Less is more, it is good to edit!

I have been reading a lot about house photography, and one post really interested me. The writer mentioned staging a room for a photo shoot, saying you don't need to add things to a room, but instead it is better to take things away. Less is more. Just like writing, editing is the key. With fewer objects in the picture, or words on the page, the real story comes out. Wonder if that is true in life as well. Of course I believe it is, simpler is better, and direct focus on the important is more fulfilling than just stuffing life with, well, stuff.

We live in our homes, and fairly quickly we begin to not see, not notice how the home looks.  We become so attached to the beautiful items we bought on that special vacation, or the family treasures passed down from grandma, that we don’t see how cluttered the shelves and walls can be.  My daughter collects dolls, and she is attached to each and every one.  She displays all her dolls on her dresser, and there are so many unblinking eyes staring at me when I enter the room I see nothing else.  I wish she would choose a few special dolls to display at a time.

 Editing is hard; writers become attached to every word they lovingly place on the page.  As a photographer, I have a special attachment to each photo I snap.  If I shared every photo on social media, no one would ever take the time to look.  It is hard to edit, hard to put away.  Perhaps it is the same with our homes, hard to edit and hard to put away.  Just remember the goal in real estate is to sell the house for what you want and as quickly as you wish. A little editing now can make the outcome better. 

I plan to put this idea into motion not only for my real estate photography, my nature photography, and also in my day-to-day life.  Less is more.  Clutter is clutter, whether in life, art or work.

Fireflies in SC?

When I moved to SC a few years ago I was told that fireflies, or lightning bugs, were not found in the low country.  I have looked, I have been out walking and enjoying the back porch many evenings in the summer, and unfortunately have yet to see a single firefly.  I think the sad news is true, there are no lightning bugs in the low country.  Has this always been true?  I just assumed this was the wrong habitat, that perhaps it was too windy, humid or too close to an ocean.  With a little research I discovered that fireflies used to be seen here.  It seems that fireflies may be in decline all over the country.  I am not sure I can even imagine a world without them. 

No other image represents summer as well as sitting on the porch listening to the cicadas, watching lightning bugs, and watching children running through the grass trying to catch the small beetles.  Trees sparkled, grasses glittered, and summer was in full swing.  Summer began for me with my first lightning bug sighting, and I spent hours just enjoying the lights every evening. 

Fireflies are beetles, and they produce their lights chemically.  They are extremely efficient light producers, with 100% of their energy going to produce the light.  They loose no energy in heat like light bulbs do.  The light is produced as chemicals are mixed in the abdomen, and the main chemical is luciferase.  Scientists have copied luciferase and are using it to detect different problems in the body.  Like so many other medical advances, nature has shown the way.  

There are two places in the world where fireflies are synchronous, which means that entire fields of fireflies light in unison.  One place is in Asia, and the other is in the Great Smokey Mountains. 

The flashing of fireflies is used for communication.  These beetles are luminescent in all their life stages, from egg to pupae to larvae to adult.  The full grown beetle produces light, but not all adults flash.  The light may protect the more helpless life stages from predators.  Later as an adult the light helps the bugs find a mate.  In one species though, the light can actually be the false friend that lures a male firefly to his death.  The female of one species of lightning bug copies the flashing pattern of males in a different species.  He thinks he has found his mate, but when he gets close, she eats him.

All of this is very interesting, but if the firefly is in decline we have to do what we can to increase their numbers.  First we have to know why, next we can make changes.  Many theories have been tossed around, but perhaps the most likely is loss of habitat.  Fireflies like to lay their eggs in rotten logs.  The larvae eat snails and worms found in trees, or moist areas.  The adults need tall grass to hide in, and to mate in.  When we use fertilizers and pesticides we are impacting the firefly population and the snail and worm population they feed on.  When we mow all the lawn so neat and small, we destroy the habitat they need to find mates.  If we can let even a small section of the yard go natural, or at least a little less manicured, all of nature is helped.  In many modern neighborhoods the yards are perfectly trimmed, all leaf litter is raked up, and the poor lightning bugs along with their favorite foods have no place to go.  No wonder they are diminishing, and moving to less populated and controlled areas.  To me, the glittering of thousands of fireflies decorating the meadows and forests is much better than a dull carefully mowed yard with one tree and two token bushes.   With some creativity a beautiful yard and a wildlife friendly space can exist in the same space. 

Check out the following link to see how to create a yard that is wildlife certified.

Wildlife Certified

What is a Palmetto?

Welcome to the Palmetto State!  The palmetto is the state tree of South Carolina, and beautiful examples of this tree can be seen all across the state, lining the streets and gracing otherwise dull parking areas.  For many people the palmetto is the very image and feeling of the low country.  This tree is a monocot, which means it is more grass like than tree like.  Monocots include grass, corn, and palms and palmettos, and these plants do not produce hardwood.

Palm trees grow taller than palmettos, and produce a different fruit.  The trunks develop differently, with palms growing vertically and palmettos growing horizontally.  The palmetto produces berries, and the palm has a hard coconut for its fruit.  The palmetto is very important to the history of South Carolina, and for this history it is found on our state flag and is the state tree.

During the revolution, British war ships attacked the nearly unfinished Ft. Moultrie.  The front of the fort had been quickly covered with palmetto logs, which turned out to be a blessing.  The logs didn’t splinter when hit by cannon balls, but instead the soft wood absorbed them.  The British were repelled, and the Ft. was named after its commander, William Moultrie.  The Palmetto was added to the state flag in honor of this event.

Here in the low country of South Carolina, and especially in the Charleston area, one of the most popular home styles is the low country home.  The design is perfect for the heat and humidity of our area.  These homes are often built on piers for protection from flooding, and also to take advantage of the coastal breezes.  This home style features many windows and doors that can be opened to enjoy those cool breezes.  Another feature of this home is the wide large porches.  Before air conditioning this design was perfect to survive the heat and humidity.

The large windows let in lots of light and give this home design a connection with the outdoors.  The wide porches reflect the image of Southern Hospitality, providing a perfect place to sit, chat with neighbors and share a glass of lemonade or sweet ice tea.

The low country home began humbly as a one-room cottage, first in the tidewater area of Maryland and Virginia.  Because the style was so perfect for coastal regions it became popular all up and down the coast.  No longer a humble one-room home, it is now as large and elegant as any style.

Check out my real estate page, ShelleyHouseHunters.com to find this and many other style homes for sale in the area. 

South Carolina State Flower

image from hiltonpond.org 

The state flower for South Carolina is the Yellow Jessamine, also known as the Carolina Jasmine or trumpet vine.  This beautiful yellow flower blooms in early spring and has a strong fragrance.  When I smell this flower blooming, I know spring is coming.  The vine grows up trees, along power lines, over mailboxes, and if there is nothing to grow on, it seems to bush up and grow on itself. 

The Yellow Jessamine is found in all parts of the state, and that may be one reason it was chosen as the state flower.  Native Americans used a Jasmine extract to reduce cramping, deaden pain and to purify blood.  They warned though that swallowing even a single flower can cause death by paralysis.  This cheerful spring flower is highly poisonous, so be careful!

The alkaloids that cause all this trouble are also found in the nectar of the flower, and yet many bees and butterflies visit these flowers every day.  They pollinate the plant and drink the nectar without trouble.  This is a perfect example of a wild plant that is safe for at least some wildlife but is not safe for humans.  Just because a bee can drink the nectar doesn’t mean we should!