Dream Rental

Our Dover Shores pickleball friends, Karen and Rich, drove from Blue Ridge, GA to visit with us today. Our original plan was for them to play at our new courts and then have lunch at our rental. God had other plans. It began raining maybe ten minutes after they arrived at the court. Boo hoo! They next followed us to the donut shop on Tennessee Street in the little downtown which I will write more about another time because it is good and super cute. 

Next they followed us to Charlotte's Cottage for a visit and lunch. They saw what I saw when I first came across the house on the internet. Darling is one word that comes to mind. Bruce lit the fireplace, something that my friends at home will find laughable, however, it was chilly, dark, and pouring rain. Both the light and warmth from the fire were welcome. Before they left, Rich took our picture.

On their way back to Blue Ridge she sent me a text saying we had found a "dream rental." I could not have said it any better.

So let's go back to last week when it also rained and we visited the Folk School. Truth is we went back yesterday and it was an entirely different experience in the sunshine. That said, I am going to share one from yesterday that makes me so happy. Purple Martins are in the house! The male is the more purple!

As you can well imagine I took many, many more that will be shared at a later date. My first ever sighting of these lively birds. Woo hoo!

So, the day we went last week, pickleball was rained out so plan B. had to be implemented. It was not a pretty day.

That said, it is but an eight mile drive from the cottage making that part easy. We had no idea what to expect, but found ourselves delighted as each new vista came into view. 

Begun in 1925, it is a folk school with week long classes in all manner of crafts including paper, clay, wood, metal and pretty much anything else that can be turned into either something beautiful or useful. We spent most of our time in the beautiful gardens.

Little did I know that when we saw our first Goldfinch amongst the plants that we would soon have a resident pair of our own the following week. (more on that soon)

Here's a log cabin built by students.

Everything was so dramatic because of the wet, saturated colors. 

Underneath that roof was something amazing in the form of a Barn Swallow nest, the likes of which we have not seen before. As you may recall, mud  was the choice in the ones we have seen previously. I have no idea what this is. 

Unreal, right? There was a youngish woman sitting inside, watching and filming the action as the parent came to feed. She explained how she had been a student there many years before and fell in love with the everything. We can easily understand why after visiting, as it is a very peaceful place.

Lots and lots of bees, a cause for celebration.

Drying onions...

as well as specialty dyed fabric drying in the damp air.

I swear I saw a sign posted declaring this was thyme.

Then again, maybe I didn't?

Birds, thank you very much.

Intricate foliage,

as well as multi-colored blossoms. Actually I practically jumped out of the car when these came into view!

Seeing them in white before, I had no clue that they came in red, orange and pink...no way!

Did I mention it was gloomy, or more accurately, atmospheric? Green, lots and lots of green.

I believe they call this the Long Barn, which when we visited, was filled with children learning crafts. The name fits.

This is inside the Keith House where dances are held on the weekend. Think square dancing, or perhaps clogging? There were some serious discussions going on when we passed through.

In another building adjacent to the gardens, we witnessed folks involved in morris dancing which was fascinating to say the least. I am sure it is out there somewhere, but what we witnessed, at least as far as the costumes were concerned, was slightly different from the link I have provided.

More bees! As reported above, they were there in abundance.

My goodness, how about a beautiful Strawberry Oak Hydrangea plant???

All that rain makes for huge flowering bushes! The apples are looking very good as well.

Let's talk about Barn Swallows, shall we? They were also present flying around fast and furious as they needed to feed their hungry broods.

It can't be easy being a bird is one thing that comes to mind. Here's some info on them should you be curious and want to improve your knowledge when it comes to their lifestyle. Pop quiz in my next post! Just joking, but boy do I have some exciting photographs coming up with their interesting behavior.

I've not even shown you the studios for all of the classes because, frankly, this has probably gone on long enough, but before I call it a published post, I wanted to show off some of the amazing pottery done by our friend Susan Bach who taught a week-long pottery class there in early June. She is the black, white, and bold color queen. Aren't those drinking glasses amazing? I'm only sorry I cut off one of her lamps in this photo as they are terrific, as is everything she makes.

Her husband Steve is an artist as well. Bruce first became acquainted with him when he painted a mural for one of the Olive Gardens that Bruce built. Does anyone remember that OG look?

Can we all just agree that it is a small world after all? I mean seriously, did I tell you we met a fellow at pickleball that hired our good friend Susan to be his assistant principle in Orlando? We did. Frankly, most everyone we meet has some Florida connection. I'm still not sure what to make of that.

Until we meet again, I remain, your friend,

Gail