestock in its hull during the era of the early English colony of Charles Towne.

Wave Dancing

Shrimp Boat Reflections, Shem Creek, Mt. Pleasant, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Dancing shapes of color
 waltz on the wavy waters of Shem Creek.

An Original Olympian

Detail, Quilt of Origins Sculpture, Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta, Georgia
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



To honor the ancient origins of the Olympic Games, a stylized sculpture of a Greek Olympian was created for Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park. 

His arm shadow falls on one of the quilt motifs which recur throughout 
Centennial Park. The quilt was used as a symbol of harmony and union during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. During the opening ceremonies the participating nations gathered in "patches" to form a large quilt.

A Tourist in My Own Town

Middleton Place Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



I visited Middleton Place Plantation last weekend on a photo shoot. I must have looked like a tourist hunting for pictures. While peeking around in the plantation stable yard, a docent noticed me and walked over. She said that if I was interested in the Charleston area she could recommend a photography website she tells everyone about. She said it was called hueandeye.com! 
My jaw dropped. Then I told her, "hey, that's me!"

A little embarrassed, I thanked her, and told her she was awesome. I wanted to hug her, but I had to maintain at least some semblance of professional decorum.

Now, back to the photo... this old oak has a colony of green plants growing on its limbs. This is not part of the tree, but an air plant called resurrection fern. It's normally brown and curled-up, but after it rains the fronds come to life.

East Meets Deep South

Bald Cypress Trunk and Bamboo Reflections, Magnolia Gardens, Charleston, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



It's not often one sees a Southern cypress swamp surrounded by 
tall stands of Asian bamboo. Yet this is the case at Magnolia Gardens, 
where the bamboo was introduced.
It is a botanical instance of East meets Deep South.

Hands On

Handwrought Hand Prints, Auburn, Alabama  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



This handiwork of handprints made by hands pressed on a wall make a handsome handcrafted image to contrast with yesterday's handrail. 

(I just learned there are 174 words in the English language that begin with the word "hand". To celebrate this handy discovery, I'm going to ring my handpicked handbells while doing a handstand until the handmaidens learn how to handle the handclasps on their handbags and retrieve their handkerchieves!)

Below the Archway

Hand Rail and Gateway Arch, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial,
Saint Louis, Missouri  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



At the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis, I laid down on steps below a hand rail and aimed my camera upward. To my delight I found an intersection of lines that made an abstract image worthy of monochrome treatment.

Monarch in Shadow

Detail, Matthias Church, Budapest, Hungary  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved 
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)



A panoply of curves, arches and florals congregate while a monarch peers from the Gothic shadows of Matthias Church in Budapest, Hungary.

Thou Art Lichen To a Fence

Lichen on Rail Fence, Newfound Gap, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view)




Lichen grows on a timber fence high in the Appalachian mountains... 
behind the fence, a rise of smooth granite.



(Look Laura, a tree and a rock!)

Old Grasses

Gravel Pit Mound and Grasses, near Harrison, Ohio
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Fresh snow provides a soft backdrop for a gathering of old grasses.

Arching Oaks

Garden Lake, Charles Towne Landing State Park, Charleston, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (click on image for larger view)


Charles Towne Landing is the original location of the English settlement of Carolina. The present day park includes lush gardens and glassy lakes. 
Vaulting limbs of live oaks reach toward each other as they reflect in the lake's mirrored surface.

Centuries Ahead of His Time

2nd Century Roman Statue, Capitoline Hill, Rome, Italy
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)



God of the River Nile
 tweeting on his smart stone.

Victorian Reflections

Historic Houses along Colonial Lake, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Click on image for larger view)



Reflections of Victorian homes shimmer on Colonial Lake
 as the golden hues of evening light linger.