Trip to the Farm

This past weekend I was finally able to get off of Saint Simons and spend some time at our family farm in Tattnall County, Georgia. Getting out of the car, I was greeted with the smell of honeysuckle and this seemed to set the mood for the rest of my time there. Saturday morning was an early one that began with a trip to the Goat Sale. I hadn't been to one of these since I was 7 or 8 with my Papa Brown. It's basically a Farmers Market sorta idea but based around animals. Chickens, Ducks, and of course, Goats, were just a few of the animals for sale. We spent the rest of the day fishing and on the way home I swung through Claxton to spend some time with my grandparents. I had put in a request for Chili even though it was 80 degrees and Mombie's is the best in the world. This trip was a quick one, but one I'm happy I took. Living full time at the beach is incredible but sometimes even we need to get away!

Here are some pictures I took -

The Goat Sale in Lyons, Georgia

Vidalia Onions

Pecan Tree on the Farm

 

Cumberland Island

Cumberland Island is one of my favorite things about living on the Georgia Coast. Though it is only about an hour down the road, it's a world away. I have made the trip multiple times and it isn't getting old. Cumberland's history and beauty is unlike any other place and is what continues to draw people back over and over.

Its history dates back hundreds of years to the Spanish who set up a fort on the south end of the island. Years later the island was home to several plantations who planted rice and the famed "sea island" cotton. It's most famous residents came many years after the Civil War and were a family with a small fortune - the Carnegie's.

Thomas and Lucy Carnegie built Dungeness as their southern home and getaway to avoid the harsh Pittsburgh winters. They settled on Cumberland because Lucy had gone to boarding school as a child in Fernandina Beach, Florida and also because they were not accepted into the Jekyll Island Club. The Jekyll Island Club considered them "new money" because they had earned their wealth. Dungeness was a mammoth structure and its ruins are all that remains today. It burned in 1959 and was believed to be set fire by a poacher.

Scattered over the island are other "cottages" that Lucy built for her children. A few of these still remain such as Plum Orchard and Greyfield. Plum Orchard is a beautiful structure on the north end about 8 miles north of Dungeness. It is a part of the National Park System and I'm not sure what its current use is. Greyfield, on the other hand, is the only home that has remained in the Carnegie family through the years. It is now run as a Bed and Breakfast and is the only lodging on the island besides the primitive camping offered by the NPS. More information can on the Greyfield Inn can be found here - Greyfield Inn.

Cumberland Island is also famous for the wild horses that roam the island. The horses are remnants of the old Carnegie stables that were left behind when the family fled the island. They have learned to live off the land and I have seen then every time I've been around Dungeness. While they're beautiful to look at and weirdly odd that they are able to survive, they come with a price. There are two sides of the debate on the horses - those who think they should be left alone and those who want them removed. One side presents that the horses are eating the marsh grass and therefore leading to erosion of parts of the island. These argue that the horses should be rounded up and removed from the island. The other side says that they are simply doing what they need to survive and have become a huge attraction to the island, bringing in visitors and their money. I see both sides but think the horses should stay because they're apart of its heritage and are pretty cool.

Cumberland was put on the map in the 90's when JFK Jr. was married on the north end at the First African Baptist Church. The only way the church and the rest of the north end can be reached is by car or an extremely long bike ride on a dirt road. Up until recently, neither of these were possible to day trippers but the NPS is now offering motorized tours of the north end and its attractions. The wedding was top secret and put together by JFK Jr. friend and Cumberland Island resident, Gogo Ferguson. Gogo is a descendant of the Carnegie family and makes jewelry from the island using animal bones that she finds. She has a store here on Saint Simons in Redfern Village. More information can be found here - Gogo Jewelry.

I recently took a friend of mine who was visiting down in January. We took the early ferry from St. Mary's and got off at the Dungeness Dock. The NPS offers a small tour of the historic district and it lasted a little over and hour. This told of its history through the years and is a great introduction to your day on the island. The tour ends at the Dungeness ruins and you have the rest of the day to explore the island on your on. We took this time to have lunch on the beach and walk the islands many trails. While on one that snaked through the Live Oak forest on the Cumberland River, we were able to see Navy submarines coming and going from nearby King's Bay Navy Base. Our trip to the island ended by catching the last ferry of the day back to the mainland.

Cumberland Island National Seashore

If you're interesting in reading more about Cumberland, there are two book that I recommend. The first is Palindrome by Stuart Woods. While the book is fiction, the places are all real and does a great job of putting you on the island. The other book is called Strong Women, Wild Horses by Charles Seabrook. This is about Gogo Ferguson and another island resident who see the island in two different likes.

Okefenokee Swamp Park

A few weeks ago I was able to travel over to Waycross and see the Okefenokee Swamp for the first time. Being from and growing up here in South Georgia, I have always heard about it but never had the chance to go. The only contact I had to the Swamp before the trip was the smoke that covers Saint Simons when they have wildfires, which is more common than you would think. While the wildfires are good for the swamp and very beneficial, it's no fun for the rest of us who lives in the smoke for weeks on end.

Known as the "Land of the Trembling Earth," the swamp covers more than 600 square miles. It has an incredible history dating back to the Native Americans and the Okefenokee Swamp Park does a great job of retelling its history. 

Georgia Buck

A while back I saw where someone had taken a mounted deer and covered it in maps. I set out to do the same using a wooden white tail deer puzzle and a map of Georgia.

Supplies

• Wooden Puzzle
• Map
• Matte Mod Podge
• Paint Brush
• White Spray Paint
• Craft Knife
• Scissors 
• Brayer

Mason Jar I-Spy Kit

A few years ago I was shopping with a friend who was buying one of these brand name I-Spy kits in a toy store. At the time it was the first I'd ever seen but thought it was pretty neat. Years later, I've finally gotten around to making one that I like much better than one you'd spend about 20 dollars on at the store. 

Supplies Needed

• Mason Jar
• White Rice
• Watercolor Paint
• Snack Ziplocs
• Small items to hide
• Mod Podge
• Hot Glue

Starry Night

Starry Night by Van Gogh & Chris August

I made the following for a friend of mine who has everything she needs. I started with one plan and quickly evolved to what it became. I took one of my favorite song lyrics and placed it over a painting using vinyl letters. I then painted over it with a few coats and peeled the stickers off. The letters protect the painting and the images comes through the words.


1. Gather Supplies.

• Painting - I picked up a 16x20 poster from Michael's and chose Starry Night by Van Gogh.
• Spray & Acrylic Paint - I went with white but any color will work
• Vinyl Letters - found at Michael's. For this project, I got the 1" letters. The package said they were permanent but I had no problems peeling them off.
• Yard Stick
• Frame - Got a 16x20 Frame from Hobby Lobby
• Quote - I went with one of my favorite songs by Chris August.
• I'm giving my life to the only one who made the moon reflect the sun. Every starry night that was his design.