Ok, the title is not original but catchy, no? Sunday was the perfect day for a 1/4 day trip. We decided to head to Wadmalaw Island to the Ambrose Family Farm where you can pick 'em straight from the plants. One suggestion, call first to see if there are any berries to pick. We relied on their web site that said "open Sundays". When we got there a few cars were already there and we overheard a woman explaining that they were not really supposed to be open since the berries had been picked heavily during the week and the last few nights had been cool. (Pretty impressive run-on sentence wasn't it?) I guess that is why there were just a few small berries left to pick.
Well, sports fans, I was not too excited about driving 24 miles each way to be turned away. We were told we could go ahead and pick what we could. Well, it did not take but a few minutes for my 61 year old back to send me a couple quick messages. We were only picking for about 30 minutes and got almost 4 lbs. of teeny, tiny berries. You need to do this too. You will appreciate the food at your grocery store. Somebody has to work very hard to give us what we eat.
The berries were deposited into our cooler and we headed toward the gates. On our way, out we took some pics of the horses. We noticed that their front hooves were covered by something, maybe a moulded piece. We had no idea what they were for. I told my wife they might be used to keep squirrels from running up their legs. She pointed out they were only on the front hooves. Anybody know why they were there? I would love to hear your theory.
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On the way back we stopped at Church Creek and took a couple more pics. It is a lovely view, very peaceful and serene. I was surprised that Church Creek ran so far. I am used to seeing it as I go up Hwy. 61 toward the plantations. Does anyone know how far it runs?
On the way back to West Ashley we saw a sign for a Johns Island Park, Alan Flemming Memorial Park. I Googled his name and only found the Alan Flemming Tennis Complex. Can anyone give me more info on who Alan Flemming was? The park itself was quite nice. It had tennis courts, a soccer field, three baseball fields, benches, picnic tables and a pond. It was interesting to note that with all of that in one place the only facilities were port-a-potties. It would seem a permanent facility would better serve so many people. Maybe that is in the park's future.
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The rest of the ride back I was thinking of how good those little berries were going to taste. I was right, they were good. Well, gotta run. The berries are calling me. Ta.
Michael Kaynard is a local photographer who lives in West Ashley. His photos can been seen at http://kaynardphotography.webs.com. He can be reached at mkaynard@gmail.com or 843-412-2299.