Brookgreen Bruce Munro Installation

Outside Night of a Thousand Candles, visitors to Brookgreen experience the gardens during the daylight hours. This installation from internationally known artist Bruce Munro allows visitors a unique opportunity to immerse themselves into the nighttime environment of the gardens. The exhibit is arranged in different areas of the garden creating a series of interconnected "rooms." Each space is illuminated with fiber optic lighting.

The first room, Water-Towers, consist of mason jars stacked into pillars that slowly change colors. 

The second room, Time and Again, occupies the lawn in front of Pegasus and features radial disc 

After Pegasus you enter the main part of the gardens and are able to wander around, discovering the various installations within the walls. 

Lights illuminating the gardens

Room 3, Hive, in the old Kitchen Bell Tower, complete with the sound of buzzing bees. 

The frogs, Okonjima Choral Society, (sorry we'll get a better picture next time). This was really cool, and possibly Jackson's favorite. The eyes blinked randomly and the sounds of the real frogs in the marsh croaking creative an immersive experience of light and sound. Johanna and I were able to help assemble these frogs and laid out the grouping in the front of the photo as volunteers back in March. 

Room 5, Fireflies, consisted of fiber optic points of light at ground level. This was the weakest part of the exhibit, especially if you have seen the Oak Allee at Christmas time. 

Room 6, Field of Lights, was by far the most impressive exhibit. Over 11,000 individually placed orbs illuminate the Arboretum in an field of colors that slowly change with time. 

Another view of the lights and some fancy camera work by Johanna. 

Ben and Jackson enjoying the lights. 

Spring reopening

We had another couple over for drinks this past Friday. For us it was the ceremonially breaking of the ice if you will. They are from a bigger out-of-state city and were in town visiting her parents. The invitation was extended, followed by the long pause of hesitation. Was this a safe idea? As it turns out some social interaction, with appropriate distancing, is just what we needed. We chatted away on the patio while Jackson ran around the yard playing. What a beautiful Spring we are having this year.

It is said the air has become drastically cleaner over some of the largest cities in the world. People in the Indian city of Jalandhar can see the Himalayan mountains in the distance for the first time in 30 years. While we might not notice cleaner air here, I have noticed the quietness. It is almost jarring to hear a commercial airliner pass over now. That is not to say it has been all quiet, but rather different noises have filled the air. Noises I would rather hear, like neighbors saying hello as they pass on the street or the sound of my son’s laughter as he explores our yard. I am also hearing neighbors working in their yards and tackling those dusty to-do list. The birds have been talking a lot more lately. Without us drowning them out maybe they are catching up with friends as well. 

None of this is to say that real suffering doesn’t exist right now. There is much financial and political uncertainty out there. If we allow ourselves to be sucked into the news, we can believe this is the worst of times. I’ve seen too much grace over these past many weeks to believe that. As things begin returning to the “new normal” as it is being called, we have many decisions to make as a community.  Some are practical changes, slight changes in behaviors, but others I feel will take much longer to work out. As our friends left in proper Southern style, invitations were extended to come try this storied barbeque joint near their house in Memphis. 

We accepted without hesitation.