Tales from the Microbial Laboratory

another view (and a chilly) morning

~view from the fire tower at Hobcaw Barony~

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From Wikipedia:

Hobcaw Barony, also known as Bellefield Plantation is a 15,560 acres (63 km²) tract on a peninsula called Waccamaw Neck between the Winyah Bay and the Atlantic Ocean in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Much of Hobcaw Barony is south of US Highway 17. The land was purchased by the investor, philanthropist, presidential advisor, and South Carolina native Bernard M. Baruch between 1905 and 1907 for a winter hunting resort. Later it was transferred to his eldest child, Belle W. Baruch. Upon her death in 1964, it was transferred to the Belle W. Baruch Foundation for a nature and research preserve. It consists of over 40 buildings that represent the 18th and 19th century rice cultivation and 20th century winter resorts. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on November 2, 1994.

~the view at the top of the post is from the fire tower (far right side of the above map, 'Clambank Boat Ramp & Tower'.)~

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This morning.

Time:  7:14 am

Outdoor Air Temperature:  32 F

Airstream Indoor Temperature:  49 F

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(The Vornado was just turned out - it heats up the Airstream quickly!)

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As made evident by the temperatures above, I haven't fully dealt with night-time temperatures inside of the Airstream.  But it really hasn't been a problem - as long as it's warm when I go to bed, I've yet to wake up during the night cold.  In the morning, I just turn on the Vornado - and then head out with The Pointer Sisters and Stan - and by the time I get back inside (15-20 minutes later) - the place is already much warmer.  It's not difficult to heat a 216 square foot home.  Which all begs the question:  will I be able to make it through a coastal South Carolina winter without ever turning on the heat at night?

Okay, I've got real work to do.

Belle W. Baruch

~a neighboring marine laboratory~

Today the eclair-baking postdoc and I went on a bit of an adventure - about an hour to the north, to an absolutely stunning place - another South Carolina marine laboratory.

It was a beautiful place and a wonderful day.

More to come.

~a perfect day~

Two Saturdays ago, my friend Jeff and I travelled three hours to visit a lovely field of crinums at Lushlife Crinum Nurseries, Beech Island, South Carolina.  It was a nice and sometimes hilarious day spent on backroads in rural South Carolina.

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Help Geoff

From Help Geoff:

For those of you who don’t know Geoff Marshall, he’s a Londoner who moved to Charleston, SC, in 2006 and recently set out to shoot a documentary film about a 48-state roadtrip across the U.S.  And on the morning of June 29th he awoke in Greensboro, NC, to find that roughly $6,ooo of computer, video and photography equipment had been stolen from his car while he slept.

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It seems that folks from the Lowcountry and beyond are determined to help Geoff stay on the road - and at the same time redeem his frustrated view of this country.

So...... let's help Geoff and follow along with him on his roadtrip~

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~Tall Ships, heading out of the Charleston Harbor~

 

~Spirit of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina~

Late this afternoon, I went to the point at Ft Johnson and watched the Tall Ships head out of the Charleston Harbor - it was a hot day, one of those where the sky is almost colorless.  Thankfully there was a breeze.

I thought you might like to see some of the ships - two years ago (in 2007) I showed images of them leaving the harbor as well.  This year I've attempted to name them - some are pretty obvious, others less so - but I used this site as a guide.  I got to go aboard some of these ships on Friday evening - you can see some of those images here.  Update, 1 July 2009:  Go and take a look at Joan's photos too - she was out on the water as the ships left the harbor.

I think that they're heading to Boston next (here's a list of the ships confirmed to be there).

They really are magnificent - even on a colorless day. 

