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Homes & Habitats
our neighbor lauren has been growing saffron for over 10 years. there is this patch of purple blooms that pop up out of nowhwere....right about now. last week I visited with her as she meticulously harvested each frond. saffron is harvested from the crocus plant. each flower produces about 3-4 fronds of saffron which shows you why this is the most valuable spice! thanks lauren for letting me chat saffron with you!
this is where we all learned to love dahlias. our friend mimi, and her late husband, gary, started growing dahlias a few years ago. it was the first place i ever saw mass quantities of dahlias growing, and i've been in love ever since. her place is a wonderful country drive away and down a red dirt road. the house and outbuildings are from the 1850's, when it used to be a 1300 acre plantation.
october is prime dahlia time, with blue blue skies to enjoy it in.
photos and words by rebecca wood
south carolina is in our thoughts with all the recent rains. we've had nothing near that, but it has been raining for days. the winds and weather have been most peculiar this weekend. i ventured out to the botanical garden during a late break in the weather, to walk along the rising red river. the mind blowing beauty i saw there and was alone with felt like church. i had to stop when i saw the river rising over the bank a few feet ahead! i hurried back along the shore to higher ground, blessed by beauty.
words and photographs by rebecca wood
this is an oldie but goodie photoshoot we did in the 'idea shack', a wonderful, mystical place i used to own. i loved it so much. full of solitude and mystery. we had so much fun arranging and shooting there!
photographs and words by rebecca wood
i have a husband and two sons who love visiting old forts when we travel, especially when we are along the coast...i used to reluctantly tag along, but then i noticed how beautiful they are, mainly because of their tabby (or cocina) walls...they have so much texture! plus, i do love many of the interiors as they were so utilitarian and simple...there is no fluff to them, just the essentials...
recently, we were in savannah and spent the day out at tybee island on the beach...we stopped off at fort pulaski on the way and explored...
photographs and words by rinne allen
i have really enjoyed following along with the gang from sons of sawdust on all of their fun adventures...if you haven't already, check out their instagram feed, as they chronicle these adventures in salvaging materials and repurposing them into tables and furniture...they are doing a great job of storytelling through words & pictures!
recently, i followed them for the day as they took apart an old schoolhouse outside of bishop, georgia. the owner of the building wanted to remove the building, but rather than just trashing it, he called in the guys to salvage what they could. there was lots of dust (and wasps!), but it was fun to watch them take apart the building, board by board. there was a beautiful patina to some of the wood, almost like milk paint, and a few remnants of the former owners remained like where they had scratched out a math problem on the wall or practiced their handwriting.
at the end of the day, the sons of sawdust guys hauled the wood back to their shop and will eventually turn it into furniture or they even had one request to turn the wood into flooring.
one of the highlights of the day was when a carriage pulled by two huge clydesdales pulled up and i was offered a ride around the neighboring fields...of course, i said yes!
it was a gorgeous day to be in the country!
words and photographs by rinne allen
a lady named pearl lived in this house from 1950 till she died in 1998. she gardened all the time. there's even a story about her visiting mt. vernon, and wrapping a pinched branch tip in a wet paper towel and putting it in her purse.
after she died, no one tended her gardens. plants got looted and depleted until all that was left was an old rose bush and a couple of phlox. i remember her front yard like it was yesterday. i remember seeing it in the early eighties and thinking it was my dream garden. her whole front yard was a riot of unruly flowers of all kinds, a mini meadow of chaotic, wild beauty.
the idea of that yard inspired me my whole life, and guess what? now i live there! i've been here a year, and the front yard is a riot of blooms. i am so happy to revive this yard! what a dream come true.
words and photographs by rebecca wood
this is a place i've been wanting to revisit for years. it's on highway 25 east in white pine, tennessee. it was crowded a few years ago, but now it is more so. a bit dark inside, with piles on top of piles of collectibles of all kinds: cookie jars, blue glass, teapots, china patterns of all kinds and glass of all kinds. thank god like things are all grouped together. after i got done picking out a few things, i asked the guy if he had any glass frogs. he said 'yep'. i asked if he knew where they were and he said 'yep.' i said do you know where everything in here is?, and he said 'yep'. you have to hold your breath and go sideways down the aisles. a sign stenciled on the wall out front says 'not responsible for accidents". go there sometime. pretty sure they have whatever it is you're looking for!
photographs and words by rebecca wood
i love visiting florence, alabama.
while i often go there to work (with my friends at alabama chanin), there is so much to explore. i had been to this frank lloyd wright house in florence many years ago, and was happy to visit again this weekend when i was with friends in florence.
the house was built by the rosenbaum family in the late 1930's and was the second 'usonian' house that wright designed. it is the only home in alabama that he designed, and one of just a handful in the south.
walking through a wright house is such a sensory experience; whether you like his architecture or not, his spaces give off a certain feeling that i really like because you are constantly aware of what is outside the house, or, at least i am. the proportions of his spaces are small and the ceilings are low, which forces your eyes toward the windows and the outdoors.
