Magnolia and Moonshine | Summer 2024

706.987.9486

counci studio.co

211 13th t., olumbu , eo gia

Publishers: Katie Waldrep & Leslie Anne Jones

Managing Editor: Cara D. Clark

Content Editors: Leslie Anne Jones & Joan McLendon Budd

Layout & Design: Denise DuBois

Advertising Sales: Taylor White

Ad Designer: Haylie Rivera

Social Media: Ivey Evans

Contributing Writers, Photographers, & Stylists

Katie Waldrep

Cara Clark

Leslie Anne Jones

Mary Dansak

Marian Carcache

Jennifer Kornegay

Bryan Hendricks

Sally Anne Sessitte

Lauren Finney Harden

Tristan Cairns

Jason Thrasher

Eliza Daffin

Brit Huckabay

Sean Fresh

Lee Hurley

Robbie Payne

David Hay Jones

Ben Humphrey Arden Jenkins

Summer 2024 • Volume 3, Number 2

Magnolia and Moonshine is a product of Magnolia Greene, Inc. in Seale, Alabama. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @magnoliaandmoonshine

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Summer on the farm is idyllic. It’s hot — there’s no question about that — but you find beauty in the remarkable ways you see nature at work.

Looking out over the fields during a day when it keeps getting hotter, we see the animals taking up positions to battle the heat. The horses stand head to tail to swish the flies away, and the cows crowd under the trees to find the best shade or wade into the pond to cool themselves off.

In everything, nature is making a way.

But our favorite thing to see is a magnificent bald eagle that has taken up residence at the farm. It soars above the property with a wide wingspan, casting a gliding shadow on the ground. We see it poised high in a tree, with the distinctive white head giving away its position. It’s really exciting when we see two — we’ve always heard bald eagles mate for life.

It’s a true gift to see one living at the farm, and it reminds us of the freedoms we enjoy in this country — freedoms we take time to celebrate on the Fourth of July as a reminder of our nation’s founding. Sometimes, we do that with a tasty Southern crawfish boil — a one-pot dish filled with crawfish, shrimp, corn, sausage, and potatoes. And lots of spice. We invite a bunch of people to enjoy all these fresh flavors by the lake or the pool. That’s summer supper at its finest.

In this issue, you’ll see how we set the table for a Low Country Boil and welcome new and old friends. We also talk to a Texas hat designer who created a line of handwoven hats for fashionable events or sweltering days. You can also read about a Tennessee small-batch creamery that whips up fresh Southern flavors in their ice cream and Kentucky celebrity Chef Damaris Phillips, who shares a recipe for a true Southern staple, banana pudding. We study the fine details of a North Carolina chair designer and explore the beauty of Nashville’s finely preserved Cheekwood Estate.

We also take you out on the water — fresh and salty. A Georgia conservationist explains the ins and outs of alligator hunting, and a Mississippi shark expert takes a deep dive into tiger shark research — two jobs that aren’t for the faint of heart.

Join us on another journey through the South, and we’ll kick back a bit and enjoy our front-row seats to summer’s wonders.

Katie Waldrep & Leslie Anne Jones Publishers Magnolia and Moonshine MagnoliaandMoonshine.com

On the Cover: A Georgia-born band, The Castellows is selling out shows as sisters

Ellie, Powell, and Lily Balkcom embark on their first tour.

Photo by Ben Humphrey

Goodbye, City Life: A designer and architect duo exchange the frenzied pace of L.A. for a bucolic Tennessee village.

Leiper’s Fork: A Tennessee Must-See

Family Seat: A gift from the heart marked the beginnings of a North Carolina bespoke chair business.

Texas Trendsetters: Kristin Light and her bestie Katy Bader design Sissy Light hats for fashion-forward function.

Mermaids mythos at Weeki Wachee Springs

Check your SPF and MYM (mind your manners) for a perfect beach retreat.

Chillin’ out with fresh flavors: Hattie Jean’s Creamery in Tennessee celebrates tastes that resonate with Southerners.

Choosing Joy: For Damaris Phillips, cooking is an expression of love, creativity, and imagination infused with Southern flair.

Relish the Ritual of a Low Country Boil.

Pastoral Preservation: Nashville’s historic Cheekwood, built with native limestone, is a cityside oasis.

Trolling for Summer Fun: Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s giant trolls are on display for the Summer at Cheekwood.

The Comfort of Classics: Fort Worth, Texas,-based Lila + Hayes brings fresh designs to children and adult apparel made from the softest Pima cotton.

Forgotten Alabama: Former videographer Glenn Wills takes note of abandoned points of interest throughout the state.

Primal Pursuit: Georgia alligator expert Dan Forster pioneers hunting season to control a growing population.

Analyzing an apex appetite: A Mississippi shark expert takes a starring role in the Shark Fest predatory pageant.

Hey, Soul Sisters: Castellows trio has swirled up from Georgia like a hurricane from the Gulf, taking audiences by storm.

Raise a Glass: Georgia distillery Soldier of the Sea was born as a tribute to those who serve.

Southern Essentials Mama Said, ‘Go outside and play.’

GOODBYE, CITY LIFE

A designer and architect duo exchange the frenzied pace of L.A. for a bucolic Tennessee village.

Story by Jennifer Kornegay

Good interior designers create spaces that are lovely to look at. Great designers create spaces that are lovely to look at and highly functional, using furnishings, fixtures, and square footage in efficient and effective ways. But the designers who create spaces with soul are on another level. And it’s not their spirit they pour into a room; it’s the personalities and passions of the people who will live and work there.

Brooke Giannetti strives to be in the third group, and with a philosophy rooted in helping clients not just design an aesthetically pleasing and meaningful space, but a life they love, too, it’s safe to assume those who’ve worked with her would enthusiastically place her there.

While her approach to design has always balanced style with a place’s and person’s story, the implementation of this idea has evolved, as she and her architect husband Steve have created homes for numerous clients over 40 years. Steve’s career is what called her into interior design in the first place.

“I really started doing interiors because I was married to an architect; I didn’t have any formal training, but he was adamant that I not get any,” Brooke says. “I design from my gut, from a place of emotion, and he didn’t want that to get watered down.”

Brooke started helping Steve with his projects when the couple lived in Los Angeles in the 1980s, and she started a blog –Velvet and Linen — about their creative endeavors and their life in the 1990s.

“It got a good following, and it was there that our design journey and our life journey became so braided together,” she says.

This merging of their work and personal personas continues

nterior designer Brooke Giannetti and architect husband Steve work together crafting beautiful homes to reflect the occupants’ tastes inside and out. After years living and working in the fast-paced city of Los Angeles, California, the couple felt a call to the South. The picked up lock, stock and barrel and moved to the charming hamlet of Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee where they now live in a fabulous cabin and own a small town shop with timeless taste.

today, now via Patina, the overarching brand that has grown alongside the couple’s 2022 move from the city life in L.A. to a more thoughtfully-paced and nature-centered existence on a 100-acre farm, Patina Meadow, in little Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee. Patina blends the duo’s design tenets, their farm experiences, Patina Home and Garden shop (in the town’s old general store), and Brooke’s books about it all. “When we decided to move here, I never thought of all this unfolding this way,” Brooke says. “It’s been very organic.”

Brooke’s hallmark look is also a mix, an amalgamation of all she and Steve love.

“It’s worn leather and wood, old gilt pieces, French, Swedish, and English antiques and classical architectural elements all melded together; we call it Patina style,” she says. It’s built on the idea that natural materials only get better with age and the notion that the years also imbue them with stories, stories they then add to any space they grace with their presence.

“And the space itself has its own story, so we’re adding layers to it all,” Brooke says.

Mother Nature is often a muse too. “The history of a place or structure inspires us, but most of our design is also influenced by a connection to the earth and nature,” she says. “We always want to connect interiors with exteriors and pull the outside in with colors and textures.”

The things Brooke and Steve hold dear obviously resonate with others. Patina has proven successful, but, as Brooke, stresses, it’s not only about what they love. It’s her goal to uncover what a client loves and what they need — the form and function that will fit their lives.

“When we talk about story, part of that too is the story of the people we are designing for. It’s both how they see their life now and how they want it to be,” she says.

Pointing back to the emotion that drives her design, Brooke says her goal is to, “create rooms that evoke feelings. A lively space, a calming space, whatever tells the story they are imagining.”

Sometimes, Brooke and Steve help write a love story.

“We recently did a really romantic project in Nashville,” she says. A wife had sketched the house of her dreams, and her husband, without her knowing, reached out to Steve, who drew up a formal plan.

“He’d already bought a lot, too. And he took her there, and Steve met them with the plans for her dream home on big boards. It was a huge, sweet surprise,” Brooke says.

The house is now done, and Brooke helped the owner search all over to find just the right things to fill it.

“I helped her select every item for the house, but that house doesn’t look like mine. It’s hers, and that’s the biggest compliment we can get, when a client walks inside and says, ‘This feels like us; this feels like home.’”

Design projects remain rewarding, but Brooke is relishing the role of the shop and farm, too. “When we got to Leiper’s Fork, we wanted to connect to this community, and the people who owned the building asked us to open a store,” she says. “It was a great opportunity to offer our take on design and is allowing us to marry our style with what is important to the people here.”

The sunshine-soaked interior of Patina Home and Garden holds a curated array of beautiful things for the home: natural linens, candles, lamps, glass and ceramic tableware, pottery, art, and antiques.

“They are our favorite way to recycle, and they bring their own story to every space,” Brooke says.

In addition to home decor, there’s a small farm stand inside the shop where eggs from Patina Meadow’s hens and local and healthy food options, like olive oil cakes and fresh-baked sourdough loaves, are sold. The shop also hosts classes teaching canning skills and workshops demonstrating mocktail and herbal tincture recipes.

“We’re delving into the homesteader lifestyle and ways of preserving that are being lost,” Brooke says.

The Giannettis are enthusiastic about welcoming people into all Patina is, inviting visitors to browse and shop but also simply hang out.

“We want everyone who comes here to take it easy, to relax and reflect on the philosophy we’re sharing,” she says.

For those who can’t make it to Leiper’s Fork, Brooke offers some advice for “designing a life you love.”

“It starts by discarding the things (that we all own) that we think we should have in a house or that we’re supposed to love,” she says. “Let that go and think about what feeds you.” Encouraging others to walk away from comparison traps and find their authentic style is wisdom Brooke and Steve have lived.

“We realized we were not happy in our lifestyle; we thought we were supposed to have this, be in this perfect neighborhood, and on and on,” she says, “but I realized, I wanted gardens. I wanted animals. Find what it is you want, and how you and your family want to live — not what is ‘in style’ or ‘on trend’ — and let that drive your choices. It’s about discovering what brings light to your days, and that’s what we help our clients do, create spaces for their moments and memories.”

A Tennessee Must-See

About 30 miles south of Nashville, Tennessee, Leiper’s Fork is a tiny but true treasure. Surrounded by gentle green hills, this historic hamlet sits on The Natchez Trace and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. From its beginnings in the early 1800s, it grew into a thriving farming village, largely unknown outside its own residents and somewhat forgotten in the second half of the 20th century. In the 1990s, it was rediscovered and underwent a renaissance.

Today, the multiple late 19th century buildings and houses lining its main street are home to art galleries, antique stores, boutiques, coffee shops, diners, cafes, and more. These offerings and the serenity inherent in the town’s idyllic countryside setting continue to draw new residents and visitors.

Leiper’s Fork’s many charms worked their magic on architect and interior design duo Steve and Brooke Giannetti. The couple fell under its spell when helping a client design a home in the area.

“We just love the area’s natural beauty, the artistic spirit here, and the entire community,” Brooke says. “We really wanted to be a part of it, so when the owner of a building in the heart of town asked us about opening a store, we were thrilled to do it, and the result is Patina Home and Garden.”

In addition to a diverse array of home goods, décor, and gifts, Patina showcases a love of music.

“Steve has an extensive collection of musical instruments, all these amazing guitars with rich history,” Brooke says. “They’re hanging on the wall as a focal point of the store, and anyone who wants can come in, grab a guitar and start playing. It’s a pickers’ corner, and it brings such joy.”

There are plenty of opportunities to spark smiles in Leiper’s Fork. Brooke shared a few favorites:

Leiper’s Creek Art Gallery: Lisa Fox has curated a beautiful collection of artworks in a relaxed setting. She and Amy Smith, the gallery director, are always welcoming.

Fox and Locke: Come for the Southern flavor of their food and stay for an incredible concert. Thursdays are open mic night with up-and-coming artists as well as surprise visits from Grammywinning artists.

David Arms Gallery: A small barn reflects David’s view of the world as a backdrop to his artwork.

The Country Boy: Fill up on classic Southern cooking at a part of the village for decades.

Leiper’s Fork Distillery: This small-batch distillery creates premium whiskey and bourbon

relying on local ingredients in a restored 1829 log home. The distillery tour and whiskey tasting are great ways to spend an afternoon.

Hank’s Coffee: This fueling station is located in Patina’s courtyard. Owners Joshua and Savannah serve coffee and tea drinks with homemade pastries.

Props: Set aside some time to explore the antiques, collectibles, and locally made goods here.

Moo Country: Find something special among the cowgirl-glam-style, curated clothing at this boutique.

