A Wise Quote from Samuel Rutherford

"When I find myself in the cellar of affliction, I always look about for the wine."
A little history on Samuel Rutherford. He was born around 1600 near the borders area of Scotland. He was a Scottish Presbyterian theologian and author.
His most famous work is Lex, Rex, a political book presenting a theory of limited government and constitutionalism.
After the Restoration of Charles II of England, the authorities burned Lex, Rex and cited Rutherford for high treason, but his death intervened before the charge could be tried, lucky for him!
He was also one of the Scottish commissioners to the Westminster Assembly. This group of righteous men was appointed by England's Long Parliament in order to restructure the Church of England. They met for six years from 1643-1649. Out of this assembly came the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms, the Directory of Public Worship, and the Confession of Faith. These are the major confessional standards of the Presbyterian faith, of which I am an adherent.
Andrew Bonar, a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, edited Samuel Rutherford's letters. Andrew was the youngest brother of Horatius Bonar, the great hymnist, whose songs we sing including Blessing and Honor, Here Oh My Lord I See Thee Face to Face, Not What My Hands Have Done, No Not Despairingly, Thy Works Not Mine O Christ, When The Weary Seeking Rest, and Yes, For Me He Careth and many, many more.
So the next time life gives you sour grapes, remember Samuel Rutherford and look for the vintage bottle of wine

Quiet Contemplation

The other night while my friend Roger was visiting we headed down to the Spirit Tree to enjoy the quiet evening and the incredible view of the star-filled sky. It was in this location where roughly a year ago I asked Jessica to be my bride, so it was nice to visit the spot again and think about the memories from a year ago, as well as the memories made since then. The beauty of the night was perfect: not a cloud in the sky, barely a whisper of a wind and the temperature was ideal. We sat down at the tree for a couple of hours and gazed at the sky. Every now and then a Perseid meteor would streak through the sky, remnants from a meteor shower that peaked a few days before. I was setting my camera up for a long star-trail exposure when Jessica climbed up and sat down on this rock for a better view of the tree. It just so happened that where she sat was a great spot for a shot of her gazing up at the tree. I asked her to hold still for 30 seconds while I recorded this exposure. It is my favorite shot of the night, even better than the 45 minute star-trail exposure that I made (which also turned out quite nice, but not as nice as this!).

Shiloh

We made a trip to Shiloh over the weekend. I have umpty-million photos to download, but so far this one is my favorite.

Spotted fawn in the Union cemetery. (Click to enlarge.)
His cute little fuzzy close-up:

Awww.
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It was a very birdy weekend. This wasn't really a birding trip, but we did have our binoculars, so we looked every time we happened to see the branches moving. The list of warblers we saw without even really trying:
Yellow-throated
Black-and-White
Magnolia
Canada
Chestnut-sided
Redstart
Pine
Palm
Brewster's (!)
Tennessee
The gorgeous male Canada warbler was a special treat since we hadn't seen one in so long. And the Brewster's, wow! They are a hybrid between the Blue-winged and Golden-winged warblers, and we'd only seen one once or twice before, at Dauphin Island.
If we'd had more time, we'd have turned it into a birding trip until the migration fallout ran dry, and finished exploring the battlefield later. The weather was beautiful - the first fall-like days of the year.

Just resting.
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis).

Journey of Hope

Sunday morning I had the necessary layers for a cool (chilly) Sunday Morning Ride. Had my breakfast at Panera but my riding friend did not show. I was not really disappointed - not ready for the cooler riding weather.
With the wind kicking up, I decided to ride the Wabash Trace from CB up to Dumfries. When I got at the trailhead, I found there was a charity ride there - fund raiser for cancer support groups in CB. The ride was the Journey of Hope Bike Ride/Walk for the Winds of Hope. I signed up for the ride, got my ls t-short, and headed up the hill.
Have not done much hill climbing. I sure felt it. My legs were tired by the way I got to Margaritaville. Normal stop there for a granola bar and G2. Back down to the trailhead.
Did my good deed for the day and had my bike ride at the same time!

Anglepod

We found a new vine near the pond: Anglepod (sometimes written Angle-Pod). It's one of the climbing milkweeds, and the latin name is either Matelea gonocarpa or Gonolobus gonocarpa. The latter doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but was apparently the original name. Then it was changed to Matelea, which sounds much more poetic, if you ask me. Then it was changed back. Maybe.
Several internet sources cite the "it was changed back" story, but the USDA plants site and the Integrated Taxonomic Information System pages both show Matelea as correct.
They've both got .gov at the end so they must be correct, right...? I have no idea.

