Tales from the Microbial Laboratory

~a soft bed of Crocisma~

~a flattened bed of Crocisma~

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Dogs in the garden...what more is there to say?  I can't blame this on the wildly insane Pointer Sisters.  I caught the culprit in the act.  Yes, handsome Stanley is responsible for this flattened clump of Crocisma - he was caught, sound asleep, cool...and happy.  

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~

~high drama~

~banana leaves~

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I had no idea that Michael Jackson still had so many fans.  At a gathering I was at last night, the host said that a young boy in his neighborhood had been walking around with one glove all weekend.  The boy was no more than eight or nine.  But frankly, I'm glad that the situation in Iran has taken over the top news story once again on the CNN website - the fact that Jackson took over that slot for the past few days just blew my mind.  And I can't help but think about the events of last week - a week that a friend said was characterized by 'high drama' - and how well it reflected on women:  I think that Farrah Fawcett's recent documentary about her cancer struggles was brave, and I am in awe of the women in Iran.  And finally a politicians wife didn't stand by her husband's side, and was even quoted as saying something like 'I'm not concerned about his career.'  The whole incident has generated another phrase in the Urban Dictionary.

A busy week begins tomorrow.  I'm hoping it will be one described as 'low drama' - but I wouldn't bet on it.   

~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. 

~I'll be there...~

There's alot of words being written today about Michael Jackson.  I suppose there is alot to be said.  But this is the Michael Jackson that I'll remember - a young boy with a beautiful voice and amazing talent.

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~views of a tiger lily~

~a view of a tiger lily, in grayscale~

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One of my very favorite sites to visit when I need to feel energized is David Perry's A Photographers Garden Blog.  It's a beautiful place to visit - creative, quiet, kind - the type of place that we often wish our everyday world was like.  But often it just isn't, and during these times one just needs to move forward, in the best way that one can.  I've had a tough week or so, work stuff, and if I told you about it, unfortunately I'd have to kill ya - so I'll refrain (for your safety and my own).  So tonight I needed to visit such a place.

Over a week ago, David had a post titled Stand in on place and keep looking.  What I especially like about his site is that he encourages his visitors with respect to their own photography, and he shares with us things that he has learned along the way.  (Visitors, such as myself, are often individuals who just like to capture the world around them - amateurs or I suppose?)  In this recent post, David wrote:

In letting ours minds and lives grow ever more busy they have also grown ever more restless, maybe even lazy.  And so we have learned to skim rather than really look.  It seems we are nearly always in a hurry to get somewhere else.  To be where we are not instead of where we are.  To hurry off toward where we think we should be.  Or to where someone else told us we really must visit.

I agree with David - in the sense that there is so much to see right in front of us.  In one leaf, one crack in the sidewalk, in one face.  So often we forget to look, to slow down - I am guilty of this all of the time, although paying attention is something that I try hard to do.  One of my all-time favorite books is Aldous Huxley's Island - and in this book I'm particularly fond of the mynah bird that is flying around, shouting 'Here and now!' and 'Attention!'.  I think that we all need such a bird, following us around during our often tedious day.

So, yesterday I decided to stand in one place (more-or-less, I did moved maybe a foot in every direction) and take photographs of a tiger lily.  This lily was in my Mother's Virginia garden, and last spring I moved a clump into my own garden.  This is the first tiger lily bloom to open for me.  The images were changed to grayscale in photoshop - but the original images weren't cropped.

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Just for the record...

...I did NOT vote for him.

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But there is good news is all of this!!!  Stephen Colbert has declared himself the new Governor of South Carolina!!!!  (I have Janet, The Queen of Seaford, to thank for alerting me to this change in governance).

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We should have let him run before.

 

~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.

 

     

~South Carolina quote of the day~

As some of you may have heard, South Carolina's Governor Mark Sanford is MIA.  This quote, from over at Jeff Tompkins blog, sums up this unusual situation quite beautifully:

Meanwhile, with the Governor nowhere to be found, and no one running the state, residents of South Carolina report "no discernible difference."

(Hmmm...looks like they may have found him).