Paper the Walls

Plum Orchard is a mansion on Cumberland Island, built in 1898 as a wedding gift for George Lauder Carnegie and his wife Margaret Thaw. It is actually Georgia's largest historic home. And oddly enough, there are no plums grown on Cumberland Island. 

Anyway, in the 1960's the house was given to the national park service as a gift from the Carnegie family, along with several other tracts of land in it's transition into a national park and seashore. The park service owns and operates the mansion today. It is open to the public and a wonderful gem to explore on the island. 

I love old houses, specifically for all the details of design. Still preserved on the walls, are the beautiful, faded wallpapers from the turn of the century.

I love all the intricate details in these papers. They are so soft and delicate in design. 

Here is the handwritten signature of the man who installed the original wallpaper, almost 120 years ago. This was uncovered while doing renovation work a couple years ago. 

Did you know there are actually wallpaper historians out there? And a wallpaper history society? Well, sign me up!

Hungry Eyes

Bandit

Meet our resident raccoon here at Serendipity. He's a sociable little fellow if he thinks you have food. Here he is, caught in the act trying to sneak onto the porch for some leftovers. Silly Bandit, I have no food for you! 

Loony Luna

Luna Moth

The ever mysterious Luna Moth, pictured here on the porch ceiling of Serendipity. (Serendipity is the name of the house I live in here on Cumberland.)

FACT: Luna moths are one of the largest moths in existence, with a wingspan up to 4.5 inches.

FACT: Adult luna moths don't eat, in fact they don't even have a mouth. They only live for about a week, with the only purpose being to mate. 

FACT: This picture contains my two favorite colors, lime green and turquoise, together in beautiful harmony. :)

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actias_luna

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/luna_moth.htm  

Night Moves

Full Moon and a Headlamp

Photo Recipe: You will need a tripod, a slow shutter speed, and an LED headlamp. Set your camera to a 30-second exposure (more or less, you will have to play around with the best time given your available light). After you click the shutter, run as fast as you can to get in front of the camera and move around with the light in your hand facing the camera. This is so easy for a really amazing result!