The Isle of Palms Beach

Corinne and I had a gorgeous walk on the Isle of Palms beach yesterday–after I picked up and delivered the raw milk for our three family households. I had a nice visit with Michael and Tami when I dropped off the milk to their house before meeting Corinne.

I met Corinne at home and admired the white gardenia that was blooming at the front stairs. It was full of buds back in December when we had 17-degree cold nights that froze outdoor water pipes for many people. (The Rinnai water heaters are hung on outside walls.) And I was so hoping the buds had not been killed.

This glossy-leafed plant–a gift from Mike and Tami’s family many years ago when Bryan and Corinne bought and moved into this house–has many buds opening up now.

On that note, I’ll also say that the dormant Centipede grass in my neighborhood now has a green glow happening. I’ll have to think about mowing issues soon.

Corinne and I walked to the beach from the house. The Isle of Palms beach has numerous officially sanctioned pathways between houses to get to the beach. Here’s one:

Turtles hatch regularly on this beach. The mother turtles form nests from May through mid-August. Each nest can have about 120 eggs. The eggs incubate for 55 to 60 days and babies can emerge from July through October. Signs go up in early spring that seek to protect the beach nests.

I can’t wait to see a baby turtle “walk to the water” event. Here’s a picture from September 2021 of grandchildren holding baby turtles.

We both went barefoot once we got to the beach–leaving our shoes just above the tide line!

The roaring surf was beautiful with the incoming tide. Here’s a little video.

We walked and talked about an hour–and it was good to catch up with this sweet and very busy DIL.

Later in the afternoon, I sewed. Here’s the first block of the 5th row (of six). The first and last blocks in each row requires three rings. This block took me several days to make, and I’d already made the center. (All the centers are Cotton+Steel fabrics.)

It is important to lay out the ring fabrics for each block so the colors don’t repeat. I’ll show you how I do that next time. But here are the rings for the next block in this row, for which I am now sewing its center. All these ring pieces are already glued and are in sacks sorted by type–all of which was very time consuming along the way. And all the centers are glued, but not yet sewn together. I’ve done nothing with the outer border yet.

No whining this morning. I promise.

I got so engrossed in my current Juliete Marillier audible book (DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST), that I sewed until well past 8 pm. Marillier was born in New Zealand, but now lives in Western Australia. She writes historical fantasy–most of what I have read is laced with Celtic stories/myths and music. (She has a strong background in music.) Her most recent series is the Warrior Bards–but one should really start with the Blackthorn and Grim series, which is the story of the parents of the characters in Warrior Bards.

However, DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST may be my most favorite book, and it is the start of a 6-book series. How fun is that?

Marillier is a wonderful story-teller. Her stories provide a wonderful escape from the despairs of our current world while one is inside one of them. She has won many awards and has written many books and many complex series that contain twists and turns in the plots and where truth and beauty win out in the end. She holds a very strong place for the mysteries of the natural world. She also has a blog–and I just copied down all of her recent book recommendations for future reading.

She loves dogs!