The Lure of Pawley's Island

I've been fortunate and very thankful to be able to take vacations at Pawley's Island, SC for alot of years now.    It is known as the oldest seaside resort in America.  The people there use a slogan which reads "Arrogantly Shabby" and it fits.  Rice plantations helped establish Pawley's in the early 1700's.You can visit some of the plantation sites along with the old slave cemetery ruins.  There is an island called Sandy Island where descendants of the original slaves who worked on the plantations still live.    It's just rich with history.   It also features Brookgreen Gardens.  It's a beautiful, large garden with a good sized zoo.  It's a sculpture garden and just amazing to walk through with large trees, flowers and plaques with witty and thought-provoking quotes everywhere.  You can also take several different tours through the land by trekkers or boat.  You buy a ticket and it is good for seven days.  I'd recommend everyone go there during their visit.  Across the street from the garden is a place called Atalaya Castle.   Anna and Archer Huntington built and lived in Atalaya.  This place is tourable in the Huntington Beach State Park.  The park is a great place for bird watching and taking hikes on quite a few trails.  You can get a sense of the richness of life that was once had by the people who were able to buy alot of land along the sea.  It must have been heaven. 

       The attraction of Pawley's Island is simplicity at it's finest.  There are still alot of beautiful,

natural sites created by the hand of God along with the touch of  man's handiwork.  The place is quiet, serene and able to make anyone stop and take note of what is around them.  Everytime I go, I never want to come home again....but so it is.   You can't always get what you what, right?  If that were true, the places we visit and enjoy for a short time in our lives would then become commonplace and not hold the same attraction they once did in our eyes and heart.  I'm just glad I've been able to go more often this past year to soak it all in. 

But while contemplating the beach area  - why will there be no more sea ? 

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (Revelation 21:1) .  That's strange to me and I don't get it. 

Anyway, here are some sites you might enjoy and some shots I've taken around Pawley's. 

                                                             http://www.townofpawleysisland.com/

                                                             http://www.brookgreen.org/

                                                             http://www.huntingtonbeachstatepark.com/Atalaya.htm

                                                             http://www.huntingtonbeachsc.org/

 

Buddy the Ball Python

I have this snake as a pet.  He's a Ball Python and actually makes a great pet.  His name is now Buddy.  When my sister and I first bought him to have as a display at work (we worked together) we named him Striker.   He was called that for a couple of years. Now that the company has closed and I have happily taken over the snake, I decided to rename him with a less vicious name.  I didn't want him living up to his namesake one day.  He did try that two times hence.  Once when I was feeding his mouse to him, he thought my arm was the mouse  ... and struck at me, but missed.  He had a wild look in his eye and tried it a second time as I was just walking past him.  That,  I'd have to say did unnerve me a little.  I've always had a respect and healthy fear of snakes, but never frightened by them.  That somewhat took me back a notch.  After the initial feelings got back down into my legs and my heart steadied, I was ok and understood the reason for the attack mode.  He just thought I was the mouse..hahaha.  One other time He tried that on me was when I was foolishly picking out his dead skin from his cage while he was sleeping under his log.  He woke up, thought my hand was a food item and tried to strike it.  I learned my lesson once again.  After those two times I have a larger awareness of letting sleeping snakes or hungry snakes lie, or at least make your presence known to them before rudely waking them up.   Isn't it like that with people too?  

The only real maintenance I've had to do with him is bathe him after he has a shedding.  Most times all of his skin will not come off in one piece so I have to soak him in warm water and gently roll back the skin when it becomes  hydrated enough to not hurt him.  You can tell he feels good afterwards.  The very first time he shed, it was a neat thing to see...his whole head with the eye sockets was preserved in one piece.  He's never had that since. 

He likes coming out at night to get in his water bowl, which is a dog water bowl big enough for him to lay in or on top of the rim.  After staying curled up in a ball in his log all day, he gets the kinks out and really stretches out at night, full length alot of times.  He also has a heat pad under one corner of his cage he seems to enjoy. 

Now he is probably close to a little over 3 feet long and a few months over 3 years old.  He is one gorgeous snake in my opinion when I've compared him to others I've seen at a reptile show. 

Most people hate him and do not want to be around him in the slightest bit.....I'm always reminded by some that snakes are of the devil. But are they really?  God created them, put them in the original garden...but this one particular one just had to step out of bounds and do a little tempting.  Shame on him, look how that was the beginning of  our world being cursed and messed up.  That's also the same with people.  As long as you stay under control of who made you, you'll do just fine.  Maybe I'll get lucky and my snake won't become demon possessed.

Here a few of my favorite photos of my lovely snake Buddy:

You can view more of him at: https://picasaweb.google.com/109432205887032176317/StrikerBallPythonFebruary2008#

There are also  a few videos of him devouring his meal there.  Enjoy!!