Wines in the Fork hosts a lovely tea right in the creek with teas, wines and a selection of delicate finger sandwiches, scones, biscuits, and beautiful artisan pastries.

Leiper’s Fork Lawnchair Theatre: This rustic building and stage was built using cedar logs and boards on the property behind the Leiper's Creek Art Gallery. It’s a perfect place to kick back and relax or catch a concert or family-friendly movie.

Photos by J. Wilkinson Chair

Family Seat

A GIFT FROM

THE HEART

MARKED THE BEGINNING OF A NORTH CAROLINA BESPOKE CHAIR BUSINESS.

Story by Lauren Finney Harden -

In 2014, Jody Chaffee gave her daughters and daughter-in-law a monogrammed antique chair.

“I did a lot of refinishing and things like that back in the day,” she says. “We gave them the chairs on Christmas morning, and I always joke that I gifted it to them as a way of giving something they couldn’t give back.”

Surprisingly to her, the women loved the chairs, as did their friends, as did Jody’s social circle. After gifting her granddaughters similar new chairs in 2017, her daughters, friends, and family stepped in

and told her that she had the seeds for a business.

A consummate entrepreneur — this is the third business she’s built — Jody has worked across a variety of businesses and industries including highend consignment, interior design and logistics, even owning a UPS store, a skill that would prove to come in handy.

“A lot of female entrepreneurs helped me along the way. I figured I’d continue until there was an obstacle I couldn’t get over, around, or under,” she says.

Fortunately for her and the brand’s devoted fans,

Jody powered through and launched J. Wilkinson Chair Company in 2019.

“My only goal at that point was to sell one chair,” she says. “Turns out, we sold more than that.”

J. Wilkinson Chair Company is named in honor of Jody’s maiden name.

“It helps me remember where I came from and the people who taught me the meaning of family,” she says. “Our chairs can go in the most traditional homes, but also in a modern urban loft,”

The line’s tagline is “timeless monograms, modern style,” which speaks to not only Jody’s point of view but also her customer demand.

Jody is based in Greenville, North Carolina, with production centered in High Point. The experience begins online, with customers designing their dream chairs. First, customers select the collection and frame style. Then, they move on to designing the chair, choosing from multiple finishes, performance fabrics, monogram styles, and monogram thread colors.

“We encourage people to call us if they have questions,” says Jody. “We love a good oldfashioned phone call.”

Most of the fabrics offered are performancebased, as these chairs are not just beautiful but are also designed to function — and last. Monograms are done in high-density stitching so that they feel

lush and have the benefit of reinforcement to stand the test of time. If necessary, additional fabric can be added to stabilize, especially if the monogram is on the seat of the chair.

“They’re very usable,” says Jody. “They’re more durable than they appear — think of all the old linens out there being used. The monograms are often in better shape than the fabric they are stitched on.”

Jody sits on one of her chairs every day in her office and has for the last five years.

Once the order is placed, the chair frames, which are imported from Italy, are finished in the warehouse. The fabric panel then is cut away and sent to a monogrammer, where the pair oversees every single monogram closely.

“Every single monogram is different, and it’s our job to make slight adjustments to make sure that the interplay of the letters and everything works on the fabric,” says Jody.

Next, the upholsterer places the monogrammed panel into place, either on the front, back, or seat of the chair, which can be a meticulous process.

“Visual centers are not necessarily mathematical centers, so we have to have a good eye,” says Jody of each painstakingly placed design, “A quarter of an inch can make a big difference.”

“We are tweaking each one to make it the

most beautiful and balanced,” says daughter Anne Crawford, who is the head of marketing and design for the company. “We are always measuring, measuring, measuring, adjusting a little bit here and there. It’s very specific.”

Customer service takes on a new meaning at the company.

“We’re small and nimble, and we can really make whatever you want, make it work,” says Jody. “That might include using fabric a designer wants in a room scheme or customized head chairs at a wedding as keepsakes from the big day, such as one they did recently.

“The mother of the bride was the florist for the wedding,” Anne explains. “She and the bride loved a Schumacher print which was used on the tablecloth and linens. Mom helped them precisely match the green from that fabric for the green in the monogram on the chairs.”

After the nuptials, the possibilities are endless, such as head chairs in a dining room, or accent chairs in a hallway.

“Our customers can say that these chairs were at their wedding 20 years ago, and it’s really special. Imagine sitting in those chairs hosting Christmas with your children and grandchildren and being able to tell them those same chairs were at your wedding so many years ago,” she says. “Our chairs become a daily reminder of one of the most special days of your life.”

There’s even a youth chair which can include birth dates or monograms on the back, or even designs from the nursery.

As one can imagine, a key part of the business is logistics, and Crawford emphasizes how important her mom’s experience in complicated logistics has been in building J. Wilkinson Chair Company, which is collected for personal homes and often given for housewarmings, graduations, and to celebrate entering the workforce.

“It wasn’t glamorous, but the shipping aspect is one of the hardest parts of the business,” she says, although the two are most tickled when they get to deliver chairs personally. Chairs can ship across the country via white glove delivery whether going direct to a client or to a receiving warehouse for a designer who works with the brand’s trade program. Besides being in line with brand values, white-glove service allows for less damage, and every detail is taken care of in line with the heirloom quality of the chairs, including the removal of discarded packaging.

Every detail has been considered at J. Wilkinson Chair Company, which is no surprise to those who know Jody.

“Everything my mom does is memorable, including these chairs,” says Anne. “They give you a sense of joy, purpose, and intention. It’s a full circle moment for her.”

Find them at jwilkinsonchair.com.

ith J. Wilkinson Chair Company, home owners behold the beauty of their own creations choosing fabric and monogram styles to reflect their personal tastes and to complement any decor in their home with a charmladen keepsake piece.

Photos courtesy of Sissy Light

TEXAS TRENDSETTERS

Kristin Light and her bestie Katy Bader design Sissy Light hats for fashion-forward function.

Story by Cara Clark

In the Lone Star state, summer is as much a force of nature as a season, with scorching rays baking the plains, parching the foliage, and softening the asphalt to a sticky sizzle. The air shimmers with heat, distorting the horizon in a hazy mirage that seems to stretch on forever. Those not sequestered with air conditioning or finding a spot of shade are generally seeking relief under some the brim of a hat — maybe a sweat-and-dust-stained Stetsons for cowboys working herds more listless than lively.

But some hats are designed to provide a reprieve from the

heat while adding a certain flair to the wearer’s ensemble. That’s where Sissy Light comes in. Her hats transition from arid plains to salt-soaked beaches and take with them a sense of sangfroid that transcends to glam. It’s the sort of hand-fashioned style that could only be conjured by two fast friends swirling concepts and sipping fine wine as a scorching summer afternoon cools to a still-stifling evening.

So it was when best friends Kristin Light and Katy Bader were shopping for home décor at an exclusive Texas enclave, Round Top, during the spring gathering of antique dealers, designers, and collectors. The small Central Texas town, known for hosting one of the most extensive interior design shows in the U.S., has also become an acclaimed fashion hub.

“It was raining during this show in 2017, and all of these cute Houston girls came in with these really cute hats,” reflects Kristin, owner of Sissy Light and a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, California. “We’ve never really been big into hats as fashion, but that suddenly made us want to go out and find a fun hat.”

After canvassing stores all summer on a quest for the perfect, “cute” hat, the exasperated friends were mired in a Goldilocks fable dilemma — too big, too small, too low, too bright —nothing off the rack fit well or looked just right.

“Back then, hats hadn’t made a big splash in the fashion industry yet, so we came up with the idea to buy from a few designers in New York and have huge pop-ups,” says Kristin, a Uvalde, Texas, native. “I think everyone was excited. They’d never seen anything like so many sizes and styles. Things went really well, and we quickly started designing our own.”

The two kept in mind that the fall show at Round Top — when Texas temperatures run much hotter than the spring at a steamy 100 degrees — was the target for their debut. The shade of a stylish hat brim would be most welcome at the event, something New York designers didn’t seem to grasp.

Instead of curating hats, Kristin and Katy found a manufacturer in Ecuador. They set to work on customizing a high crown, perfecting fit options (Kristin, a medium, and Katy, a small), and stylizing the silhouette. After coming up with a few styles they loved, the duo debuted the Sissy Light line at the Round Top Fall show of 2021 and have based their

business in the elite spot, population 91 souls.

“We launched our whole first collection of seasonal products during the show, and we established our biggest customer base there,” Kristin says. “Round Top is a great place — It’s like magic being there with all these people antique hunting and finding treasures. There’s something wildly fascinating about being there because you never know what you’ll find.”

Kristin, whose husband comes from a ranching family, has three boys and spends much of her time outdoors, inspiring the functionality of her hats. When they’re on the family property, Kincaid Ranch, a vast cattle and horse breeding operation in Southwest Texas, hats are standard garb.

“I also love the beach,” Kristin says. “I grew up in Port Aransas, Texas, on the coast visiting there every summer. My dad’s a big fisherman. We wanted something that would translate from Western outdoors to the beach. We married the concept of both of those things to create something we would want to wear at the ranch and then at the beach.”

Using textural, organic sea grass, Kristin and Katy came up with a crown and brim that feels Western, but with the handmade designs, the hats translate equally well to the shore.

“It’s fantastic that each one is handwoven,” she says. “Our hats are timeless and suited to anyone of any age. We’re known for our color — we’re very particular about that.”

Sissy Light’s line is predominantly made up of natural tones with some punchy color combinations. The Le Wknd hat, fashioned from palm fronds, comes in color duets with contrasting grosgrain ribbon edging in brighter blues and greens. There’s even a classic black with khaki trim — classic and versatile.

“A lot of people like neutral tones because they can wear their outfits with color and are able to wear hats with anything,” Kristin says. “We have scarves you can interchange, which is a beautiful way to pop things up another level.”

The hats are also known for their field straps, and Kristin says one of her favorite ways to wear the hat is hanging down her back. Having that stylish

After a shopping excursion when she couldn’t find any hat that fit well or looked right, Kristin Light set about designing high-end hats in a variety of sizes to accommodate different tastes. She liked the higher crown, something she couldn’t find from other designers. As the brand grew, more styles and a pleasing palette of colors followed. Photos Courtesy of Sissy Light.

touch makes it convenient on a day outdoors with cloud shifts and changing conditions.

Kristin is constantly coming up with ideas for cording — a bright turquoise that pairs perfectly with chunky turquoise jewelry or a peppy pink that adds a candy pop of color. The ideas sprout from her interior design background — she styled the décor for Katy’s Round Top boutique hotel, The Frenchie. One of the palm print wallpapers she chose for the house is echoed in a hat scarf. With that inspiration,

Katy is working on garment pieces to add to the Sissy Light mix, which includes a stylish round carrier — designed to be lightweight, fit into an aircraft overhead bin, and make a memorable fashion statement.

“When you carry one around the airport, people chase you down to ask where you got them,” Kristin laughs. “They’re so functional

and fit up to three hats, and we like to put in swimsuits and sarongs so when you land, you’re ready to hit the beach — even if the airline has lost everything else.”

An obvious question — what prompted the name? It’s become a touch point inspired by Kristin’s husband’s affectionate nickname for her, Sissy, and as people have gotten to know the brand, the name is a resonating subject with customers.

“It’s kind of become my overall nickname with everyone now, and it’s the coolest thing,” Kristin says. “I will say everyone has a Sissy story — a Sissy in their lives. So it’s been very relatable and lots of sweet, sentimental city stories from everyone else, which has been fun, too.”

Find Sissy Light hats and accessories at Sissylight.com.

To accommodate the beautiful hats she designed, Kristin Light created the Sissy Light carrier, a lightweight woven basket that’s perfect for the overhead bin on a plane. It’s that accessory that someone is certain to ask: “Where did you find that?”

Courtesy of Sissy Light.

Photo

Photo by Kelli Boyd Photography X The Southern C

Photo Florida’s Adventure Coast

MERMAID MYTHOS AT WEEKI WACHEE SPRINGS

Story by Mary Dansak

There is a place where mermaids swim in a crystal-clear spring, where you can watch them up close from a fish’s point of view, where magic and childlike wonder reign supreme. For 76 years, these mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs have enchanted visitors day after day, without pause, 365 days a year.

You may have heard of the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs. For many, these words conjure a nostalgic memory of roadside attractions, once a staple of the quintessential American family vacation. Florida, a destination for tourism ever since Ponce de Leon’s quest for the Fountain of Youth, was once home to a host of quirky venues like the Atomic Tunnel, Casper’s Alligator and Ostrich Farm, and Cypress Gardens. Sadly, most of these attractions are long gone, gobbled up by interstate travel and Disney theme parks.

The mermaid show at Weeki Wachee Springs not only survived but thrives as a central attraction in Hernando County, otherwise known as Florida’s Adventure Coast. This is, in large part, due to the foresight of donating the venue to the state of Florida in 2008 at which time it was incorporated into Weeki Wachee Springs State Park.

“While a mermaid show is not the typical state park attraction,” says John Athanason, tourism marketing specialist for Florida’s Adventure Coast, “the state of Florida recognizes mermaids as part of its unique culture.”

The mermaid show at Weeki Wachee Springs is a one-of-a-kind experience. Sinking a 400-seat theater into a first-magnitude natural spring would never get past today’s necessary environmental regulations.