To make things even more confusing, there are two similar species, the gonocarpa and the suberosa (or suberosus if you are going with Gonolobus instead of Matelea). Basically the difference is that one has smooth (glabrous) flowers and the other has hairy (pubescent) ones. But in one scientific paper, it is suggested that yes, there should be two types, but they should be distinguished not based on hairiness but on flower color. (The flowers may be colored as shown here or they may be pure green.)
I think I'm just going to call it Anglepod! And try to avoid writing it down.
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Hilton Pond's article on the hairy two-toned version.
Wayne at Niches has written about this confusion previously. (And if I'd been better about keeping up with my blog reading lately I'd have seen it before I wrote all this!)

Common Rush at Green Meadow Nursery

A plant that is on my "hot now" list is Common Rush, Juncus effusus.
The vertical growth adds a strong architectural element to the garden. Common Rush can grow in almost any soil condition and is drought tolerant. It thrives along brackish marshes or freshwater ponds as well.
This will work any where that Sweetgrass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) grows - but it will get a little taller, so make sure your site can accommodate it.
Green Meadow Nursery in Yonges Island, South Carolina has a beautiful crop of Common Rush. These pictures were taken last week while I was scouting their nursery.

Roughing It Not-So-Smoothly

5-6 November

Roughing It Smoothly is the Tiffin maxim.  It’s usually the way our Phaeton adventures can be described.  Unfortunately, this weekend’s camping adventure turned out to be not-so-smooth.  We should still be at Pohick Bay Regional Park (PBRP) in Lorton, Virginia.  But no; we’re at home.

We had plans to spend a weekend at PBRP last month.  When we got word on October 18 that Mui’s father had passed away, we put those plans on hold and he hopped on a plane to Turkey instead.  (Campground deposits for Virginia state parks are non-refundable, but they allow one date transfer; so I moved the reservation to April .)

As rig owners who live in cold areas well know, winterizing is essential to the wellbeing of a motorhome.  After Mui returned to the States at the end of October, we decided to take the coach out one last time before we had to put it to bed for the season … empty out the foodstuff and whatnot, and have a bit of fun at the same time.  So, I made a reservation at PBRP for this weekend.

Our weekend got off to a good start Friday afternoon.  We picked up the Phaeton, stopped at Fannon to top off the diesel, and were on the road by 3:45p.

Of the several alternatives available to us, we opt for the
Rte 234/I-95N combination to drive to PBRP.

After the deluge of rain earlier in the week, we appreciated having the rays of the sun streaming through the windshield of the Phaeton.  The 42-mile (67 km) drive was uneventful.  We were especially grateful that we weren’t heading south on I-95; traffic was at a standstill for at least 6 miles (10 km) in that direction.

We have 55F (13C) temps and partly cloudy skies for our drive.

We arrived at PBRP with plenty of daylight left to maneuver into the back-in site to which we were assigned (#60; 50-amp, full hookups; $42.52/night jurisdiction rate with tax).  The next several sites on either side of us were empty, giving us plenty of privacy.

Pohick Bay Regional park
[map courtesy of the PBRP website)

Site 60 is one of 10 sites with full hookups.
[map courtesy of the PBRP website]

Home away from home for the weekend.

Just a few rigs in the distance and that’s about it.

Before long, we had the furnace cozying things up inside while Mui warmed up the leftovers we had brought from home.  As day turned to night, we sat down to have dinner, and then whiled away the night reading and watching TV (39 local channels with the antenna).

So far, so good … right?  Well, not for long.

Around midnight, I sensed Mui moving about the bedroom.  When I asked him what was wrong, he said the inverter alarm was beeping.  A further check revealed that the batteries weren’t charging and the inverter was cutting in and out as the power management system tried to make adjustments.  Figuring there was a problem with the 50-amp pedestal, we switched to 30 amps instead.  Our efforts were for naught; we still weren’t getting power.  Seeing as how there wasn’t much we could do at that late hour, we shut down everything (including the furnace) to preserve battery power, and went back to bed, piling the covers over us as the nighttime temperature inside the coach dropped to 55F (13C).

We spent a fitful night, forcing ourselves to stay in bed until 7:30a when the first rays of the sun started to filter through the trees.  We didn’t want to bother the two campers across the road from us by starting the generator yet, so we used the next hour to take care of the packing chores on our list.  By 9:00a we were ready to crank up the diesel generator.  Our hearts sank when the generator refused to start at first, but a call to Coach-Net guided us through the start up procedure using the auxiliary button.  The low growl of the generator was music to our ears.