if you are ever near florence, this house is worth a stop because experiencing a wright house is such a rare thing in the south.
photographs and words by rinne allen
it's amazing what a few rains can do. with just a couple showers everything is bursting with green!
words and photographs by kristen bach
today's post is a guest post from our dear friend, fellow artist, and collaborator; hope hilton. thanks for sharing hope!
tucked away in birch groves and flora is a new addition to a fairytale home where claire clements lives and works. now with a much larger and light-filled studio, she experiments with even larger grounds, combining paper and pigment through trimmings, cuttings, collage, washes, layering, and the mixing of mediums. it’s such a treasure to spend time with someone who has made art for so long, as she has for over half a century. i feel very lucky to have a peek into her studio and process. enjoy!
words and photos by hope hilton
i've been going to edisto island since i was a teenager. it really hasn't changed all that much, due to strong zoning laws. mostly it's just beach houses, a grocery store, a place to buy fresh seafood and some restaurants. not much to do there but eat well, rest, and enjoy the fierce natural beauty!
botany bay is always on the menu, with it's miles of undeveloped beaches and wild marsh beauty. the sea is encroaching a small area of live oaks and palms,and when they fall to the ground they are finely polished to a brilliant white or silver by the sea. the sight of all those ghostly, uprooted trees is always a sight.
photographs and words by rebecca wood
saunas are no joke in the northwoods of minnesota and wisconsin. i have many memories of melting away in the sauna and then sprinting into the ice cold lake....and then head right back into the sauna. it's a fun activity for the cool summer nights.
our family cabin has a sauna that exits onto the dock. the smell of the sweet ceder walls brings back instant memories.
photos and words by kristen bach
my family has been coming to maine for 12 or 13 years now...my children love it, mostly because we are outside ALOT. we spend alot of time outside in georgia, but since this part of maine is cooler and (almost) mosquito free, they roam outside most of the day.
recently, we went to monhegan island with some old friends who also have children and we explored all day. we went to cathedral woods, a beautiful hike through the woods. along the way there were fairy houses on either side. a woman we met said that she had been coming to monhegan for forty years and the fairy houses (different versions of them, of course) have been here that whole time...needless to say, the kids loved it. while we have made fairy houses at home before, some of these took it to a whole other level. they were magical!
words & photographs by rinne allen
one day years ago a lady came to r.wood studio looking for work. she was 50 years old, but said she'd never had a job. she brought some pictures of her woodcarvings and the house she built with her. she's an old hippie who 'turned on, tuned in, and dropped out' in the sixties, and bought 200 acres of land in eastern tennessee. she started homesteading, building her house one room at a time (as needed), growing her own food, etc.
needless to say, i hired her on the spot!
since then i've been to visit the lady, lee, and her husband, john, a few times.
here's some pics of their amazing home...
photographs and words by rebecca wood
i've always loved carl sandburg's poetry, so on the way to the mountains i stopped at connemara, his home in hendersonville, nc. for the last 22 years of his life. he and his wife moved from michigan to the 248 acre homeplace in 1945, because his wife, paula, was a champion goat breeder, and she longed for greener pastures and longer summers.
the house sits high on a hill, surrounded by pastures and fir trees. there is no air conditioning, so all the shades are drawn to keep it cool. in the basement is the 'summer kitchen'. it's underground and feels like air conditioning! there is a lovely old sink under the window.
paula and his two daughters ran the goat farm, raised fruits and vegetables, raised rabbits and geese, had honeybees and a dairy going. they did all the manual work, leaving carl to write till all houses, and leaving him a cup of hot coffee with goat's milk and honey on their way out to work.
photographs and words by rebecca wood
in north carolina, near marshall, i had a great time going around hairpin turns among green hills searching for old tobacco barns and deserted houses. our last stop was to visit suzy and todd in their handmade house. it's only 10 x 15 feet,but has a huge yard and gardens,and old barn,an outdoor shower and an outhouse. it's a mini paradise.
photographs and words by rebecca wood
'tis the season to head to the beach and plant yourself next to some water. it reminded me of our last beach trip to the panhandle of florida... to fort pickens, right off of pensacola. the landscape there was minimal with white sand, blue water, and bare with the occasional live oak. a lovely sight!
photos and words by kristen bach
recently, i explored oconee hill cemetery...it is such a beautiful place. it runs along the river, tucked away in the shadow of the UGA football stadium. it used to be more open to the public; there was even a footpath cutting through it for students to traverse to and from class, but the path was closed due to a rise in vandalism. it is a shame, because there are beautiful monuments, large old trees and plantings, and, contrary to what many may think, a diverse group of athenians laid to rest here...
words and photographs by rinne allen
last week, i shared images from spring studio day at the brickhouse...this week i wanted to share a few more photographs from inside and outside the brickhouse...since we love it so!
words & photographs by rinne allen