The only theater of its kind in the world, it affords

viewers the opportunity to see a natural spring from 16 feet below the water’s surface, something most would never otherwise experience. Add in visiting fish, turtles, and manatees with the limestone rock and cave formations in the background, and the mermaid show begins to feel more like a state park exhibit, showcasing the state’s natural flora, fauna, and geology.

And of course, there are the mermaids. Performing daily, the mermaids, and a few mermen, or princes as they are called here, glide behind the 4-inch glass partition with smiles on their faces, tails gracefully swishing, eyes wide, engaging the audience with their friendly myth-worthy presence. With an obvious lack of any SCUBA gear, the mermaids appear quite at home underwater, as if they have gills. In fact, they breathe in compressed air from inconspicuous air hoses which they keep by their sides, sometimes incorporating them into their dance moves. Placing the hose into her mouth, a mermaid releases just the necessary amount of air using a small lever.

That specific quantity of air depends on what she’s doing, which is more than just supplying oxygen to the bloodstream. These mermaids control their buoyancy with the air in the lungs in a similar manner to the way fish control their spot in the water column with swim bladders. Mermaids inhale and exhale as part of their choreography, breathing in to twist and turn, and breathing out to descend to the depths.

Watching the Weeki Wachee mermaids swim about in this gorgeous, natural spring, many dare to dream about adventuring beneath the surface.

John, present for mermaid auditions, explains, “You don’t have to have a dance background or be an athlete. Being a mermaid isn’t about the color of your hair or the size or shape of your body. The most important thing is you must be comfortable in the water.”

Future mermaids are required to pass a grueling endurance test, which includes swimming 400 meters in 16 minutes. This eliminates about half of the applicant pool, according to John. For those who pass, the next step is to go into the springs for some simple ballet maneuvers like back flips. John reiterates that this part of the audition is not about mastering these moves, but at showcasing their apparent comfort level underwater.

From there, applicants sit for an interview on land.

Once hired as a Weeki Wachee mermaid, the training begins. Mermaids must master the rules of diving, becoming SCUBA certified as well as learning how to breathe through the air hose.

“I wanted to see the springs and the props myself, firsthand,” John laughs. “I got SCUBA certified, then thought, ‘Let me try this air hose thing.’ I couldn’t do it! I worked at it for over an hour and gave up.”

In addition to learning the technical aspects of manipulating their breath and the air hose, mermaids must memorize and execute dramatic routines and choreography in a challenging environment. With no weights or gear, these athletic swimmers are dancing, acting, and diving in a first-magnitude spring, where 175 million gallons of water gush forth each day from the mouth of a cave, just a few feet in diameter, 75 feet below the water’s surface.

The deepest naturally occurring spring in the United States, water flows from Weeki Wachee’s aquifers out to the river at a steady rate of five miles per hour. For comparison, most lazy river attractions flow at one to two miles per hour. While this current is an excellent natural prop for flowing hair and swishing tails, mermaids must continuously adapt to the water’s movement, and resist its steady push.

They also contend with the cold water. At a constant 72 degrees, the water is more than 20 degrees below a human’s body temperature. With the mermaids completely underwater during their performances, the shows are capped at 30 minutes.

“Anything longer than 30 minutes can lead to hypothermia,” explained John.

Of course, not everyone dreams of actually becoming a mermaid. For those wanting a mere taste of the mermaid life, Weeki Wachee Springs offers mermaid camps.

As well as a Junior Mermaid camp for kids ages 7-14, Weeki Wachee Springs hosts “Sirens of the Deep,” a two-day mermaid training camp for adults. This class is taught by the Legendary Sirens, veteran mermaids who performed in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s and reunited more than 25 years ago to celebrate Weeki Wachee Springs’ 50th anniversary. Over the course of a weekend, mermaid-curious adults can fulfill their mermaid aspirations, learning how to swim while wearing a mermaid tail and performing popular mermaid moves in the spring’s basin.

Women, and a few men, come from all over the country to participate in this adult mermaid camp.

“All eight sessions of Sirens of the Deep sell out within the first hour that we post them,” according to John. If you are disappointed to have missed out on the 2024 offerings, you can download the “Friends of Weeki Wachee” mobile app to stay informed of upcoming dates.

The mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs have delighted Florida’s visitors and residents alike since their introduction in 1947. In this rapidly changing world, Weeki Wachee’s mermaids offer a chance for multiple generations to delight together in oldfashioned, time-tested entertainment.

To learn more about the mermaids and explore activities such as kayaking and paddle boarding, visit Weeki Wachee Springs State Park’s website www.floridastateparks.org/WeekiWachee.

To become a professional mermaid and perform in the one-of-a-kind underwater theater, mermaids undergo grueling training and plunge into frigid waters to perform for crowds as they have done for decades. The timehonored tradition was once witnessed by Elvis

Presley. Photo Florida’s Adventure Coast

Feeling fishy? If you’re seeking the perfect gal pal trip, it would be difficult to one-up a trip to Weeki Wachee Springs, where sold-out camps train would-be mermaids to control their breathing and buoyancy in the crystal clear waters. A theater sunken in the springs gives visitors the perfect underwater observation point to view the swishing, which is supervised by former professional mermaids who have entertained guests from around the world since the park’s inception in 1947. Photos by Brit

Huckabay.

If you’re packing up the kiddos and headed for the seashore, be sure to include your manners in that over-laden beach wagon. Plenty of exhausted parents got up early in the morning to choose a prime spot on the shore, and it’s best to keep lurid song lyrics on low volume so everyone can enjoy the sea, sun, and sand — lots of sand.

Check your SPF and MYM (mind your manners) for a perfect beach retreat.

By Sally Anne Sessitte

Summer in the South. It’s hot and wet so we … go to the beach — where it’s so hot and wet that folks put bags of ice into their pools to cool them down. If it doesn’t make sense now, you’ll understand at around 4 p.m. on your first beach day. The best feeling in the world is that afternoon cocktail and pre-dinner shower on slightly sunburned skin. The best sandwich in the world is that mid-day ham and cheese with Doritos on white bread. We may never know if it’s the cold bread or the Duke’s mayo or the magic of the beach. We just know it’s the best. Folks come from all over the world to experience our beaches, and we are happy to share. Here are a few ground rules to ensure we are all on our best Southern beach behavior.

1. Beach Baggage: We get it. We do. Buying beach gear is fun, and we know a Southerner loves anything that can be monogrammed. Ask yourself if it takes more than one wagon for your family to get the gear down to the beach. If you require a cup holder to ensure your cup doesn’t touch the sand, a blanket to ensure your hiney doesn’t touch the sand, chairs, and tables to ensure your food doesn’t touch the sand, towel clips, portable fans, floats, a tent … you are actually a pool person. If all these apply, plus you hate crowds and hate the heat, you are actually a mountains person. Give yourself a moment to adjust and remember God loves you just the way you are.

2. Beach Cup: This is a personal decision for a Southerner. You might have a Frost Flex that lets the ice in that jalapeno margarita melt juuust right. You might have a YETI that holds a gallon of sweet tea and the nugget ice that you drove 30 minutes to get. From solo to Stanley to Styrofoam with a lipstick stain, your beach cup is your extremely personal choice. No judgment.

3. You are not the view: Please do not set yourself up directly in front of another group — no matter how cute you are. Those tired-looking mamas set their alarms and made their kids eat Lunchables for breakfast so they could get to the beach at 7 a.m. and set up. Do not saunter down to the beach at 11 a.m. and park yourselves in front of them.

4. Coverup Rules: Southern moms are known for requiring a coverup anytime you’re walking more than 30 steps. In other words, if you are headed somewhere other than the water, put on that coverup. Whether it’s a fabulous designer caftan if you’re at Sea Island’s The Cloister or a tasseled T-shirt (you know who you are), this is just a good

idea. The beach is like the grocery store — you are going to see someone you know. You’ll be more comfortable chatting with your youth pastor or your boss’ wife if you’ve got a little something over your suit. Mom was right.

5. Music and Sunscreen Spray: Your music and your sunscreen spray must stay within your towel area. Don’t blame the wind for what you did. It only takes one mouthful of glittery peach-coconut-spray-SPF 100 or one child sharing Cardi B lyrics with Nana at dinner to understand the importance of this rule. The same rule applies to aggressive towel-shaking.

6. Community Property: Tailgate rules apply to beers, cooler drinks, and sand toys. Once you bring these items to the beach, they belong to the beach. If your beach-neighbor’s child is melting down at 3 p.m., pass over that capri sun and a green plastic shovel. Same rules apply if the mama a few towels away needs a can of wine. I have seen a group of moms hand over an entire picnic lunch when a group of redheaded toddlers a few towels down revolted and stripped off their turtleneck swim shirts. You know you’re doing it right when that cooler is close to empty on the walk back to the condo.

7. It is all good: A rainy day at the beach is better than a sunny day at home. Your mama already told you that if you can’t say something nice, hush. This is especially true at the beach. No fussing. You might be sitting next to someone who has saved all year to be here for the week, or who is making their first trip without a loved one. In the South, the beach — as with most things — is really about the people and the community we create.

To share your thoughts with Sally Anne, email sallyanne@ magnoliaandmoonshine.com.

CHILLIN’ OUT WITH FRESH FLAVORS

Hattie Jean’s Creamery in Tennessee celebrates flavors that resonate with Southerners and are truly fresh — don’t expect strawberry on a winter day.

Story by Mary Dansak

With choices on the menu like Bourbon Cherry Pie, Nana Puddin’, Buttermilk Chess Pie, and Mulekick

Coffee, it sure feels like we stepped right into a meat-and-three in an old-fashioned downtown. Don’t expect any fried chicken on your plate, though. These are some of the ice cream flavors offered at Hattie Jane’s Creamery, home of the South’s premier craft ice cream and quintessential Southern scoop.

This community-driven, richly nostalgic yet brightly modern take on the old-fashioned ice cream shop is the brainchild of Claire Crowell, founder and CEO of Hattie Jane’s Creamery.

“It’s not what I envisioned myself doing as a child,” she admits. “I was shy, quiet. I thought I’d work with animals, maybe be a veterinarian. Or a writer.”

Serendipity has its way of putting us in unexpected places, and through her work with her family’s restaurant in Columbia, Tennessee, Claire found herself in a position to open up shop herself. She decided to try her hand at ice cream.

“‘It’s only one food, how hard can it be?’ I thought,” Claire confesses. “It turns out, it was hard.”

With absolutely no experience in making ice cream, Claire found herself immersed in a strange new world of food chemistry and entrepreneurship. Gathering the right team was the necessary magic ingredient she needed to pull off this vision. Amidst mechanical failures and rapidly melting ice cream, Hattie Jane’s grand opening — doubling as an Elsa-themed birthday party for her then 3-year-old daughter and the shop’s namesake — heralded the arrival of a new ice cream shop in town on July 1, 2016.

Now with four physical locations and a fifth on the horizon, the success of this ice cream venture is established. Its success might even inspire the question, “What is it that’s so special about this ice cream, this store, this concept?”

The answer is simple — locally sourced, fresh, seasonal ingredients are the key to the exquisite taste of this ice cream. Hattie Jane’s rolls out flavors as fruits and other ingredients are at their peak. This becomes controversial when strawberries aren’t in season, as fans of this popular flavor must suffer without their favorite ice cream until the strawberries are perfect.

“When we make strawberry ice cream out of season, for promotional pictures, for example, we’re surprised. It doesn’t taste at all like our seasonal strawberry ice cream tastes,” Claire explains.

While taste, texture, and creative ice cream flavors of the ice cream are essential, there’s more to the success of Hattie Jane’s than the frozen treat. Claire, born and raised in Tennessee, brings

a dose of nostalgia to the store. It’s a deeply embedded part of herself, rendered from summer afternoons on the porch outside her father’s country market in Leiper’s Fork, where she and her siblings ate freshly churned peach ice cream from her family’s Mennonite friends who sold their produce there. It’s a feeling of happiness, molded by family vacations to the beach, always seeking out the best ice cream in town, and returning there year after year. It’s the tingling memories and affections for afternoons when folks gathered at the family’s country market to “swap lies and tell tall tales,” as her father put it.

Local artist Matt Jenkins, who painted the store’s mint and coral mural, rays emanating from an ice cream cone in a nod to Nashville’s iconic Hatch Show Prints, sums it up nicely.

“There’s some true-blue Americana stuff going on at Hattie Jane’s Creamery,” he says. “It’s in every detail, including the shape of the tagline below the ice cream cone in the mural. When you look closely, you see “Ice Cream Makes Me Happy” is written as a smile. And if you stand centered for a picture, your body replaces the word “Me” in the mural. It is an exquisite attention to the little things.

Matt’s observation brings Claire’s laughter. “My childhood, living in a small town in Tennessee, parents owning a country market, embodies Americana. And now, what can be more Americana than an ice cream shop?”

This overarching appreciation for the richness of the traditional South shows in Claire’s opinion

Founder Claire Crowell named the ice cream chain for her oldest daughter. After the first shop, its popularity was apparent, prompting growth to three other locations.

The

truly a

strawberry ice cream at Hattie Jane’s is

seasonal pleasure. Made with fresh-picked berries, that particular flavor is only available when the strawberries are on the vines, but you can choose a classic — Madagascar bourbon vanilla, minty chip, brown butter pecan ...

of her workforce.

