Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Texture, Patina, Part 2




a study in texture 
part two...


gentle reader...
we had glorious sunshine
the first day...
and then we were blessed with gentle rain and sprinkles
the second day...










but we had planned the museums for the second day
anyway
and so it worked out perfectly..
 we journeyed first to






Oldest House St. Augustine, Florida




which was a very interesting
tour
and the museum has set up the interior so that you can see the changes that were
made to the home through the years...





The kitchen and grape arbor in the courtyard of the Oldest House



the Kitchen was detached 
from the house, which was normal for the time
it is so much easier to carry food into the 
dining room from the yard then it is to keep rebuilding 
homes when the kitchen
burned down
as they inevitably did...

  




The Four Seasons statues in the garden of the Oldest House in St. Augustine





the Victorian owners of the house found these
statues of the Four Seasons in Chicago
and had them shipped
home to St. Augustine..










which had to be considerably costly even then...











Spanish moss, colloquially known as 
Old Man's Beard or Grey Beard..
is an air plant..
it doesn't harm the trees, but it does harbor
mites and bugs...
Henry Ford used it to stuff the seats in his auto
and it was the first recall
in history... 

the early settlers used it to stuff their mattresses...
can you imagine?

Itch









Photos were prohibited inside the house
but we were encouraged to take photos of the gardens...


and if you wanted a wedding venue...
this would be 
amazing...

here is the link..





texture was everywhere here...
from the stone pavers 
to the Coquina stone
that is protected today...








The stone planter below
made of Coquina








I would have loved to spend more time






in this garden...






to sketch or paint...






the beauty of nature growing all around...
ferns growing from the top of the kitchen chimney...










the weathered grey of the grape arbor
and the antique courtyard door below...













The Coquina stone wall below..
when close to it, you can see the tiny shells
naturally compacted to create stone..
it is incredible...











isn't nature wonderful?
I just marvel at the color, 
the variety...
and the intense love...
all around us...









Sending you off with the color 
green... 
in case you are tired of the color white...

It is early spring here and I am already getting 
the veggie garden together..


So I have one last travel post 
to show you
soon..


C4N!