Good Shepherd School House

One of the joys of my hobby, photographing local scenery and wildlife, is learning more about the community and area I live in.  Because once I photograph it, then I have to learn about it and do some research.  I have learned the Georgia Coast has a very rich history and lots of it!  Don and I were riding around one afternoon, I had been tormenting him about going to Clayhole Swamp Wildlife Management Area, so he finally agreed.  He knows he won't win the argument: So it is best to just agree.   Anyway as were traveling down Pennick Road, this little building caught my eye.  I slammed on the brakes and flipped a U turn.  I am famous for U-turns, but I still catch Don off guard once in a while!  Anyway...The Good Shepherd Church was founded in 1894 and this Parochial School House which is right next to the Church was established in 1902.  It is located right on Pennick road in Sterling and was founded by the first Black Deaconess in the Episcopal Church.  Anna Ellison Butler Alexander was born in 1865 to recently emancipated slaves from the Butler Plantation in McIntosh County.  She founded the church in the rural community of Pennick along with this school house which was originally one room and later expanded into two rooms with an upstairs loft where the Deaconess resided.  She taught children in the community to read - by tradition, from the Common Book of Prayer and the Bible.  She ministered this community for 53 years and traveled through Brunswick to Darien on foot to teach at St. Cyprians church.  She passed away in 1947 and was buried on the property in front of this school house.  She left behind a legacy of love still felt in this community. 

 

One of the things that amazed was Don was born and raised in this area and he was totally unaware of this little treasure.  I guess we are all guilty of taking our surroundings for granted and not really thinking about the history behind them.  That my friends is why I like to share with you, The Beauty That Surrounds Us.   

My Saturday Morning "Me" Time

As most of you know by now, I like to take off in the wee hours of the morning on the weekends to watch the sunrise and watch the world wake up.  A sunrise bring me inner peace and relaxes me after a busy week.  This morning I took off for Jekyll Island.  Jekyll is my favorite nearest faraway place.  When are the tourist are still in bed that is.  Not that I have anything against tourists, I'm glad that they enjoy our little Georgia Jewel.  But it is very difficult to charm the critters or capture that serene moment on Driftwood Beach with people every where.  So, I came on to the island and hooked a left at the round about and the first thing I see is this little happy family of locals:

Mom

 

Dad

Baby

How perfect is that to start your day.  They were just strolling along the edge of the trees nibbling on leave and grasses.  I was able to pull over on the shoulder of the road and watch them for a long while.  If every one had been up and moving about; some one would have surely blew the horn at me or sped around me and scared my new friends.  After they wandered off into the woods to find a cool place to lay down I moved on to watch the sunrise.

I stopped at the Jekyll Club entrance to the beach and started out.

 Peace and Tranquility

The beautiful early morning light even made my poor old pick up truck look pretty! 

From there I moved on to Driftwood Beach for a few moments:

The beach was surprisingly empty and quiet.  All I could hear was the sound of the waves coming in against the rocks...and the Dora F as she was out there running her shrimp nets.  I was able to capture quite a few good shots of her.  I love watching the old boats and it is amazing how all the birds appear out of nowhere when the nets start coming up.

And although this sweet little red balloon adds a spot of bright color along the edge of the water, this is not a good thing.  I know people like to release balloons at their wedding and they always seems to get away from small children, but the are also very hazardous to sea life.  Especially the sea turtles that nest on the island.  They can mistake the balloon for food and ingest it causing life threatening problems for them later.

And I wasn't completely alone on the beach.  There were many fiddler crabs

and these other creepy insects.  I'm sorry I don't know what they are, and I'm not a big fan of bugs.

I left Jekyll Island and headed south on Highway 17 toward Woodbine.  The further south I drove the foggier it started to get.  Before I knew I was in a heavy fog bank.  Which by the way can make for some awesome photo opportunities.  I came across another family, the turkeys!  They were along the roadside feeding in the high grass.  Unfortunately, fog doesn't make for the best turkey pictures.

But I had fun watching the hens trying to keep the chicks in line, I think she said she had enough of this and headed for home down the dirt road.

I shall wrap this up for now.  I hope you don't mind me sharing some of my "Me" time with you.  I'm all about sharing my experiences after I have had my quiet time.  Until next time, be safe and remember to enjoy all the Beauty that Surrounds Us.

Georgia Shrimp Boats...Working Art in Motion

Well, it feels as if we are into the dog days of summer and it is only the first part of July.  We should be totally deep fried by August and then burnt to a crisp by the end of September!  In all honesty, I prefer this to snow...this girl can't handle the cold anymore.  Well enough of that, I was trying to think of a topic for today and as I was coming over the Sidney Lanier Bridge I saw a few shrimp boats heading out for the day and I thought that's perfect!  I love photographing the old wooden shrimp boats.  They have personality, if they could talk; the stories they could tell:

This photo was taken probably eight years ago or better when the Brunswick City Dock was full of the shrimp boats that helped build the culture of Brunswick.  This particular bunch of boats caught my eye because of the first one...the Himroid.  Which is how I feel about my husband's boat and it isn't a shrimp boat or any near as big!  The Himroid sank in the Brunswick River not far from the Sidney Lanier Bridge.

       

 The photo on the left is an old one also of the Dock behind Knights Seafood.  I don't believe any of these three are still in service.  The Sunrise shot is in Darien and I am happy to say I have seen both of these boats recently.

 This is a shot of part of the shrimp fleet in Darien.

This boat The Mary B was once owned by Jeff Brannen and was named after his wife Mary.  Mary had asked me a few years ago to photograph this boat and it seemed I could never find it while it was out working.  Then this spring I was out on Jekyll in the early morning and there she was.  I met Mary's son at one of the festivals and he bought this picture for his Mom.  I later found out that Mary passed away that night after a hard battle with cancer.

On that same morning I also was able to photograph this boat the Gambler as it passed by Little Cumberland Island.  The Gambler is currently docked in Woodbine, Georgia and is still currently shrimping.

Here is the Miss Harley shrimping of the coast of St. Simons Island.  She is no longer in service.  The other is the Kevin and Bryan along the shoreline of Jekyll Island, they came in so close I thought I could climb on board.  The Kevin and Bryan is docked in Darien and I believe it is still in service.

 I find the wooden shrimp boats very interesting, a piece of working art.  I find it very peaceful watching them heading out in the early morning.  I realize it is a lot of hard work for the people that work these boats.  This one is the Hard Times heading out past Jekyll.  I think the name says it all.  The price of fuel going up, imported shrimp running the prices down, high cost of insurance and the long hard days can make for some Hard Times.

And all to often they meet their demise, some times just wear and tear, the carelessness of others, the victim of unseen sandbars or they fall prey to the ocean....

 The Sunhippie was originally out of Key West, Florida but wound up on the hill in Brunswick to be scuttled.  She looks as though she put in many years of service.

 

The Capt JW was at the dock, when another boat came in and pushed against the pylons and she sank and was later stripped down of all valuable parts and she eventually wound up in the same heap as the Cobia shown below.

  I was told at one of the Art Shows, where I get to meet many of the people who work and own these boats, that the Captain of the Cobia had a heart attack, wound up running aground and passed away.

This last one is All that Remains of the south end of Jekyll of the shrimp boat the Marianne.  Well, this is just a small collection of some of the shrimp boats I have photographed.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Keep the shrimpers and their families in your prayers and remember friends don't let friends eat imported shrimp.  Wild caught sweet Georgia shrimp Only!!