“I love teenagers,” she said. “They’re savvy, they’re hard-working, and they keep you young.”

Claire recalls her own days as a working teenager as integral in shaping her values. She appreciates the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the young people who work at Hattie Jane’s.

Claire’s enthusiasm extends to her customers as well.

“I have a happy customer base. No one comes to get ice cream and leaves unhappy.”

Her favorite customers are grandchildren who come in with their grandparents, a timeless, ageless tradition that crosses all social boundaries.

As the business expands spirally, with more locations in the works for Tennessee, plans include moving into the corporate concierge gifting service offering a fresh take on client thank-you gifts and welcome parties.”

For those who aren’t in the vicinity of one of the four Hattie Jane’s Creamery Tennessee locations in Columbia, Murfreesboro, or Nashville, the company ships to all states in the continental United States, with ice cream kept perfectly chilled on dry ice and delivered within 48 hours.

To learn more, meet the team, see the current flavors, or order ice cream, visit hattiejanescreamery.com.

CHOOSING JOY

For Damaris Phillips, cooking is an expression of love, creativity, and imagination. She infuses each dish with Southern flair, adding a soupcon of sass and a dash of comfort to every bite.

Story by Cara Clark, Photos by Donnie Phillips

When Damaris Phillips steps into the kitchen — on a television set or at home — the atmosphere transforms into a whirlwind of color, laughter, and flavor as she works a cutting board with precision and flair. If you’ve tuned-in to Food Network, the celebrity chef has likely popped onto your screen with Southern effervescence — blonde, bubbly, irrepressible. With the roll of the eye, the flash of a smile, the lilt of a laugh, and a feeling that anything is likely to happen with her on set, she brings a sense of the delightfully incorrigible to shows on which she regularly appears, including Beat Bobby Flay.

When Damaris works with food – it’s a feast for the senses, a celebration of life’s simple pleasures. The winner of the 2013 iteration of Food Network Star developed an outgoing nature as a way to stand out as one of five siblings while growing up in Louisville, Kentucky.

For the saucy chef, “comfort food” takes on a whole new meaning. Food is synonymous with home and a deep sense of contentment — that all’s right with the world. It means more than feeding the body — it’s about nourishing the soul.

“My mom and dad cooked a lot, and there was a real feeling that there wasn’t a lot of extra,”

she says. All of our needs were met, and a real feeling of peace and comfort came from having a stocked pantry.”

With a sizable family, dining out wasn’t the norm, but she derived the greatest sense of well-being at the dinner table with her beloved family.

“When I was young, mom was a brilliant woman with a lot of children and a limited budget, but she was able to plan really well so that you didn’t feel that. I remember that feeling when we had gone to the grocery store on a Saturday, and everything was put away. It just felt like there wasn’t a care in the world.

“That’s what food feels like for me — what a stocked pantry feels like or a freezer full of foods that I’ve put up through the summertime. It means everything’s going to be OK. We have what we need to come together to have a good time and take care of people.”

That feeling is deeply ingrained, and cooking for her husband or friends is always a soul-satisfying endeavor.

“I have a genuine feeling that the ability to feed people — and more than just the food they need but providing that feeling of comfort and community that makes them feel taken care of.”

Shaping a Chef

Damaris’ family ran a funeral home, which impacted her perception of the world, her inherent tendency to look to the bright side, and her fearlessness in embarking on an adventure — a path that led her from a comfy, secure job to a brightly lit, fast-paced celebrity.

“You see people on the worst and hardest and saddest day,” she recalls. “It reminds you that there is a life to be lived. It reminds you that we get this one shot at life, and we might as well have a story at the end of it. And my parents raised us to figure things out and to have confidence in ourselves.”

Damaris sees how her heritage — a mom from West Virginia and a father from North Georgia — has shaped the way she approaches ingredients. Her cooking reflects those influences: “a kind of Appalachian influence, but it’s by way of West Virginia.” She attributes her skill in large part to her mother’s patience in teaching her how to cook.

“My mom realized she was going to have to slow down a little, but once she taught us, we could do it. My dad was big on cooking, too. He also really wanted to eat the same things on the same day. We had hamburgers every single Saturday of my life growing up — every single one. I think it also helped with meal planning and with grocery shopping.”

That tradition included Sunday brunch — never a deviation from the meal plan — until one day … the English muffin. When the bread store had a deal on the English muffins, they showed up on the table and caused a kerfuffle.

“There’s a joke in my family,” she says. “Sunday rolled around, and there we were eating English muffins. I looked at my oldest brother, and he said, ‘When I came into this deal, we had biscuits and gravy every single Sunday morning.’

“That was the deal he struck. We laugh about it to this day — you can say when I came into this deal … and the whole family will know what you’re doing.”

As staidly determined as he was to have the same meals each day, Damaris’ father was equally determined to open his children’s minds to different cultures — and even foods in the world. Tofu was often on the table at a time when it was uncommon.

“It was a very important thing to my parents that we were able to worship with all people — they wanted us to be able to see the commonality with people’s religions and to have a bond with that,” Damaris says. “On Wednesday nights, we would go to a Hari Krishna house in Louisville and eat vegetarian food. That’s not like a traditional upbringing in a small, Southern/Midwestern town.”

Damaris’s entrée into the entertainment world wasn’t a conventional one either.

“I didn’t feel like I had access to that world,” she says. “If I had been a phenom or somebody so wildly talented people couldn’t deny it, maybe there would have been people saying, ‘You can go to Julliard,’ but that’s not how it was. I had a practical sense that I should get a job and went to college for lots of different types of work.”

When she was 18, Damaris began working in restaurants or some form of hospitality — coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, from front-

The Food Network star doesn’t always perfect her dishes. If she has a culinary mishap, she tosses it out for the opossums. “Our neighbors probably think we’re crazy people, but I’ll be like, ‘Well, they don’t like green beans. Good to know.’”

of-house to cooking. That led her to Food Network where she studied on-air cooking and thought, “I could do that.”

She suddenly knew she wanted to go to culinary school — attending classes for half of the year and working in restaurants the other, gaining insights into the nuances of an array of cultural and regional food.

“I felt like you needed to work in restaurants in all these different cities to know what different cuisine looks like all over our country and better understand the food you’re making and the reasons you’re making it,” Damaris says. “I understand Southern cuisine better because I look at what is made in the Midwest or on the West Coast. It just made me better.”

Taking Center Stage

With her skills honed like the blade of a chef’s favorite knife, she also sharpened her focus to be one of those Food Network chefs, going to open casting calls for the first Food Network Star, and one day, when she least expected it and had settled into a steady job with great benefits and an enviable work-life balance, she got the call. The steady rise to stardom seemed inevitable, but not easy.

“I think you have to work your craft in a way that you love and there’s no doubt it happens differently for literally every single person,” Damaris says. “What I’ve learned about all the people who are on the network or do entertainment in the food world is that they have worked their craft, and we all have different paths to that. But nobody has skipped the working on the craft.”

The audience responds to her light-hearted humor and unfiltered joviality. She also brings lively banter and a well-trained palate to judging tables, making it apparent why she’s become a favorite on-camera pro cook.

“I’m just being myself — being goofy or quirky or not thinking about how I’m coming off — just taking down my guard and being myself and finding that incredibly liberating,” says the selfdescribed nerd. “I have the luxury of having a job that celebrates that. That is a real gift.”

That amalgamation of thoughtful and cheerful also makes her celebrate her time with fans who enjoy the unfettered and spontaneous way she approaches life and the culinary world.

“My compass is typically pointed towards joy, not because I only want to experience joy, but because pain and grief will find us, and it is inevitable. But what you have to work for is joy. You don’t have to work to be upset; you don’t have to work to be sad. I get to be a reminder that people have the choice for joy.”

Following her parents’ example for the children, there’s no doubt she has it figured out. She’s even figured out how to transition to a vegetarian lifestyle. It was important to her when she and husband Darrick Wood married in 2015 and committed to a vegetarian home.

“There was just no way that I was going to be in a relationship where we ate different things,” Damaris says. “I knew that very early on, and it was a real discussion that we had to have when we started dating. I realized we would never have turkey on Thanksgiving, and I would change a lot of meals that I had grown up with. It took some adjusting, but I decided it was no big deal.”

Setting up Supper Club

Damaris and her business partner, Chef Coby Ming have worked together on and off for years and set about finding a way to celebrate the harvest of Kentucky and the growers and the farmers in the state. The result was The Bluegrass Supper Club, which began in 2019 and quickly transitioned from hot food to fabulous picnic baskets when COVID was a worldwide game changer.

“We also wanted to get to cook food made by myself and Coby and our two employees — something special and significant we could be part of,” Damaris says. “I genuinely love cooking, and I genuinely love the art and the creation of cooking with Coby. We’re just listening to music and making food that we know is going to make people feel special. It feels great.”

The picnic baskets are a tangible expression of the seasonality of Kentucky, its artists and musicians, and the Southern vibe with food that travels well and can be enjoyed in the most bucolic or glamorous settings.

“There is a real joy to eating outside,” she says. “Like so many people, we started immediately having outdoor picnics as soon as a pandemic happened, and we would go to a park and place blankets kind of far apart. Friends or family showed up and had a picnic with us, and we could see each other and share food. That’s where our idea for baskets came from. Eating in nature is a connector. It will ground you again. You slow down, and the food tastes better, and you will be more present. You will enjoy it more, and you will make a memory just as a byproduct of eating out. It’s been really fun to do.

or Damaris, cooking isn’t just about feeding the body – it’s about nourishing the soul. And with each meal she creates, she spreads a helping of happiness and warmth.

Learn more at bluegrasssuperclub.co

Bourbon Banana Pudding

Ingredients:

For the pastry cream

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (1 can)

1 1/2 cups half and half

1 vanilla bean

To build the banana pudding

2 ounces bourbon, divided

4 ounces cream cheese, room temp.

16 oz whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 (16 oz) package vanilla wafers, save 3 for garnish 8-9 bananas, sliced 1/2 inch thick

Method:

In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the egg yolks and combine until thick and smooth. In a large heavy bottom pot, heat the evaporated milk and half and half until warm. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds to the milk mixture. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture. Whisking constantly.

Transfer the mixture back to pot and heat over medium low stirring constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 6-8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and pour into a glass bowl. Press a sheet of plastic wrap onto the top to prevent the top from drying out and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.

When you are ready to build the banana pudding, combine the cream cheese and 1/4 cup heavy cream, in a stand mixer and beat until smooth and homogeneous. Add the remaining cream, 1/2 the bourbon and powdered sugar and mix until the cream has doubled in size and holds a soft peak. Set aside.

Add 1/2 of the whipped cream mixture to the pastry cream mixture and fold to combine. Now it’s time to build. Layer wafers, banana slices, and pastry cream mixture in a glass serving repeating 2 times. Top with the remaining whipped cream. Chill until serving at least 1 hour.

To serve, crush the remaining 3 wafers and sprinkle on the top. Enjoy!

Sesame Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

2 carrots, grated

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

1 cup edamame, cooked and shelled

1/2 bunch of green onions, sliced

Tasty wheat bread slices

Bibb lettuce leaves

For the dressing:

2/3 cups mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine the shredded rotisserie chicken, grated carrots, chopped celery, edamame, and sliced green onions.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sesame oil, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, salt, and pepper to create the dressing.

Pour the dressing over the chicken and vegetable mixture. Toss everything together until well coated.

Toast the wheat bread slices. Arrange Bibb lettuce leaves on each toasted bread slice. Spoon the seasoned chicken salad onto the lettuce-covered bread slices.

Top with additional Bibb lettuce leaves and cover with another slice of toasted bread.

Serve the chicken salad sandwiches immediately and enjoy the delicious combination of flavors and textures!

Gee’s Bend Welcome Center . Boykin, AL 36723

Join the Gee’s Bend community in this annual celebration of its generations-old quiltmaking tradition

EXHIBITIONS

organizing sponsors Saturday . October 12 . 2024

WORKSHOPS

QUILT SALES & DISPLAYS FOOD & MUSIC GUIDED TOURS

scan to learn more or visit airingofthequilts .org

Mudbugs are in season. There’s no better way to celebrate Summer than with a traditional Low Country Boil — a feast for the senses that brings together the flavors and traditions of the coastal regions. Flavors are bold and vibrant as old friends catch up, and new friendships are forged over spicy bites. Photos by Tristan Cairns.

Relish the Ritual of a Low Country Boil

Dining al fresco is delightful, and a crawfish boil is a onedish jamboree with a large pot filled with fresh ingredients, a generous helping of Old Bay seasoning, and bright notes of lemon. With a splash and a hiss, mudbugs are added to the pot, their shells turning bright red as they soak up the spices. Alongside them, chunks of andouille sausage, corn on the cob, and hearty potatoes create a colorful and aromatic feast.

