Cemetary Angel

Table

I went for a walk in the woods and came across this table. In the woods. A long, looooong way away from any houses. With a bag on it.

Yep.

I was actually in the woods behind the former Second State Hospital for the Insane, which has been razed and is now the site of a Wal-Mart. (I always joke that it has the same clientele, only with less interesting architecture.) I was looking for a purported cemetary on the grounds that has some historical info that I’m interested in.

I’ve always felt very strongly about the old hospital. For one, it was a ginormous building, and extremely creepy at that, with all its Gothic architecture and dark, stone walls. Old, creepy buildings make my inner goth happy. Also, I feel a connection to the patients. Being (1.) an opinionated woman who can’t seem to smile and look pretty and not speak until I’m spoken to, and (2.) also suffering from moderate depression (see #1,) I probably would have been labeled “insane” in the days before anti-depressants and women’s rights. It happened to a lot of women who were considered to be “difficult” by their families, and my husband would be glad to tell anyone who will listen that I am, indeed, a difficult one. I’m not sure if he would have had me locked up, but I’m really glad not to be living in an era when that sort of thing happened all the time.

I wanted to find the old State Hospital Cemetary, to read the dates and gather info because I’m a nerd like that. Unfortunately, it got too dark before I got far enough into the woods to find it, but I did come across a lot of strange things — ruins of old houses and farm equipment, gates that go to nothing, furniture sitting out in the middle of the woods… It was an interesting hike, just finding these things and wondering what stories the trees could tell if they could talk. I probably don’t want to know. Nah, who am I kidding? I love local history, no matter how creepy. I would love to know!

The old asylum both fascinates me and terrifies me at the same time. Someone should write a book about it. Someone who isn’t me… but I would love to be a proofreader/test audience if anybody’s interested. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller…. Bueller…

Flowerscape

I had the best hike last night. I stayed in the woods until dark and watched the sun go down. It was gorgeous, and so peaceful. I was actually searching for a historical site that I never did find, but found lots of other gorgeous things to photograph, so it’s all good. Now I have a reason to go back there.

Felix Krasyk

Local artist and Charleston Catholic High School grad Felix Krasyk:

I love his art! I see a definite Picasso influence, with a little Kandinsky thrown in, as well. Makes sense, because he spent time in New York just as those artists were becoming well-known in the USA.

You can see his art at the Purple Moon, on Lee St. between Summers and Capitol.

Black Walnut Tree

This is the black walnut tree in my back yard. The nuts have already fallen, and oddly enough — they’re not black. They look sort of like hard limes. The outer covering falls off and the nut inside is black, the hull oozing with an inky blackish-brown substance that stains the skin (and everything else) brownish-yellow. People used to make everything from wood stain to hair dye using this walnut ink. You can still buy the ink in places, but it’s crazy expensive. I would love to learn how to make it, myself.

Fierce

It makes me laugh that whenever I turn my camera on my sweet, cherub-faced, huggable 8-year-old whenever he’s in his football gear, he always puts on his “fierce face.”

This weekend’s the playoffs for his team. I hope we win! But if not, it’s still been a good season. I am going to be happy to have our weekends back, though… at least until basketball season.

Queen Anne’s Lace

Punkin

Charleston, Miniaturized

Shrinking Nashville was so much fun, I had to try it with Charleston. Okay, that and it was a nice excuse to get out on the roof on a cool, autumn afternoon.

Nashville, Miniaturized

It’s not a model, it’s a Photoshop trick. I’ve been trying to learn how to do this for a while, but had no success until I found this trick in Wired Magazine. It’s terribly simple!

Now I just need to find some Charleston friends who work in high-rise buildings who will let me come up and take some photos so I can shrink C-town.