Brookgreen Gardens - The Blooms

This is my second post on Brookgreen Gardens. I now want to share some of our photos of the blooms in the gardens during our visit this week.

This is a photo of the Oak Garden which is our favourite area. We love to walk through and, at times, sit on the bench under the massive oak trees, and enjoy.



Pansies

Poppies

Dianthus

Primrose Jasmine

Snow Drops

Camellia

Narcissus Tazetta Daffodil

Daffodils

Narcissus - Ice Follies

Reeves Spiraea

Flowering Quince

Ornamental Cabbage

Bloodroot

Japanese Camellia

White Daphne

Paperbush Plant

Magnolia Tree

Eastern Redbud Tree or Judas Tree

Star Magnolia Trees

Rosemary

Okame Cherry Tree

I hope you enjoyed the blooms in Brookgreen Gardens, although photos cannot capture the true magic of these gardens.

Brookgreen Gardens - Bird Watching

Our favorite place to spend time while in South Carolina is Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet. No matter how often Paul and I visit there, we find it a magical place. We love to spend time walking through the gardens enjoying the beautiful seasonal blooms, strolling the natural zoo area and bird watching. In December there is a special program called "Nights of a Thousand Candles", a must see event.

Although Paul and I take hundreds of photos each time we enjoy the gardens, it is impossible to capture its magic, and beauty, but we keep trying. In this blog entry I am sharing photos of the birds that we enjoyed.

Gray Catbird



Red-bellied Woodpecker

Tufted Titmouse

Savannah Sparrow

Carolina Wren

Cedar Waxwing

American Robin

Blue Jay

Carolina Chickadee

Northern Cardinals

Male Cardinal

Female Cardinal

During our last two visits to the Gardens, the trees were alive with birds and it was fascinating to watch them. We enjoyed probably 20 to 30 Northern Cardinals at one point. Brookgreen is known to be one of the best birding areas.

In another blog entry I will post photos of the blooms we enjoyed. It will be quite difficult to decide which photos to post as I have so many favorites.

Saturday at the Beach

A Great Birthday

Well, the birthday guy had a great day (17 February), so he said. He started his morning requesting a homemade omelette and coffee for his breakfast and then relaxed for a couple of hours on our sunny deck reading his newspaper and watching the ocean waves.

We took a long beach walk together and enjoyed the view of a couple of dolphins swimming close by.

The afternoon and evening were spent at Paul's new favourite place, Hannah Banana's Sunshine Cabana in Murrells Inlet. Unfortunately the sun and wind did not cooperate as much as we could have liked so we only were able to sit outside for a little while, but long enough to enjoy a couple of cool beers and appetizers.

It is such a great place on the intercoastal waterway and we were able to watch a couple of boats go by. This one, being a local shrimp boat.


We didn't get to enjoy a colourful sunset that evening, but the sky was lovely, just the same.

We moved our little party inside once the sun went down. Their bar has quite a selection of beverages. My sister even tried a pumpkin liqueur. It was a little too spice flavoured for me.

We enjoyed a meal of great burgers and then I drove the birthday guy and my sister home.

I shouldn't say this, but - we ate so much food at dinner that we had to postpone having the birthday cake at home until the next day. Which was a good thing!

Here's to many more birthdays together cutie.....

Beach Activity

These pictures are for my horsie friend, Mavis.

I think of her any time I see the riders on the beach.

Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing everyone a

Happy Valentine's Day

with their sweetheart,

family and friends.

Enjoy the little

things in

life.

South Carolina Civil War Museum

This morning we were invited by our friends, Irm and Don, to attend the monthly meeting of their local Antique Club held at Tupelo Bay Golf Club. The guest speaker was Ted Gragg, owner of the South Carolina Civil War Museum in Myrtle Beach and he was giving a talk on a variety of guns (displayed below) from his Museum. Some of the guns weighed more than 30 pounds.

Although I do not have a liking for guns, he was a very informed and interesting person. Paul had read about some of the guns in his Civil War books, so it was nice for him to actually see them.

After the meeting some of the Club members went for lunch at California Dreaming. It was our first time at this restaurant and we really enjoyed our lunch. We tried their "baked potato soup" and the "she crab soup" - both were excellent - as well as the house salad.

Then it was off to the South Carolina Civil War Museum for a tour. It is quite an interesting Museum and definitely worth a visit for anyone interested in Civil War history.


Paul has been meaning to visit the Museum for some time, so it was nice that our friends gave us the opportunity to do so. Thank you.

Hannah Banana's Sunshine Cabana, Murrells Inlet, SC

On Saturday afternoon, Paul and I found this great restaurant and bar, Hannah Bananas Sunshine Cabana, on the Waccamaw River and Marina in Murrells Inlet. It was a sunny afternoon so we stopped in to have a cool drink and a snack, while enjoying the view. The waitress told us that Salty Dog, local performers, would be playing on Sunday afternoon so we thought about coming back.

Hannah's also offer a "sober shuttle". If you call, they will pick you up at home and bring you back again, after your evening at their pub.

We ordered a totally unhealthy snack of deep fried potato chips covered in blue cheese and green onions with a ranch dipping sauce. And since I am unable to get Molson Canadian beer here in the US pubs, I have found a close second, in taste - Yuengling (ying-ling) Amber Lager which is really nice.

We stayed at Hannah's until just about sunset.


Sunday afternoon had the perfect temperature to sit outside on a deck, drinking a cool one(s) and enjoying live music, with the sun shining. Salty Dog played a variety of music, from country to bluegrass.

Paul was in his element - live music!

Hannah's is surrounded by boats from the marina. Some of its customers motor up in their boat and dock at the restaurant.

I think Paul and I have found a new place to eat out as they serve a great burger also.

Beach Day