Nestled in the heart of Birmingham, Alabama, Dread River Distilling Co., is an extraordinary venue, with a rich history of entertaining, timeless elegance and enchanting events. With charm and beauty in every corner, this vintage architecture provides a captivating backdrop for your special occasion. Events at Dread River Distilling Co. are coordinated by experienced planners and event staff, who understand that each person's vision is unique; they go above and beyond to fulfill event dreams. The various spaces of the venue can be tailored to suit celebrations both large and small

heekwood, with its vast gardens and grounds, was preserved before urban sprawl could replace canopies of old growth trees with bright lights, big buildings, and parking lots. It’s a sanctuary just outside Nashville’s sprawling splendor, inviting families to enjoy a summer refuge.

PASTORAL PRESERVATION

Nashville’s historic Cheekwood, built with native limestone, is a city-side oasis.

Story by Jennifer Kornegay

In Nashville, amid the ever-expanding city’s hustle and bustle, sits an oasis called Cheekwood, a stunning, early 1930s mansion resting on 55 acres of lovely gardens and grounds. Influenced by great British manor houses, the architecture of Cheek Mansion isn’t confined to any one recognized style. Instead, it’s a visually pleasing blend of inspirations and ideas fashioned from rough-hewn Tennessee limestone and including many old-world antique materials and fixtures (doors, chandeliers and more) that were reclaimed and reused in the “new” build. Perhaps its most interesting design element is its relationship to its landscape; architect Bryan Fleming positioned windows throughout to provide stunning vistas of the bucolic scenes outside.

Cheekwood Estate’s aesthetic appeal is a draw, but so is its paradoxical nature. Located only eight miles from downtown Nashville, it feels a world away. The property is packed to bursting with historical significance — it’s considered one of the finest remaining examples of American country-place-era estates in the U.S. — and yet it doesn’t feel stuffy or serious. It’s a repository of the past, but also an expansive celebration of art, including contemporary sculpture. And once a refined home and playground for one family and their friends, today it’s a place for everyone, especially kids and kids at heart, as evidenced by many of its child-centric seasonal exhibitions and programs.

“Cheekwood ties art, gardens, architecture, and history all together, creating this multilayered, multi-faced experience,” says Jane MacLeod, Cheekwood’s president and CEO.

Today, the estate often graces lists of the “must-sees” in the music city, but its story begins almost a century ago.

“It was built during a time period when entrepreneurs around the country were amassing great wealth,” Jane says. “They would travel to Europe and then come home and build grand estates similar to what they had seen abroad.”

America’s country-era estates were known for the size and opulence of the houses, the details of their formal gardens and the large tracts of pastoral land surrounding them, ensuring unimpeded views of nature.

“There are other country-ere estates in existence, but very few still have the land around them, which was an integral part of their original design,” Jane says.

IN THE BEGINNING

After Leslie Cheek built his fortune with a grocery store empire (and some well-timed investments in his cousin’s coffee business, Maxwell House), he and his wife Mabel Wood embarked on the construction of Cheek Mansion and Cheekwood in 1929; the estate’s name was derived by marrying their last names. It was completed in 1932, and the Cheek family

lived happily at Cheekwood for decades. It was eventually passed down to Mabel and Leslie’s daughter, Huldah. She and her husband offered to allow the house and property to be turned into a museum, and the estate opened to public in 1960.

Now, Cheekwood is multiple things. As a botanical garden, it boasts 13 distinct growing areas, including a Japanese garden, a world-class children’s garden and a certified arboretum (the grounds support 30 species of trees and shrubs). The downstairs of the mansion is a house museum, furnished as the family would have lived in it during the 1930s. Upstairs, Cheekwood’s permanent collection of 19th- and 20th-century American art, including the works of major regional and Tennessee artists, is on display.

A 1.5-mile looped trail winds its way through the shade of a wooded glen where contemporary art provides a juxtaposition with the traditional

architecture of the house. Cheekwood also maintains a calendar packed with special events and festivals.

Its green spaces alone are worth a visit, according to Jane.

“We have five floral seasons, and there’s almost always something different to see outdoors,” she says.

Autumn brings Cheekwood Harvest, complete with a pumpkin village festooned with mums and a pumpkin patch for picking a gourd to take home. The holidays are all a-twinkle with more than one million lights illuming a 1-mile garden path. Exotic orchids unfold in February. In spring, more than 250,000 bulbs show off, as do favorite Southern species like dogwoods and azaleas. And every summer brings a rainbow of colorful blooms, including roses and wildflowers, as well as a new art exhibit.

During summer, Cheekwood’s gardens flourish with perennials, annuals, and tropical plants in pops of bright colors and verdant hues. Inside, the elegant home has been preserved in 1930s splendor, showcasing life as it would have been when the estate was first constructed for Leslie Cheek and his wife Mabel Wood. The Cheek estate blended their names, becoming a historical site that pays tribute to the past.

In Cheekwood’s Children’s Garden, a fountain, designed with terrific terrapins, merrily burbles and bounces water droplets over the stones. A special exhibit this summer includes giant, benevolent trolls stationed amid the park’s trees and paths to bid a cheerful greeting to guests.

Trolling for Summer Fun

This year, Cheekwood presents “TROLLS: Save the Humans,” which opened May 2 and runs through September 1.

The exhibit features a tribe of six friendly trolls placed throughout the grounds. Dreamed up and built by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, the gentle giants (they range from 16 to 50 feet tall) are made from recycled materials like scrap wood, pieces of used pallets and bits and branches from downed trees.

“I think ‘TROLLS’ will appeal to people ages 2 to 102; everyone is going to enjoy them,” Jane says. “And it’s perfect for Cheekwood, as it aligns with our mission to showcase nature and art.”

The outdoor installation mixes the whimsical and fantastical with an important message.

“The trolls see that humans have become disconnected from nature and are harming the planet, and they want to inspire people to change,” Jane says.

MacLeod loves the larger-than-life aspect of the exhibit, noting how the sheer novelty should turn on imaginations.

“I believe the trolls will delight the child in all of us and really resonate,” she says.

Each has a distinct personality and an individual story; one has his ear to the ground, begging the question,

“What is he listening to?” “You can’t help but marvel at the craftsmanship and want to learn more,” Jane says. “And that’s the real purpose of the trolls, to instill a greater appreciation for nature and motivate us to take steps to take better care of our world.”

While she’s excited to see Cheekwood visitors enjoy “TROLLS,” she stresses that there’s magic at the estate all year long. “We’re always inviting people to come anytime and to come often,” she says.

She shared her favorite place: “The one sight everyone needs to see is the wisteria arbor. It’s at the crest of a hill and provides a stunning view of the reflecting pool and surrounding rolling landscapes,” she says. “But there are so many spots full of beauty and fun. Cheekwood is a wonderful place to make memories.”

THE COMFORT OF CLASSICS

Fort Worth, Texas,-based Lila + Hayes brings fresh designs to children and adult apparel made from the softest Pima cotton.

Story by Lauren Finney Harden, Photos by Arden Jenkins

Paige Casey and Amanda Galati started their business Lila + Hayes like many do: they simply couldn’t find what they were looking for. Both Lila and Hayes, the founders’ first-born children, were born in 2010. The two became laser-focused, as many parents do, on finding clothing that matched their lifestyle and aesthetic, as well as comfortable and well-made.

“We just wanted the best for our children,” says Amanda, “and we couldn’t find sweet, soft clothing beyond the layette phase.”

Combining their taste, design experience, and business acumen, the two founded Lila + Hayes in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2012.

Paige, a University of Texas graduate and former assistant buyer for Neiman Marcus, previously had her own interior design and event design business. Amanda attended Texas Christian University and went into pharmaceutical sales. A lifelong entrepreneur, she began a business in middle school with her teachers creating hair bows and sweatshirts. Creating something of her own was always in the back of her mind.

“We love Peter Pan collars, piping, pastels, and sophisticated and fashionable prints,” says Paige. “We wanted prints that were a nice scale, not too big or exaggerated.”

Paying attention to what they had put their children in during newborn and early infancy, the duo decided that if they were going to create a line, Pima cotton was the only material they wanted to use.

@ardenpruchaphorography.

“There weren’t many options past size 12 months in Pima cotton,” continues Paige.

Sourced in Peru, Lila + Hayes uses the highest quality Pima cotton. Made from an extra-long staple, it’s known for being soft, silky, and smooth as well as user-friendly (no handwashing or dry cleaning required).

“Our kids kept on growing, and we kept making things they needed,” Paige says. Perhaps more importantly, the kids fell in love. “Our children were requesting soft play clothes. It’s what they wanted to wear to dinner or on an airplane.”

The line started with pajamas and separates and has expanded to include layette pieces, soft play clothes, rompers, tween sizes, and even doll clothes. There are adult pajamas, adult clothing, and even a collegiate-colored line that encompasses football season in very specific shades of purple, orange, maroon, and more.

Paige and Amanda have shown they pay attention to details. By stamping the label, the brand eliminated the itchy hang tag. Children’s clothing goes up to a size 16 and down to an XXS to cover pre-teens and teens. The line, which has almost 300 styles, is sold in almost 200 stores nationwide, with a

heavy presence in the South.

Any good Southerner has put their child in monogrammed clothing, but Lila + Hayes takes monogramming to new dimensions. In the beginning, the pair monogrammed items because they loved to do so.

“When you put a monogram on an item, it just takes it to a new level,” says Amanda. “We really tried to build on that.”

Now, specialty monograms exclusive to Lila + Hayes are available on all items. Each item has several different types of monograms offered, such as a butterfly name monogram on pieces in the brand’s Bright Butterflies collection or four ocean life-themed monograms on its Cool Crabs collection. Multi-colored threads are used on a single specialty monogram Lila + Hayes offers. These are all in addition to a bevy of more standard monograms. They have an exclusive monogrammer who collaborates with them on custom designs.

“She creates monograms that fit our products because she works day in and day out only with Lila + Hayes garments,” says Amanda. “She’ll take individual elements out of the prints Paige and I design and digitize them so they go beautifully together. It’s unique to us.”

The process of designing a plethora of prints has evolved for the pair over time.

“In the beginning, they were much more simple, geometric, and more indicative of what was in fashion or home design,” says Paige. “We want our play and sleepwear to look sophisticated.”

Now, the two have a formula for every season, encompassing just about every design imaginable: florals, sports, animals, travel, classic motifs, and more. Think palm trees, footballs, mermaids, rodeothemed icons, and construction trucks, alongside holiday-focused ones like Easter, Halloween, and the Fourth of July.

“We are always thinking about what the kids would enjoy and we try to design prints kids love but that are also mom-approved,” Paige says.

They put a lot of effort into color and scale for the prints they release in six collections a year. That could even include specific women-only prints, such as champagne bottles for a bachelorette party.

New for the brand this year is LH Sport, a performance fabric-based line that they spent years developing. It includes boys’ and girls’ polos, skirts, sleeveless tops, skirts, and more in the same soft feel that devotees of Lila + Hays look for in core items.

“They’re a little sportier, and on-trend with what kids are wearing to school and playdates and football games on the weekend,” says Paige.

And yes, you can get them monogrammed.

Find them online at lilaandhayes.com.

ima cotton is the secret to kiddie comfort. Lila + Hayes founders couldn’t find suitable clothing for their children. So began designing the ultra-soft pajamas for kids and adults. The popularity of their comfy styles soon prompted day wear. Combining their fashion savvy and business sense, Paige Casey and Amanda Galati soon saw their business take off.

FORGOTTEN

ALABAMA

Former videographer Glenn Wills captures images of abandoned points of interest throughout the state.

Story by Jennifer Kornegay, Photos by Glenn Willis

I’m driving a backroad in Alabama that slices through fields and forests and small towns. On a long, lonely stretch almost totally claimed by kudzu, a roofline peeks through a break in the greedy weed. I glimpse some peeling paint, a broken window. “What is that?” I wonder. “Nothing anymore,” I answer myself, and drive on past.

I’m right. Whatever it was, it isn’t now. It’s been abandoned, and most likely, forgotten. But I’m also wrong. It’s not nothing. Somebody built it; probably many somebodies used it. And it still has significance living in the stories written between

its walls, stories waiting to be retold. Finding and sharing these tales has been Glenn Wills’ passion for almost 20 years. He used to drive on past, too. But today, he stops, pulls out his camera and clicks, and then does some digital digging to unearth these structures’ history.

The retired TV news videographer and satellite truck driver published his first “Forgotten Alabama” book in 2016 and has now written four books in the “Forgotten” series, each packed with images of the weathered and forlorn farmhouses, rusting bridges, vacant filling stations and

Glenn Wills’s photos strengthen the connections to memories of the good ole days by helping reestablish their settings. His images have captured the hearts of many who flock to his Facebook page to see the world through his lens. More than 300,000 members post their own photos of houses, laundry mats, post offices, school houses, bridges, mines, and more for fellow Forgotten Alabama fans to see and comment on.

collapsing country stores and churches that dot the landscapes in all of the state’s 67 counties.

Capturing and preserving these places via photography is no mere hobby for Glenn.

“My enthusiasm has not waned over 10 years of doing it,” he says. “I hate to use such grandiose terms, but I really believe this is my purpose.” It may be close to a calling now, but Glenn took his own winding backroad to reach it; the pursuit he can’t get enough of began with a job he couldn’t wait to escape.

“I was selling cars and hated it,” he says. It was 1984, and one day, he ended up showing vehicles to a guy from the local ABC station. Glenn didn’t sell him a car, but the time wasn’t wasted. He found a new career path.

“I asked him how I could get into TV news, and he told me to do an internship.”