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~U.S. Coast Guard Barque EAGLE~

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~Spirit of Bermuda~

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~Mircea~

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~Kruzenshtern~

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~Jolie Brise~

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~Europa~

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~Capitan Miranda~

~an evening spent wandering Tall Ships~

But O the ship, the immortal ship! O ship aboard the ship!
Ship of the body, ship of the soul, voyaging, voyaging, voyaging.

from Aboard at a Ship's Helm by Walt Whitman

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~U.S.C.G. Barque EAGLE (with what I think is the Schooner Virginia in the background)~

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Two years ago, I posted images of several Tall Ships leaving the Charleston Harbor (here and here) - for those of you not familiar with Tall Ships, you might want to look here.  It was wonderful then, watching them leave the Charleston Harbor - but last night I attended the International Tall Ships Soiree.  It was a beautiful evening - there was a nice breeze, plenty of food and drink - and I had the opportunity to walk around three of the Tall Ships for a long evening.  The evening was part of Charleston Harborfest 2009 - and if you ever want to plan a visit to Charleston, this would be a wonderful weekend to visit the city.

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~U.S.C.G. Barque EAGLE~

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When we first arrived, it was still light - although the sun had just set.

I think the first thing that I noticed was how large these vessels were - for example, the EAGLE's sparred length is 295 feet.

You can see a list of the Tall Ships that visited Charleston this weekend here - with some information about each ship listed. 

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~looking out towards the Capitan Miranda~

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~the festive Capitan Miranda~

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I think the most festive boat of the evening was the Capitan Miranda - it not only had raised a decorative, brightly-colored sail, but it was also brightly lit - and as darkness fell, it definitely stood out.

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~looking out over the deck of the Kruzenshtern~

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I really liked this blurry view of the event from one of the decks of the Russian ship, Kruzenshtern.  There was quite a crowd for the whole evening - and you could still see the tents of the food vendors lined up along the walkway (these were open during the daytime events). 

If you've never gotten a chance to see these ships - either under sail or docked - it is something worth seeing.   I've always thought there was something primitive about large sailing vessels - oh, even small ones I suppose.  Perhaps Whitman had it right - we're all on a voyage of some kind, and under sail. 

~a gatekeeper~

~Charleston Icon 'Philip Simmons' by Will Kiser~

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A few months ago - on 6 March - a friend had an opening at his gallery, LimeBlue, that featured Charleston Icons.  When one thinks of Charleston, so many people and images come to mind - but one collection of images is that of the wonderful iron gates and fences that adorn Charleston - many of them present because of the incredible talent of Mr. Phillp Simmons.  Naturally, he was one of the Charleston Icons - and the card sent out to announce the opening most appropriately featured Mr. Simmons' image.

Mr. Simmons passed away last night.  He was 97 years of age.

He was truly a Charleston Icon.

I had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Simmons one evening at a downtown event that was held in the 'Bus Shed'.  I don't remember what the event was anymore, but I remember talking to Mr. Simmons - a soft-spoken, humble, incredibly talented individual.  When I told him how much I admired his work, he said thank you - like he meant it.  He was the kind of individual that you wanted to hang around, because you just knew there was so much wisdom and talent floating around in side of him - that maybe, just maybe, some of it would rub off.

Please go and take a look at his work.  Better yet, come to Charleston and go see it for yourself.

And thanks for being Charleston's Gatekeeper, Mr. Simmons.

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Here are two videos that you might like to watch.

 

     

such a nice day

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I spent the afternoon with a friend from Clemson University who was staying on Seabrook Island for the weekend.  We walked (and walked and walked...) and it was simply a beautiful afternoon - the kind that clears out your head and fills it with new and fresher air. 

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It was one of those days where the colors kept changing along the beach - bright sun, the clouds reflected in the lingering waves - and then dark clouds over the land while the water darkened and the sky turned a beautiful blue.  The storms stayed further inland, just inland from this barrier island - there were no signs of waterspouts, like the one spotted near the bridge I cross everyday.

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I've lived near the ocean for many years now - and I've yet to feel bored by it.  How could I?

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On our walk to the beach, we stopped and talked to two men crabbing off a dock adjacent to a tidal creek.  They had a bucket filled with blue crabs - and were still searching for more - hoping to get enough for dinner.

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Here I am, with a research lab in a marine facility, and I've never had a course in marine biology.  Yet the ocean fascinates me - the shapes left in the sand that I always try to identify (most often unsuccessfully).  This is when being in a marine lab is a good thing - there is always someone to ask.

