Tea Anyone?

A few blocks from the office, I found this naughty tea rose, peeking through the picket fence and inviting passers by into the garden for tea.

We've had quiet a number of early bloomers in the rose families this year. The wild running whites are presently starting to bloom, as are blackberry canes. As usual, we are having a cool snap. There's always a cool snap when the blackberries bloom, here beneath the Carolina moon.

Posted by Dread, who looks forward to summer blackberry cobbler, and vanilla ice cream.

An Official Flower

Even though most of the blooms had faded and drooped on this Yellow Jasmine, the official, state flower of South Carolina, this wall of vine and few remaining trumpets were not to be passed up for the camera's eye. I hope to plant some Yellow Jasmine in my new garden. More on the new garden later. An official flower; that's about as formal as it get's here beneath the Carolina moon.

Posted by Dread, who's planning and scheming about the new garden spot.

Escapee

This wisteria seems to have escaped from someone's garden and tried to hide among the english ivy. Woops! The blooms gave it away!

I caught this in the edge of a wooded lot, next to the old city cemetary, where I took the pic months ago of the redtail hawk on the flag pole. You still are clueless as to where that is, but just suffice that it is somewhere, beneath the Carolina moon.

Posted by Dread before going to hunt lunch.

Old Neighbors

This azalea and old house appeared to have been neighbors for many years. With redevelopment creeping through the neighborhood, I don't know how long either of them have left. I'll enjoy them while I can.

It seems that the new yuppie owners moving into the area, like to strip out all the old shrub growth and relandscape. It's a shame to loose an old beauty like this one erh?

Posted by Dread who took this pic after sneeking out of the office early one day.

Three Things Certain; Taxes, the Flu, and Spring Azaleas

After wrangling with the IRS forms and writing Uncle Sam a fat check, I succumbed to a variant of the flu virus. It didn't kill me but it has left me feeling tired and weak. For the last two weeks I have constantly felt like I needed to go to sleep. I realized that I was missing the opportunity to photograph one of the most beautiful spring time cities of the south. So, as a small consolation, earlier this week, I took the digi cam from the office and rode around the immediate neighborhood and took a few snaps. I'll feature those here over the next few days.

I'm trying very very hard to stay away from politics and stick with the beautiful things here beneath the Carolina moon. Speaking of beautiful things; baby Davis with parents in tow is due for a visit to the upstate this weekender. Maybe I'll get pix.

Taxes didn't kill me. The flu didn't kill me. Azaleas are making life look up, and now a visit from the Davis clan. Life is good and looking up, here beneath the Carolina moon.

Posted by Dread, before leaving for work.

Room With A View

It was a dreary, cloudy, rainy day here, but this picture of the red bud tree just outside of my front door, seemed worth the camera shot. And, its a nice distraction from the dreariness of politics. This is one of the most beautiful subtropical zones in the world. I should share more of it.
I never have understood why this tree is called a red bud. There's nothing red about it. Just another small mystery from beneath the Carolina Moon.

Posted by Dread who is off to photo more local beauty.

Funny As A Four Eyed Frog

This article ran buried in Yahoo News yesterday:
"WASHINGTON On the campaign trail, Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have proposed cracking down on the predatory lending that they say helped fuel the foreclosure crisis.

Both presidential candidates, however, rely on close advisers who had oversight roles at financial institutions that went bust because of subprime loans.

Clinton's campaign manager, Maggie Williams, earned at least $175,000 serving from 2000-07 on the board of Long Island-based Delta Financial, which filed for bankruptcy last year after a history of high-cost loans to low-income borrowers, according to public records.

Obama's national finance chairwoman, Penny Pritzker, was chairwoman of the board of a Chicago-area bank in 1993 when it adopted a subprime business strategy that regulators say ultimately led it to collapse in 2001.

Superior's board and managers "ignored sound risk-management principles and failed to adequately oversee Superior's operations," the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) Inspector General concluded in 2002."

Come to think of it. This is not very funny. Neither are four eyed frogs.

Posted by Dread from beneath the Carolina Moon.