Glenn did, and then landed a job as a parttime video editor. He was promoted to full-time photographer and videographer, and over the next few years, worked at four Alabama TV stations,

ending with NBC in Birmingham. His last position there — before massive corporate layoffs hit — was as the station’s satellite truck driver, a role that had him traveling all over Alabama.

“I probably drove close to a quarter million miles in that job, and that is when I started to see an Alabama I never knew existed,” he says.

Glenn began noticing not shiny storefronts and big billboards but glimpses of yesterday, often hidden in plain sight, like a corroding 1957 Chevy Bel Air on the shoulder of Highway 280. He pulled over, took a closer look and saw more similarly deteriorating cars behind it.

“I had a little time to kill, asked the folks if I could look around, and discovered like 10 to 20 acres of rusting cars from the 1920s-1960s,” he says “It was like going back in time.”

That experience woke something that had been sleeping in Glenn.

“Back in college, I worked for a chimney sweep who lived in an old house, and his den walls were covered in black and white photos of Huntsville in

the 1920s and ’30s,” he says. “I was captivated by them. I’d always liked that kind of stuff, but I never delved any deeper; I never did anything with it.”

Then he happened upon the field full of cars but without this camera.

“That day did two things,” he says. “I swore I’d never go anywhere without my camera again, and I started thinking about what I could really do with the photos I wanted to take.”

The idea of the book was born, and the content to fill its pages and pique readers’ curiosity quickly came into focus.

“I started seeing these scenes that I knew would make cool photos everywhere — like a wooden barn with a vintage truck parked by it — and the dots began to connect. The more I noticed things, the more I saw, and the more it all intrigued me.”

The event that cemented Glenn’s desire to publish a book also came via Highway 280, near Chelsea, in the form of a crumbling gas station.

“I passed it multiple times and kept thinking, ‘I need to get a shot of that,’” he says. “Then one day, I came to it, and it was gone. That was the epiphany: These places are disappearing.”

Missing that shot motivated Glenn to promise himself he wouldn’t let it happen again. Not much later, a change in his work situation opened up his schedule.

“I was freelancing as a satellite truck driver for stations all over before landing a steady freelance gig with a company in Sylacauga,” he says. “That gave me the time I needed to truly pursue the Forgotten Alabama idea.”

In the summer of 2013, Glenn got started, drawing on his past work and employing satellites to plan efficient routes.

“I broke a state map into 16 sections, and looking at satellite images, I scanned every mile of every highway in each section,” he says.

When something caught his eye, he’d zoom into street view, and if he then deemed it worth being photographed, he’d put a pin in that location on his map. The 400 hours he spent behind his computer screen resulted in a shot list that was 2,000 places long. He was daunted, but then technology came to the rescue again.

“I realized I could save my own custom maps to my GPS, and that allowed me to hit 15 to 20 places each day,” he says.

In 2014 and 2015, armed with a new Nikon camera and his detailed directions, he set out to feed his fascination and ended up with enough photos for his first book. At the same time Glenn was traversing Alabama’s highways and byways, he started a Forgotten Alabama facebook page. In the beginning, he had to beg friends to “like” and “follow” it. Today it’s a facebook group page boasting more than 300,000 members who post their own photos of houses, laundry mats, post offices, school houses, bridges, mines and more for fellow

Forgotten Alabama fans to see and comment on.

“I love engaging with all the people on facebook,” Glenn says. “The activity shows that there are a lot of people who have not totally forgotten and who care about these things.”

The facebook page has created a community for like-minded folks to gather and encourage each other in remembering, but it also comes in pretty handy when Glenn is researching the structures he shoots so he can paint a whole picture of what they once were.

“Sometimes I can find a lot of documents and verifiable history, but other times, there’s not much out there,” he says, “so I’ll post it the facebook page asking for insight, and usually somebody somewhere knows something about it.”

The popularity of Glenn’ work is obvious, and he claims, easily explained with a single word: nostalgia.

“Look at photos of your family. You see the cars and clothes and buildings and restaurants in the backgrounds, and these photos are always of happy times — people don’t’ often photograph bad occasions,” he says. “When you’re looking at these pictures, you probably remember the people on your own, but you may have forgotten the places. When the world seems like it’s going to crap, looking back at these times holds a lot of appeal.”

Glenn’s photos strengthen the connections to these memories of the good ole days by helping reestablish their settings.

In the last 10 years, Glenn has stopped and shot more than 4,000 times in about 200 different day trips. He has his personal favorites, like an old church in Chambers County filled not with a pews for its long-gone congregation but buckboard wagons.

“What happened there? How did a church become a storage facility?” he muses.

Or the Sand Island lighthouse rising from Mobile Bay that required Glenn to take a boat ride on choppy seas and conduct a risky drone flight to get a good shot.

He knows his photos provide entertainment and sometimes even comfort, but stresses equal importance of their preservation aspect.

“I can’t save these places, but I can prove they existed,and that’s what I do,” he says. “Our memories fade, but in photos, they remain, waiting to be rediscovered at some point.”

Glenn admits the rewards he reaps from his work drive him, too. They keep him on the road carefully scanning the scenes that flash by his car window for the next forgotten spot.

“I’m now retired, so I have even more time, and I keep thinking eventually, I will run out of material, but I never do. I still find things I’ve never seen before,” he says. “So, I’ll never stop exploring and shooting and remembering; it continues to feed me.”

www.trestaylor.com

PRIMAL PURSUIT

Georgia alligator expert Dan Forster pioneers a hunting season to control a growing population.

Story by Bryan Hendricks, Photos by Robbie Payne

Aspotlight beam slices the inky darkness and illuminates what appears to be a field of fiery rubies on the surface of a south Georgia slough. For Dan Forster, the red hue signals an alligator hunt is about to begin.

The ruby glow is the reflection from a structure at the back of an alligator’s eye — the tapetum lucidum — that reflects light into the photoreceptor cells to improve resolution in low light. Cats, dogs, deer, and other animals have it, too, but they glow greenish gold.

Shining a light across a slough, oxbow, or even many ponds at night, anglers in the Deep South might discover that the water where they bobbed crickets or minnows for bream and crappie in daylight is an eerily lit alligator eye-shine tavern after the sun goes down.

In these parts, alligators rebounded from near extinction to a thriving resource that supports a hair-raising hunting opportunity. It’s a conservation success story, but gator hunting is also a passion for Dan, who supervised the field research and administrative work that enabled Georgia to open its first alligator season in 2003 to control the too-steep population increase.

Dan, who served 12 years as director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division, said he has taken only a couple of alligators with personal permits — there’s a highly competitive drawing for a ticket — but with his knowledge of reptilian habitat and habits, he has helped other friends and family harvest about 30 alligators.

“I have been at least once every year since the season started,” Dan says. “My hunting parties have averaged just over one alligator per year, but we have taken as many as four successful hunters in one year.”

Alligator hunting is a team sport, Dan says, because it requires at least three people to subdue a large, agitated gator. A typical hunt begins after sundown, when alligators rise to the surface. Only the crowns of their heads and their nostrils protrude above the surface. Noise from an outboard motor will cause the reptiles to submerge, meaning hunters prowl stealthily with electric motors while shining a powerful handheld spotlight across the water.

When the light catches the distinctive glow of an alligator’s eyes, hunters advance, hoping to get close enough to estimate the distance between the eyes and nostrils. The number of inches between roughly translates the length the body will measure in feet.

an Forster (standing) dares to venture into Georgia waters on a hunt for giant reptiles. Alligator hunting offers a thrilling adventure, a deep connection to the natural world, and a profound respect for the creatures that inhabit it.

Hunters can’t just shoot an alligator. Once it dies, it can sink and be lost or, in a tidal area, it will float away, Dan says.

“Georgia’s rules require that an alligator has to be physically restrained before shooting it,” Dan says. “You have to get some kind of a line on him. It can be from an arrow, from a fishing rod, or from a noose. That’s the most difficult part of alligator hunting.”

Dan prefers to snag them with heavy fishing tackle — a 6 1/2-foot bass rod with a spinning reel and 30-pound line. With a 4 treble hook and a terminal rig with a 1- or 2-ounce weight dangling 1.5 inches below the hook, Dan aims to throw it over the alligator.

“You can cast that a great distance with accuracy,” he explains. “When I feel resistance on the retrieve, I snag it. The weight helps keep the hook oriented correctly, and then the hook sinks into scales or scutes (the hard ridges on an alligator’s back).”

With that rod engaged, Dan strikes again with a heavier rod.

“Once you get the first rod on him, you might then try another heavier rod with 60-pound test,” Dan says. “After that, I have a large, short, stubby deep-sea rod with 100-pound test with a bigger hook.

You can use that to hoist him to the side of boat.”

To prevent a gator from rolling and breaking the line, Dan gets a noose over the gator’s head quickly.

“I don’t consider an alligator caught until I get a noose around him,” he says.

Alligators, especially big ones, aren’t going to mildly accept restraint, instead diving to the bottom and digging powerful legs and claws into the mud. Pulling that creature out takes at least two people. When brought to the surface, gators thrash violently, throwing their head and whipping their tail.

A big gator can swamp a small boat carrying two or three big ol’ boys, but it can also strain a big boat. A tail whip can knock a person out of the boat, risking entanglement with the lines and an encounter with those powerful jaws and impressive teeth.

“When you tighten the noose around his neck, he knows something bad is happening,” Dan says. “A big one? Yeah, his response is pretty impressive.”

Once the gator tires, a quick shot to the head dispenses the gator, which then has to be hoisted into the boat or, if it’s a massive one, dragged to shore. Some of the catches are so immense, it takes a tractor or front-end loader to pull it from the water.

The Genesis of Georgia Gator Season

Establishing Georgia’s first alligator season was a career milestone for Dan, whose path to Georgia DNR’s administrative level was long. It began when he earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife management from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in 1988.

“I had to pay my dues for quite a few years before climbing the administrative ladder,” Dan says. “I spent about a year working as a day laborer with our fledgling non-game program. I worked to restore bald eagles, peregrines, wood storks, and a lot of different things, and then I landed a permanent job as a game biologist in Brunswick, Georgia. That was my introduction to alligator management and research.

“Georgia distributes research and management responsibilities to regional biologist,” Dan says. “Since I was in a region that had alligators, I coordinated the alligator work along the Georgia coast.”

When Dan came aboard, the Georgia DNR had a fairly new nuisance alligator trapping program to capture and remove nuisance alligators. The agency employed independent contractors to trap and permanently remove the problem gators rather than relocating.

“They have a strong homing instinct, and they would go back,” Dan says. “They had to be completely removed. The trappers were allowed to dispatch the gators and sell the hides and the meat in return for their capture services.”

Increasing numbers of nuisance complaints and population surveys suggested that the alligator population was large enough to sustain some recreational harvest. Dan says the Georgia DNR issues about 1,050 alligator hunting permits annually.

“As the population grew, it became increasingly obvious that alligators were plentiful,” Dan says. “It was a renewable resource with a growing interest in an allowable harvest. That set the foundation for a season to occur if and when the data supported it.”

Participating in formal surveys, Dan and his crews spent many nights counting alligators, estimating their numbers, ages, and sizes.

“We tagged 60 alligators in one night’s work,” Dan says. “That gave me quite the appreciation for alligators and their habitats. I’m amazed by them.”

arcus Drymon, Ph.D., studies sharks off the Mississippi and Alabama coasts. He’s featured on Nat Geo’s Shark Fest in a study of tiger sharks and their appetite for song birds. Conservationists on the week of episodes emphasize that sharks play a crucial role in maintaining the delicate balance of the ocean ecosystem, keeping populations of prey species in check, and ensuring the health of coral reefs and other habitats. Photo by David Hay Jones

ANALYZING AN APEX APPETITE

A Mississippi shark expert takes a starring role on the SharkFest predatory pageant.

Story by Cara Clark

Eons ago when humanity’s ancient antecedents crawled from the sea, some species were on land to stay. Other mammals — majestic whales and agile dolphins — returned to the briny blue from which all life originated on this blue planet. In doing so they joined leviathans that have mastered the deep and prowl the shores, among them tiger sharks, a species that long has fascinated Marcus Drymon, Ph.D., Associate Extension Professor at Mississippi State University and Marine Fisheries Specialist at the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium.

The coastal waters that attract vacationers during the Summer find the season coincides with spectacularly popular shark documentaries — packed into a week of back-to-back features. Marcus has starred in several such episodes on SharkFest, a National Geographic television special that explores the terrifying and mystifying behavior of predators that play a critical part in keeping a healthy ocean ecosystem.

When the binge-worthy specials air in July, insight into how these hunters operate will again include Marcus’ study of beautifully patterned tiger sharks and a curious phenomenon in which juveniles are found to have an unexpected number of inland birds in their bellies — the same lovely songbirds that cluster around backyard feeders throughout the South.

Hooked on Sharks

Before joining MSU, Marcus was part of the

marine sciences faculty at the University of South Alabama and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab where much of his research began. His obsession with sharks — the way the rhythms of the ocean guide them through a landscape that is both familiar and ever-changing — dates back to childhood

“Like most small kids — 7 or 8 years old — I was fascinated with all things shark,” says Marcus, a Kentucky native. “My dad is an airline pilot so we had the good fortune to be able to travel all over the world because of his job. I had the opportunity to go see a lot of really interesting marine places like the Bahamas, other parts of the Caribbean and Mexico, and South America. That’s where I really developed a love for the ocean, and, in particular, sharks.”