Next, we decided to bring the slides in while the Coach-Net technician was still on the phone ... just in case.  You can imagine how we felt when Mui pressed the buttons to retract the front slides and only the driver’s side started pulling in.  It was the same when he went to retract the rear slides; no movement on the passenger side slide.  Just as I was about to utter a few choice words, I caught a bit of movement in my peripheral vision … the front passenger slide was moving.  What the ?!?!  It turns out that the front passenger slide button had actually retracted the rear passenger slide, and the rear passenger slide button was doing the same for the front passenger slide.  Screwy, but at least the slides were in, and at that moment, that’s all that mattered.

After that bit of stress, we decided to go for a walk to clear our heads before heading home.  With Mui still under orders to take it easy while his tendonitis heals, we opted for the short .16-mile hike down the trail that leads to the edge of Pohick Bay.

The boat rental concession area is deserted.

Glimpse of Pohick Bay from the floating dock.

the kayaks are stored until the weather warms up in the spring.

With the rig’s electrical problems niggling at us, we dallied just long enough for me to watch a bald eagle flying across the bay to Mason Neck Wildlife Refuge.  Then, it was back to the rig where we had a quick bite to eat before checking out of the campground.  I wasn’t expecting a refund for our second night, but when I mentioned the reason for our departure, the manager processed a credit on the spot.  Good customer service!  A few more minutes to switch our reservation for next April to an easier-to-get-into site (#71 is apparently favored by big rig owners) and we were on our way home.

We’ve been having problems with our Atwood levelers and had them disabled in early October so that we could camp a few more times before winterizing the Phaeton.  We’re thinking that our electrical problems may be related to our leveler issues.  We’ve already checked around, and the earliest we can have both problems looked at is late November (not many RV service centers in our neck of the woods).  In the meantime, we’ll get the winterizing taken care of and keep our fingers crossed that whatever problems are in store for us don’t make too big of a dent in the wallet.

I’ll be back to tell you the results of the diagnostics and repairs when I know more …

Exploring Ocean Springs … the City of Discovery

Saturday, 20 April (Part I)
Shields RV Park — NCBC Gulfport, Mississippi
Temps: Lo 42F / Hi 71F (5.5C / 22C)

After a soggy Friday, having the forecast hold true for sunshine and comfy temperatures on the first day of the weekend was a boon.

We initially considered taking the once-daily (this time of year) boat trip out to Ship Island, which is part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. With the temp at only 50F (10C) when we set out, it was just a bit too cold to be on the water, however, so we jiggled our “jello plans” and settled on exploring nearby Ocean Springs instead. Located on the east side of Biloxi Bay, the City of Discovery is about a 25-minute drive from Gulfport. The GPS routed us there via I-10 … probably because it was faster, but I would suggest the scenic Beach Boulevard/US-90 route if you’re coming from the west. That way, you’ll be welcomed to Ocean Springs by the little red caboose, and Crooked Feather.

Crooked Feather is a 30-foot (9m) sculpture depicting Ocean Springs’ origins as a colony of the American Indian. carved by Thomas King in 1999, the sculpture replaces the original one created in the 1940's by Peter Toth; it survived Hurricane Katrina.

Coming in from I-10, however, worked to our advantage as a minor mis-direction led us to the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is off the beaten path of the walking tour we had planned for ourselves.

Also on the grounds of the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial (on the right) is
a UH-1H "HUEY” Helicopter, the base for which was constructed by the Navy SeaBees.
Sharing space here is also the mast from the USS Mississippi CGN-40 (on the left).

The Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built in 1996 as a tribute to the men and women who served in that long and horrific war. Two black granite walls face each other. Engraved on the walls are the names of the 668 Mississippians killed in the war. The photographic images of many of the GI’s listed are laser-etched into the granite as well. Limestone and concrete walls surround the memorial.

The flags of the allied nations (Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, Thailand, and South Vietnam)
who fought in the Vietnam War alongside American troops are flown at the memorial.

While all 50 states have memorials to the Vietnam War, the one in Mississippi is
unique in that engraved photographs from those memorialized are also displayed.

As we strolled around the grounds, we came upon the Tullibee Memorial, installed in recognition of the sacrifices of the nation’s submarine veterans. The Tullibee was lost after leaving Midway on 26 March 1944. The sole survivor and witness reported that the boat sank as a result of “a circular run by one of Tullibee’s torpedoes.” (If you’d like to read the story of the Tullibee, click here for the words etched in the center panel of the memorial.)

79 submariners lost their lives when the USS Tullibee went down in 1944.

Detail from elements of the Tullibee Memorial.

Left: The main mast from the retired Nuclear Cruiser USS Mississippi (CGN-40) honors Navy veterans.