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I left the island and couldn't resist stopping and admiring the hydrangeas (especially the deep blues and purples) at Rosebank Farms on Johns Island.  Several years I went to their Hydrangea Festival, but I went just a few hours before the festival ended, so the selection was a bit limited.  I did come home with a Hydrangea macrophylla 'Tokyo Delight' - a pretty white lacecap (with hints of pink).  This year the festival is 13-14 of June, next weekend (and I'll be out of town). 

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Rosebank Farms grows all sorts of things - and they have a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.  In the forefront of the image above are two amazing rows of basil. 

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I couldn't resist taking a short detour on my way home - to visit the Angel Oak.  It's fenced off, and the place closed at 5 pm today - so I just sat at the fence looking in - and did so for quite awhile.  It's an impressive tree - a live oak - and thought to be bertween 300 and 500 years old.  Now, that's old.

It's one of the Landslide 2007 Heroes of Horticulture - and there's a local group, Save the Angel Oak, working to save this tree, and to protect it from nearby development (go to their website and look at the beautiful drawing of this tree).

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Now I'm home, after such a nice day.  Work looms tomorrow - a graduate student and I have a short 'workshop' at a conference on Monday.  I'll not complain though - today felt like a short vacation - a much needed escape from the responsibilities of work and life.      

'A Man Named Pearl': HGTV tonight, 8 pm EST

 

~Pearl Fryar during a visit in May 2007~

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About two years ago now, I visited Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden in Bishopville, South Carolina.  The post I wrote describing my visit is perhaps the most frequently searched post on this site - which makes me happy, thinking of all of those people googling 'Pearl Fryar'.  In fact, I've thought that I should go back and update the links - or better yet, make another visit to this man's garden.  I'm guessing that if one googles 'passionate gardener', that his name would pop up within the top five search results - and if it doesn't, it should.

A friend called me this morning - to let me know that the documentary 'A Man Named Pearl' will be played on the HGTV channel tonight at 8 pm EST.  I went to see the documentary when it was first shown in Charleston (with Pearl Fryar available to answer questions afterwards) - it's a sweet documentary about a man who definitely knows that one person, with a dream, can make a difference.    

~save the lowcountry~

~Hydrangea serrata 'Bluebird', still clinging to last summer~

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I'm working on a grant, due early next week.  Sometimes grants are fun, sometimes tedious, sometimes frustrating - this one is being written 'from scratch' - so it's probably all of those things.  It includes some solid data from the lab's senior doctoral student, a solid (and still being developed) experimental approach from the eclair-baking postdoc - but it's still rough, if existent at all - and there's much left to be done.  I hate this stage of a new grant:  no light at the end of the tunnel, no adrenalin from the irrational and fleeting thought that 'this is good, how can they not fund us?', no sense yet of a job well done...hell, there's no sense of anything yet.

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I've participated in several conference calls lately, calls that have included state-wide discussions on climate change.  These conversations have been diverse, broad in scope - definitely thought-provoking.  With South Carolina's coastline, we definitely are a place where, from year-to-year, we will be able to watch first-hand the impact of sea-rise on a community.  Tonight I remembered to turn on the local news, and learned of a group referred to as Save the Lowcountry - here is what they say on their 'About Us' page:

Friends of the Lowcountry is a coalition of organizations in South Carolina that are working to bring global warming solutions to our state and our nation. We are calling on President Obama and members of the South Carolina Congressional delegation to take bold action to protect South Carolina’s lowlands from the threat of rising sea levels by cutting global warming pollution 80 percent by 2050.

From their website I also found the video below, by the Southeast Coastal Climate Network - as well as several informative fact sheets that are definitely worth reading.  Personally (and yes, scientifically), I'm glad that this group has gotten together.  (And take a look at this billboard they recently put up in the Lowcountry).  I expect that we'll hear alot more about them in the future - and perhaps the group of scientists that I spoke with today need to contact them and offer our services (whatever they may be...).

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Now, it's time to get back to the grant.