Marcus, like many terrestrial dwellers, had a fear of sharks — the ominous profile, prominent dorsal fin, and gimlet eye.

“I would see them in the water when I was snorkeling or when I was on a boat, and I would just force myself to stay in the water and just check them out,” Marcus says. “The longer I was able to stay in the water with them and observe them in their natural settings, the more curious I became and the more enamored I became. That led to me reading everything I could read about them and ultimately, going to college to study them.”

From analysis at the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas with lemon sharks in his early research days, Marcus has continued to catch and study all species of sharks, measuring,

examining, and tagging them for release. During 20 years of research, television producers often contacted him about his studies, several of which have been highlighted during SharkFest.

“It’s a thrill to see all of the work that you’ve been putting in and what you’ve learned being displayed to a broad audience,” Marcus says. “With respect to the tiger shark studies, I think it’s just such an unusual marriage between a large, highly migratory predatory species like a tiger shark and then very small quaint and unassuming songbirds. That kind of juxtaposition really defined that study and made it really interesting. “

In his examination of young tiger sharks, Marcus saw — when flushing (lavaging) their stomachs, a striking number of songbirds had been consumed. The question then becomes, “Why?”

“To see a tiger shark occasionally eat a little songbird is interesting, but it’s not particularly rare,” Marcus says. “I think what was neat about our study was trying to draw these linkages saying, OK, the prevalence of these sharks eating small birds is actually much higher than we would expect due to random encounters. There must be something about the patterns of these migratory birds and/or the hunting strategies with these small tiger sharks that lends itself well to that interaction. We found that these individuals are more prone to eat things that they didn’t have to actively hunt.”

With songbirds falling from the skies like apples from trees, they present an easy meal for a young predator learning to hunt. Imagine a hollow-winged

creature flying determinedly along its migratory route, hitting a storm over the Gulf of Mexico, and in exhaustion landing on the swells of an inhospitable sea. The result is a cycle-of-life ending to that bird’s pilgrimage.

“We felt like the most satisfying aspect of that project was tying together those two things and establishing those linkages,” Marcus says. “These birds leave the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and fly nonstop until they hit the continental U.S. Their first real opportunity to stop is on Dauphin Island, Alabama. Where we’re located is a really unique area in terms of the migratory patterns of songbirds.”

The tiger sharks feeding on birds are neonates — yes, 3-foot-long “baby sharks” — in a species that grows quickly. By age 3 to 5, they can be 10 feet long.

That’s just one of the factors that makes this possibly Marcus’ favorite species to study. The blunt nose predators are also one of the most voracious and known as “the garbage can of the sea” for their tendency to eat anything they find.

“They have an extraordinarily wide dietary breadth — fish, crustaceans, small marine mammals, terrestrial birds, marine birds, debris, and trash,” he explains. “They’re also highly migratory, which I think is fascinating.”

Marcus is studying the area about 60 miles off the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama where the research vessels bring in all manner of sharks — blacktips, hammerheads, sandbar, bull, spinners, and more.

“Now, we’re seeing shark populations that are relatively stable, if not slightly increasing,” Marcus says. “This is really good news. We know that sharks were over-fished significantly in the ’80s and ’90s. And it wasn’t until the mid ’90s with management measures in place that we started to see their populations start to slowly recover. But because of their life history traits, they grow very slowly. They’re late to mature. Once they’re over fished, their populations take a long time to recover. Fast forward 30 years from the mid 1990s and here we are finally in 2024 seeing populations that are slowly starting to recover.”

Marcus explains that the Gulf of Mexico is one of the world’s best examples of a well—managed, sustainable shark fishery.

“Sharks are a resource to be harvested just like a red snapper or speckled sea trout,” he says. “A lot of people eat shark. Science-based fishery management plans are the foundation of sustainable fisheries for sharks, but this is different than culling sharks.”

Marcus Drymon and his team take samples and measurements, valuable research on these predators’ mysterious lives beneath the waves. At right, Marcus pulls in a hammerhead for examination. The Mississippi-based shark expert will again be featured in July on Nat Geo’s SharkFest, a week-long celebration of these apex predators. Photos courtesy of the Mississippi State University Marine Fisheries Ecology lab.

Marcus and his team are now focusing their studies on depredation, which occurs when a shark targets a fish an angler has hooked and is battling to get to the boat. It’s a human-wildlife conflict that has steadily escalated in the past 10 years, and Marcus is seeking to determine why these encounters are on the rise.

“We want to understand what we can do to reduce those types of interactions,” he says. “We want to reverse the narrative that’s starting to build, which is, ‘The narrative has changed from ‘sharks threaten our safety’ to ‘sharks threaten our recreational fishing opportunities.’

“We’re working really hard to remind people just how cool sharks really are, and that they are an important part of a healthy ecosystem.”

Dorsal fins cutting through the surface or deep beneath the azure waves, sharks embody the spirit of the ocean itself – mysterious, majestic, and undeniably captivating.

Look for Marcus on National Geographic’s SharkFest, which begins July 2 this year.

Tiger sharks are brought on board for measurements and tagging. Using a technique known as lavaging to flush the juvenile tigers’ stomachs, Marcus and his team found an extraordinary number of songbirds were devoured. That earned them a spot on Nat Geo’s SharkFest. After the sharks are measured and tagged, they’re returned to the vast expanse of the sea. Sunlight filters from the sky, casting light on depths where sharks reign as one of the ocean’s most iconic predators. Photos by David Hay Jones

Growing up in a musically gifted family, sisters Powell, Lilly, and Eleanor Balkcom often sang in church and at local parties. To hear their music now, you’ll need to buy a ticket or download a track. These girls are on tour and selling out in cities across the U.S.

HEY, SOUL SISTERS

The Castellows trio has swirled up from Georgia like a hurricane from the Gulf, taking audiences by storm on their current tour.

Story by Cara Clark

Heredity or environment? That’s a long debated and studied question about how musical genius passes through family generations — virtuosos Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were from families with musical aptitude. Whether or not a scientific conclusion has been determined, the precipitous rise to acclaim The Castellows trio is experiencing in the music scene is a gift of grace performers Eleanor (Ellie), Powell, and Lily Balkcom attribute to genetics and early lessons from a talented family.

The girls, natives of Georgetown, Georgia,

(population 2,000 or so), got their start singing in church — three angelic blondes with equally celestial voices — and now have taken that inherited talent to Nashville, Tennessee, and beyond. Tour dates this year have taken them throughout the South and across the nation — even across the northern border to Canada. There’s no sign the turbocharged takeoff is going to decelerate, and the journey began with homegrown talent on the family farm on the Georgia/Alabama line.

“Our grandmother on my dad’s side (a skilled musician) taught us how to play piano when I

was pretty young,” says Ellie. “We were all homeschooled, and music was our extracurricular activity growing up. I started playing guitar when I was 12, and then Powell picked up the banjo, and Lily started singing, and I taught her how to play bass. She taught herself to play guitar. I woke up one day, and she was just playing, and I thought, ‘She’s really good.’

“It’s something we’ve always done, but we were never thinking of it as a career — we just loved music and loved singing and playing together.”

Being self-taught, the Castellows (pronounced cast-ah-lows) have developed their own style. Powell plays banjo on their records, and Ellie plays guitar while they all lend their voices.

“I think being self-taught has really helped what we’re doing in the sense that we have our own sound,” Powell says. “We all have different strengths that we bring to the writing table. Ellie was the one who first started writing, and we’re very new to the whole writing scene, but we love it. We all come up with lyrics and melody lines. We all come up with chord progressions. In Nashville, there are very formulaic ways that you work, and so we’ve written a lot of good songs the Nashville way, and we’ve written a lot of good songs, not the Nashville way. The cool thing about writing a song is there’s no wrong way to do it.”

Perhaps the most harmonious part of the band is the relationship among the girls, self-confessed homebodies who are adjusting to lots of time on the road.

“I’m so thankful for my sisters,” Ellie says. “I think of solo artists and musicians on the road alone, and it just makes me all the more grateful for my sisters because I just could not imagine doing this without them.”

Just back from a four-week tour in a 14-passenger van with a trailer in tow, the young musicians were tired, but invigorated, happily embracing the opportunity to make joyful noise and feel the reverb of fans clamoring for it.

“We had a great time with it,” Powell says.

Powell and Ellie, 20, were born triplets with a brother who isn’t as into music as the girls. Lily, the youngest at 19, is possibly the most daring. She’s a licensed pilot who loves slipping earth’s surly bonds to dance “the skies on laughtersilvered wings,” as the poem “High Flight” put it.

“I do miss flying,” Lily says. “I was back home and flew for the first time in four months, and I was asking all of my family to come up with me, but everyone said, ‘No. You go ahead.’ I just got up there and flew by myself for an hour and a half.”

Freedom such as that is heady stuff, especially after nights under hot stage lights, followed by hotel rooms, and long hours on the road. But the three enjoy those times as well, laughing over shared memories of an already hectic year and

over the way the country music world has warmly embraced them.

“I think country is in our roots, but we all have different musical tastes and love lots of styles of music,” Powell says. “Lily did theater for a while and loved that, and Ellie loves rock music. I went through a big bluegrass/folk stage. Singing in church was obviously very important to us. That’s a huge part of where our influences come from. It’s cool to see what we’re doing now with our live shows, and all three of us enjoy the crowds. It’s great because we all have different ideas, opinions, and likes to offer to the band.”

That blend of ideas and influences has led to a country-rock sound that often surprises people. The Castellows’ cover-version of Levon Helm’s “Hurricane,” brings together traditional and modern with an edgy video that’s as much rock as country.

“One of the sound guys at a venue said, ‘Y’all are a whole lot more rock than I thought you would be,’” Ellie says. “We get up there with our cowboy boots and guitars, and people feel like we’re about to play a bunch of country music, which we do, but we love listening to rock, and we like to make our concerts feel like a combination of the things we love. It’s not a rock show, but it’s got to be entertaining.”

With their fusion of music, they’re also adapting and growing along the tour and taking their nearest and dearest with them on the wild ride.

The Balkcom sisters grew up in a tiny town on the Georgia/Alabama line. Homeschooling allowed for extracurricular activities, including learning to play instruments, singing, and enjoying the family farm.

“All of our band members are our friends from college, and we met them in church worship groups or ministries in college,” Ellie says. “They all moved up here with us. It’s really awesome to be on the road with a bunch of guys that we’re familiar with. And they’re just good, Godly men. We’re just having a good time.”

Some of the most rewarding moments during the gigs, Powell says, is feeling they’re making inroads with pass-along positivity.

“I love seeing young girls in the crowd saying our songs are dear to them,” she says. “It’s so important for us to be good role models for younger girls. Our faith is very important to us. We think about that in the way we present ourselves and work with each other. When I see young girls in the crowd having a good time and seeing us at the meetand-greet, it’s so satisfying.”

“These girls are so excited when you hug them, but I’m just as excited, if not more, to see them singing all of our songs with us,” Lilly echoes. “We’ve had a couple of young girls give us bracelets, and it’s so sweet and such a blessing. One little girl had made a bracelet with No. 7 written on it, and when we played the song, she handed the bracelet to me.”

No. 7 is one the girls wrote, and it’s resonating with people of all ages. They’re playing sold-out shows in Georgia, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, and Indianapolis, to name a few — places quick to pick up the tracks these Southern girls are laying down.

“We have cousins and friends and family show

up when we play in the Southeast, but to have people in states where we’ve never traveled who are so thrilled to hear us is amazing,” Powell says. “Selling out a show in Ann Arbor, Michigan — I don’t know anybody there, but all these people came out to see us. It’s crazy. And it’s awesome.”

Right now, the girls aren’t looking for the next big thing but focusing on keeping it real and appreciating the core family values that made them who they are.

“I think it’s important for us to stay grounded and stay close to each other and close to the music we’re making,” Powell says. “We want to keep writing better songs and recording better songs. We want to live in the moment.”

“We’ve seen over the past year what a small amount of time can do,” Ellie says. “You just have to take it one day at a time and then look back at the year and can’t believe all that happened. It’s so exciting.”

The Castellows signed a record deal with Warner Music Nashville & Warner Records in 2023, and their most recent EP, a seven-song project called “A Little Goes a Long Way,” was created as they began this sling-shot ascent to fame.

“The songs are all cohesive but different in their own way,” Powell says of the EP put together as they transitioned to living in Nashville from a small town. “I think what it does is capture that moment of us totally not knowing what we were doing, but it is being cool. We were adjusting, and it came out beautifully.”

Under the Muscadine Vine: Country Store Colleagues

Story by Marian Carcache

It had been my great-grandmother’s grocery store. She lived in the back room. Later, Daddy re-opened it.

My family’s Village Mercantile was the gathering place for our Jernigan, Alabama, community. As author Herman Melville said about “life aboard a ship” being his Harvard and Yale, the store provided me with an education that I could not have earned in a classroom.

Neighbors from all walks of life came through — and often lingered. After all, we sold everything from staple groceries to patent medicines to fabric to car parts.