Right: Memorial dedicated to the submariner’s wife. On the back are etched the words:
”This Memorial is dedicated to our wives and the hardships they went through
as they served with us.”

Our next stop took us to the L&N Depot. Formerly a passenger train station built in 1907, the building now houses the Chamber of Commerce. Our stop here was two-fold: to browse the weekly “Fresh Market” and also get tips on not-to-miss places on the walking tour. Turns out the market didn’t hold much of interest for us, but we did get to park at the Depot for free while we went on our self-guided walk around town.

“rusty art” is always good for a shutter click!

The handy-dandy walking tour map of Ocean Springs focuses on the many shops and restaurants that line the streets. There’s something to cater to every taste. But we weren’t there to eat … or to shop. We were there so Mui could get his “people-fix” and I was there to search out and photograph murals.

We must be “dope’s” since we didn’t buy any of the soaps sold at Queen’s Bath!

This post will go on forever if I don’t split it into two segments, so I am going to skip the murals — at least most of them — and the cultural center where we ended up spending far more time than we thought we would, and continue on with our post-lunch touring.

A quiet spot on the grounds of the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center makes a
great spot to rest and enjoy our packed-from-home lunch.

In researching things to see in Ocean Springs, I had come across mention of the not-to-be-missed murals at the Community Center. These are no ordinary murals, mind you. Painted by Walter Anderson, they cover an entire room. The one-page brochure describes them as “…completed in 1951 and valued at more than $30 million, cover nearly 3000 square feet [278 m²]. The images depict the discovery of Ocean Springs and the beauty of the coast’s flora and fauna.” These I had to see!

Turns out that we almost didn’t get to see them. The Community Center, and the adjacent Walter Anderson Art Museum, were being set up for a fundraiser and no visitors were being allowed in. Luckily, we were given a chance to take a peek and a couple of quick snapshots. All I can say is WOW! What a place!

Sorry about the bar running through the bottom half of the photos. There was a protective barrier in front of the murals. Bad for photography, but I can understand why it’s there.

Too bad the restroom door wasn’t incorporated into the mural.

After leaving these priceless murals behind, we returned to the L&N Depot, picked up the car, and drove over to the Biloxi Bay Bridge. But before we crossed over the bay, we detoured to Front Beach Road for a look see. The locals had come out to enjoy the sunshine and warm afternoon on the beach. Deciding to take a page out of their book, we parked the car near Fort Maurepaus Park and strolled towards the pier at the far end of the road. A wide pedestrian/bike path made for a leisurely 30-minute walk. Our reward — a couple of fearless great blue herons that were perched on the railings hoping one of the fishermen would drop them a little snack!

Of course, I could have stayed on the pier for the rest of the afternoon, never tiring of the photographer-friendly GBH. But Mui convinced me that I had enough photos already. When we drove away this time, we did go over the bridge and across the bay to Biloxi.

The plan was to drive straight home … but that was before I spied a tree sculpture on the Biloxi Town Green. Of course I had to stop and photograph it. We’ve seen quite a few tree sculptures on the US-90 median between Gulfport and Biloxi, but I have to say that these varnished/painted sculptures carved from trees destroyed by Hurricane Katrina did not have the same impact on me as the Katrina Angels did (post here).

Tree sculpture carved in July by Marlin Miller; painted by his wife.
The turtle's shell carving utilizes concrete that was poured into the
trunk years ago to minimize water damage to the tree.

As I wandered around, looking for the best angle to photograph the tree sculpture, my eye was caught by a mosaic mural and a black granite wall. Curious, I walked over to check it out and scored another bonus for the day by stumbling on the Biloxi Katrina Memorial. It was built in partnership with Roy Anderson Corp and the ABC reality TV show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

The Katrina Memorial consists of a mosaic wave, a granite wall, and a sculpture
encased in glass. The granite wall is 12 feet (3.5 m) high, about the height of
the water during Hurricane Katrina's storm surge at the Town Green.

The names of the Katrina victims are etched on the wall.
The glass-encased sculpture consists of personal keepsakes donated by Katrina Victims.

When we got in the car this time, we really did head home ... arriving just in time to gobble down a sandwich and head to a free screening of Zero Dark Thirty in the temporary theater set up in the SeaBees Museum. The movie is the story of events leading to the capture of Osama Bin Laden. Probably not everyone's cup of tea — and I could have done without the four letter words bandied about — but we found the movie interesting. And to boot, we finally got to see the one-room museum that we'd tried to visit earlier during our stay!

The Comforts of Home in the Springtime

"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort." ~Jane Austen