#south carolina lowcountry

[wikipediapictures]

South Carolina Lowcountry

[rolloroberson]

[matriarchalmuffin]

Porch Backyard

Mid-sized transitional back porch idea with a roof extension

[yatamisakis]

Charleston Exterior Mid-sized transitional gray two-story concrete fiberboard exterior home photo with a shingle roof

[vaultsnakes]

Charleston Porch

[lowcountry-gothic]

Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina. Photos by Brandon Coffey.

[mlucerophotography]

The oak knot

ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge in Hollywood, South Carolina.

[hillwoodhouse]

[imagine-creative]

Happy Halloween! Here are some stories from SC that I heard growing up! 1/4

👻the conagree’s history is a sad one, from Native American tribes, slaves, to people going missing today. People state hearing disembodied screams and voices late in the evening

👻The spirit of a young man traveling from Charleston to see his fiancée in 1822. On the way, he and his horse were caught in quicksand-like pluff mud in the marshes before Pawley's Island, and died. His spirit has haunted the shore nearby ever since, looking for the girl he loved.

It’s also said if you see him before a hurricane you are safe!

👻The lady in red is said to be a lady of the night seen after shows.

They say her name is Nettie and passed when day dreaming of marriage on an iron balcony when lighting struck it.

👻 finally! Charleston actually imprisoned pirates and actually had a blockade once by black beard.

The souls of unrest by prisoners (war and pirates) are said to still roam the dungeon I drew Stede Bonnet's crew because that’s the one they have wax figures of down there.

[gullahconjure]

There is nothing in the world quite like a Gullah basket. Highly regarded and intricately stitched, each one showcases the maker’s artistry, as well as the centuries of skill passed down through Gullah families in South Carolina’s Lowcountry region.

This storied American craft dates back to the 1700s, and is a tradition rooted in West African culture. Enslaved rice farmers first brought the art form to South Carolina, and post-emancipation, it flourished as a method of expression. For more than eight generations, the Gullah community has continued the legacy,

The art of sweetgrass basket weaving is practiced in coastal and barrier island communities from North Carolina to Florida, a region known as the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. The Gullah-Geechees are the descendants of enslaved West Africans who worked on coastal plantations. Because of their isolation, they were able to hold on to many traditions brought to these shores during the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Visit Charleston or Beaufort, South Carolina, and you'll see people sitting on rural roadsides or in city parks and on street corners selling these beautiful baskets. In Georgia, you'll find basket weavers on Sapelo Island and on St. Simons Island, and in coastal communities like Riceboro, Darien and Harris Neck.

Each basket starts with a knot, and moistened grasses or pine needles are repeatedly coiled and wrapped with strips of palm frond stems. Some have lids, while others have handles and other ornate designs.

Today they are considered works of art. However, the Gullah-Geechee ancestors used baskets for more practical purposes -- for storing food, toting things like crops from the fields, and for fanning rice, flipping the grains into the air so that the husk could be carried away with the wind.

[shutterandsentence]

Actual photo of my feelings about 70-degree October days! A little bit beachy, a little bit spooky! :-)

Photo: Hilton Head, South Carolina

[rolloroberson]

Drinks at 8

We all float about

Like the Scottish weather

To don this human veil of authority

Is a burden beyond ability

Like meeting for drinks at 8

Before my mind goes about it’s appointed rounds

Sweeping up the night

My heart is somewhere in the salt marshes of my soul

And my anger is slithering silently across the fertile ground

Waiting to strike

I see ancient smoke rising from a clearing in Carolina

Silver waves crashing in on pristine shores

Words in the ether

Emotions in your tether

Meeting for drinks at 8

I think I will leave it right here

And let all the belles slip back into the shadows of Hellhole Swamp

Amongst the musket balls and arrowheads of my youth

Tonight I’ll sleep alone

And wrestle with Jacob’s ghost

And dream of Valhalla ….

….Drinks at 8

Rolloroberson©️2023

“But you gave away the things you loved,

And one of them was me

I had a dream…

There were clouds in my coffee

Clouds in my coffee… “- Carly Simon

[coffeenuts]

[abramsbooks]

RECIPE: Creole Shrimp (from Gullah Geechee Home Cooking by Emily Meggett)

In South Louisiana, many dishes use what’s called the “holy trinity.” The holy trinity—onion, bell pepper, and celery—is a big part of Cajun cuisine and Louisiana creole cooking. My creole shrimp use this holy trinity, and like many creole dishes, the herb smell that fills the kitchen during cooking is just as wonderful as the taste of the shrimp once they reach the plate. The bacon adds a rich, crispy texture, while the tomatoes serve as the fresh base for this wonderful sauce. Shrimp cooks quickly, so be careful to sauté only until pink. Serve creole shrimp over a bed of white rice.

Serves: 4 to 6

5 slices bacon

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 bell pepper, finely chopped

1 cup (100 g) diced celery

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

10 small tomatoes (2 pounds/910 g), peeled and diced

2 teaspoons sugar

¼ cup (½ stick/55 g) unsalted butter

2 pounds (910 g) shrimp, peeled and deveined

Seasoning salt, preferably

Gold Medal, to taste

Cooked long-grain white rice, for serving

In a 10-inch (25 cm) cast-iron skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove from the heat and let cool. Cut the cooled bacon into small pieces. Set aside.

In the skillet, cook the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, tomatoes, and sugar for at least 1½ hours over low heat. This mixture needs to “cook down,” which means that the sauce needs to thicken and shrink. The consistency should be a thick sauce, similar to a spaghetti sauce.

About 5 minutes before the mixture finishes cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the shrimp and cook over medium heat until pink, 1 to 2 minutes.

Drain the shrimp. Add the shrimp and cooked bacon to the tomato mixture. Add Gold Medal seasoning salt. Taste, and add more as needed. Stir, and serve over white rice.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR

This is the first major Gullah Geechee cookbook: Emily Meggett, the matriarch of Edisto Island, shares the recipes and the history of an essential American community

The history of the Gullah and Geechee people stretches back centuries, when enslaved members of this community were historically isolated from the rest of the South because of their location on the Sea Islands of coastal South Carolina and Georgia. Today, this Lowcountry community represents the most direct living link to the traditional culture, language, and foodways of their West African ancestors.

Gullah Geechee Home Cooking, written by Emily Meggett, the matriarch of Edisto Island, is the preeminent Gullah cookbook. At 89 years old, and with more than 50 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Meggett is a respected elder in the Gullah community of South Carolina. She has lived on the island all her life, and even at her age, still cooks for hundreds of people out of her hallowed home kitchen. Her house is a place of pilgrimage for anyone with an interest in Gullah Geechee food. Meggett’s Gullah food is rich and flavorful, though it is also often lighter and more seasonal than other types of Southern cooking. Heirloom rice, fresh-caught seafood, local game, and vegetables are key to her recipes for regional delicacies like fried oysters, collard greens, and stone-ground grits. This cookbook includes not only delicious and accessible recipes, but also snippets of the Meggett family history on Edisto Island, which stretches back into the 19th century. Rich in both flavor and history, Meggett’s Gullah Geechee Home Cooking is a testament to the syncretism of West African and American cultures that makes her home of Edisto Island so unique.

For more information, click here.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

Marshside Folly Beach, SC July 2020 Photo by me @gwenllian-in-the-abbey

[lowcountry-gothic]

Great egret on a rainy day in Charleston. Photos by Kim Graham.