Summers in the grocery store were especially memorable. The constant flow of customers sharing news — and sometimes gossip — was more exciting than any television show could hope to be — certainly more inspiring than a school room.

I liked interacting with the people who congregated there and the “drummers” who came through selling goods, and I enjoyed the company of the icons on the boxes and bottles that lined our shelves. They piqued an imagination that had been stifled during the school year by rote learning.

The cigar boxes behind the counter offered Lord Clinton, Muriel, King Edward, and my first introduction to Scottish poet, Robert Burns. Once empty, the boxes were perfect to keep found treasures in: hatched bird eggs, feathers, arrowheads, cicada shells, broken pieces of china, and fool’s gold. Prince Albert was there, too, but in a tin. He provided the inspiration for telephone jokesters.

The phone would ring. A voice would ask, “Do you have Prince Albert in the can?” When Daddy answered that we did, the young comedian would manage to blurt out, “You better let him out,” before quickly hanging up.

Other characters that kept me company

in the store included the pretty ladies on the Vermont Maid syrup bottle and the Sun-Maid raisin box, the uniformed chefs on the Cream of Wheat box and Chef Boyardee pizza kit — not to mention the exotic dreams that were inspired by the Mahatma and Water Maid genies on their flying carpets.

That small country store also provided my two best friends and me with an array of refreshments on lazy southern summer afternoons: Red Hots and Atomic Fire Balls to test our mettle, followed by banana Popsicles to cool our mouths … and SweeTarts, Sugar Babies, Tootsie Rolls, and Dubble Bubble gum.

Every other Friday, the Book Mobile parked in the yard of the store, bringing with it publications that offered a lens on a world outside of our tiny community, an opportunity to broaden our worldview. I wanted to grow up to write stories like those I read from its shelves. Our little country store, the place where our community congregated, supplied the fodder for imagination and the foundation for that dream to come true.

RAISE A GLASS Georgia

distillery Soldier of the Sea was born as a tribute to those who serve.

Story by Denise DuBois, Photos by Jason Thrasher

It’s all about tradition and having a place for neighbors to meet. Soldier of the Sea distillery in Comer, Georgia, is a testament to the state. Georgia grain. Georgia honey. Georgia whiskey.

Mark Davis has deep roots in Georgia and Virginia. He enlisted in the Marines when he was 17 and holds a deep reverence for the soldiers of the sea. Hence the name of his whiskey.

His journey to distillation was a postretirement venture. As a veteran, he landed a job with Johnson & Johnson creating pharmaceuticals. Yet, despite the seeming disparity between pharmaceuticals and spirits, he found a common thread — the principles of distillation.

“The equipment and the principles of distillation are very similar for making whiskey and making pharmaceuticals. I know you’re probably not surprised at that, but that’s the physics of it,” he says as he talked about how he and wife Jennifer Berry got started. “I had the hobby of making alcohol and being a winemaker. Of course, with distilled spirits, you’re never legal until you clear with the government. Now, a lot of people have that hobby, and it’s fine, just don’t try to sell it. We never tried to sell it.”

Jennifer, on the other hand, brought a love for nature and the land to the table. As a beekeeper and the steward of the University of Georgia honeybee lab, she is familiar with the delicate

dance of pollination and the ecosystem that sustains it.

When Mark and Jennifer met, she had a small beekeeping business on the side.

“We didn’t do honey. We sold bees. But honey was kind of our byproduct,” she said. “We met and he’s like, ‘Wow, you, you’ve got all this honey, and I like experimenting with fermentation.’ So that’s how I started.”

Her connection to the earth infused Soldiers of the Sea Distillery with a sense of rootedness, anchoring their creations on Georgia land.

With Mark, it’s “Once a Marine, always a Marine.” Keeping the tradition alive is most important.

“The name Soldier of the Sea is from Marine Corps history and traditions,” he explained. “Soldiers of the sea was the name they gave the Marines because we got on board ships and did things that the army didn’t do. The United States Marines were modeled after the Royal British Marines.”

Mark and Jennifer brought together his respect for the military and hobby of distilling with her expertise in beekeeping for a honeyed tribute to soldiers. Moon Nectar, the first of their products, is infused with wildflower honey.

How could he use the name in his brand? It was something he asked himself as he searched records.

“When I looked up the records, it is so old, that the Marine Corps does not have a copyright on that name,” Mark said. So he and Jennifer were able to copyright the name and build a distillery.

Their flagship product, Moon Nectar, emerged as a symbol of their commitment to quality and innovation. It’s a corn whiskey infused with the essence of wildflower honey.

“We do use honey in all of our products — honey or other products from the southeast, along with grain, because the honey has flavor profiles that you can’t find anywhere else. When the bees take the nectar and make it into honey, it’s got a honey flavor profiles based on the plants that bees get the nectar from. So it is an agricultural product that’s constantly changing. One year is not like the others,” Mark says.

Sea Duty, a hybrid whiskey infused with molasses and brown sugar, paid homage to

Mark’s time serving his country, drawing inspiration from the seafaring traditions of the continental Marines. Meanwhile, Spirit Tree, a bourbon crafted by Jennifer, honored the towering trees that dotted the southern landscape.

“Spirit Tree is Jennifer’s idea,” Mark says. “She’s a bourbon kind of girl. That is what she remembers from Kentucky. It has the bare minimum of corn required for a bourbon, but it’s also got the malted barley and wheat in it. We use honey from a tree source. The label has the roots of the tree wrapped around a whiskey barrel, then the tree is a lightning color to represent the spirits. It’s not a military one, but it’s the first bourbon we came out with.”

Distilling is not a big business with them. It has always had the attraction that they’re fulfilling something they want to do. And it is very fulfilling for them both. The goal is to be the smallest distillery in the Southeast. Their mission is to honor those who have served in the military.

“We have a product for those who have served at sea, and those who have served on land” Mark says. “We’re releasing one in 2024 for those who have served in the aviation field. We don’t honor just one particular branch, but the job that you did. So that covers everybody — air, land and sea. That is fulfilling with that mission. We’re where we need to be: agriculture, veterans, local and regional in our procurement of materials, and just having a good time.

“Very high quality, very low quantity.”

The pub is the other attraction. It’s a place where neighbors can meet for a drink and a bite to eat. It’s family friendly, and people bring their dogs, too. It’s open and light – exactly the place for friends to share, “Cheers.”

You can see Soldier of the Sea products online at www.soswhiskey. com, but you have to visit to get a bottle for yourself.

Bee Peachy

1.5oz Sea Duty

1.25oz Fresh Peach Puree

.75oz Anise Simple

.25 Lemon Juice

3 Dashes of Peach Bitters

Put all ingredients into a shaker with ice, shake and then pour into a martini glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

Peach Fruit Puree

1 cup fresh blueberries, strawberries or peaches (or frozen if not in season)

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Blend fruit, then slowly add the honey and water till the mixture is smooth enough to pour. After it is complete add the lemon juice. May need to add a bit more honey depending on sweetness.

Anise Simple

1/4 cup of star anise

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups hot water

Steep for at least 6 hours or to taste and strain before using.

Welcome to the Hive

1.5oz Sea Duty

1 oz Strawberries Puree

.5oz Lime Juice

.25oz Mint Simple

Muddle 2 mint leaves in a shaker add ingredients and shake. Pour into tall glass with ice and top with a splash of hibiscus ginger beer. Garnish with a lime wheel and mint leaf.

Strawberry Puree

1 cup fresh blueberries, strawberries or peaches (or frozen if not in season)

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Blend fruit, then slowly add the honey and water till the mixture is smooth enough to pour. After it is complete add the lemon juice. May need to add a bit more honey depending on sweetness.

Mint Simple

1 teaspoon mint extract

8 mint leaves

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups water

Steep for 6 hours and then strain out the mint leaves

Southern Essentials

Our team shares its Summer finds.

If you’re itching to entertain, Sun Cookery has made it easy for Summer. The Pineapples on the Patio box includes a stylish four-piece set of pineapple glassware, wooden appetizer plates, patterned napkins, and sunny drink stirrers. Enjoy the flavors of the South with Spicewalla’s three-pack sugar blends with a glass of Maya’s sweet, iced tea. Each piece is a high-quality, durable staple that will last through many summer celebrations. $229 suncookery. com/pineapples-on-the-patio

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Weezie Towels’ Sunny Set is a perfect go-to-grab on summer days and includes two Light Blue Stripe Beach Towels with a beach bag to match. Sized to fit sunny day essentials, the terry tote is perfectly packable for weekends away. Sun, sand, and swimming will be better with these incredibly soft and absorbent towels, and a monogram makes them even more lovely. $183.60 weezietowels.com/ products/sunny-set

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A USCG Life jacket from Line + Cleat gives peace of mind by the water without sacrificing style and comfort. The designer life jackets come in a spectrum of stylish colorways that elevate typical U.S. Coast Guard approved flotation devices. They have a super soft Evoprene shell and front quick release buckles and zipper. Infant styles come with neck support. www.lineandcleat.com

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Duet Candles light up a summer celebration or make the perfect gift to keep on hand as a hostess gift. The Grove candle evokes a refreshing Spritz with aromas of freshly squeezed pink pomelo and citrus with herbaceous coriander blossom. The beautiful box includes a box of brightly colored matches. With each candle purchased, Duet donates to the IDDeal Foundation, which assists people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, shining a light on a great cause. $44 duetcandles.com/

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Why not treat your four-legged family member like royalty by designing a bespoke pet that blends beautifully with your home décor? You can choose the colors and bring a signature design to life with the Fowler Pet Bed from June St. George. That fluffy sidekick will love the material options, and you can celebrate your smashing sense of style. $325. junestgeorge.com

If you’re entertaining, you’re going to need to keep the chilled beverages flowing. The YETI Rambler Beverage Bucket does that with style and high performance with a rotating handle and dishwasher-safe design. The double-wall vacuum-insulated bucket is perfect for on the patio, poolside, pontoon boat, or beachside. $150 yeti.com/drinkware/barware

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It’s time to be on the water or in the woods, but sunburn is never a pleasant after-effect of a lovely day outdoors. Carhartt Men’s Force Sun Defender™ lightweight, long-sleeve T-Shirt is easy to wear in the heat while protecting you from harmful rays and a painful burn. The shirt is designed to fights odor and wick away sweat to keep you cool while providing UPF 50+ UV protection. $34.99 carhartt.com

If there’s one thing we don’t like in the South, it’s the ubiquitous mosquitoes that thrive in humidity. A Thermacell Mosquito Portable Repeller provides a 15-foot zone of protection and makes an excellent deet free bug spray alternative. It’s portable and easy to use for the backyard, camping, fishing, hunting, and dining al fresco. Unscented repellent mats last up to 4 hours each and change color when time to replace. The device is people and pet friendly. $17

With schools out and schedules relaxed, you’ll want to welcome people to your home and will need some tasty options for your charcuterie or appetizer table. Belle Chevre Cheese, with origins in Alabama, offers the CHEVOO Variety Box with jars of five flavors in a gift box with wooden tongs, making it easy to serve the cheese. Chevoo Marinated Goat Cheese is first blended with herbs, spices, chilis, pollen, or truffles and then cubed before steeping in an EVOO blend of rosemary, garlic, or lemon. $45 bellecheeseboard.com

The moment you set up the perfect patio party, the first guests to arrive seem to be the winged insects. No one wants to shoo away those pests, and with Juliska’s Tuileries Garden mesh food covers, your culinary delights will be protected with panache. Named for the famous, formal gardens in Paris, the straw covers include a twisting trim on the bottom and a lovely tassel on top and are made of woven Abaca in a neutral hue. A twopiece set is $150. www.juliska.com

Mama Said, ‘Go outside and play.’

Story by Leslie Anne Jones

Slow. That’s what summer was to me as a child. Growing up in the country, summer meant long, hot days spent wandering around the farm, usually alone, coming up with ways to occupy my time. I’d work in the barn, fish a little, and build imaginary worlds entirely to myself. The possibilities were endless, and I always ended the day with grass stains, a few scrapes and scratches, and dirt under my nails — good, (not so) clean fun.

Those days predated iPads and smart devices — even internet was sparse. There was always TV, and I would catch up on Days of Our Lives reruns and the Price is Right episodes, but a whole world of wonder waited outdoors. What I recall most is the feeling of hot days that just stretched on and on. The clock seemed to slow, and it felt like the days and the lazy summer would never end.

The beginning of summer came with the excitement of school letting out for the very last time. It was a relief to abandon alarm clocks and homework. My mom might pop me in a camp here or there at the Country Club or the local community college. I never really cared for it. I much preferred the long, slow, solitary days on the farm.

My, how times have changed. Now I need a color-coded calendar and a spreadsheet just to keep track of my kids’ summer camps. I have their summer activities planned to the very minute. And you better have an alarm set for when registration opens for the camps or God forbid, every opening is going to be filled. And hey, maybe this way is better for all of us. The kids are somewhere learning new skills and making new friends instead of at home parked in front of the TV. But I think there is something to be said for the long-lost days of slow summer days when you didn’t feel aimless but poised for the next great adventure. It was a treasured time to just be a kid and explore the world around you at your own pace. Maybe we should schedule a little more time for that on our spreadsheets and iPhone calendars. And let kids have time to just be kids.