On the day of the Yellow Bluff Labor Day barbecue, my mom said, “I was planning to wear my white pants tonight.  Do you think that’s okay since it’s the Labor Day weekend?”

I immediately answered, “Of course, you can wear white.  It’s [...]]]>

Birds do it. Clouds do it. Why not white after Labor Day?

On the day of the Yellow Bluff Labor Day barbecue, my mom said, “I was planning to wear my white pants tonight.  Do you think that’s okay since it’s the Labor Day weekend?”

I immediately answered, “Of course, you can wear white.  It’s still hot, and we’re on the coast.”  She wore them and looked great.

But the truth is:  Traditions die hard.

After this holiday weekend, the reality is that I’ll be less likely to put on my summer white capris or jeans.  I know that it’s ridiculous.  My daughter Meredith reminds me of it constantly.  I realize that light colors and light fabrics work best when it’s still hot.  I don’t think anything about it when I see others wearing white.  It is just that moment in the closet when I’m looking for something to wear that I have those twitches that I should go ahead and pack up my “summer” whites.  And of course, I realize that it is more about fabric than color later in the year.

So, it made me start thinking about tradition.  In the South, we embrace tradition.  “Yes ma’am” is expected.  Southern cooks shine at potluck suppers with a case in point at the recent barbecue.   Yellow Bluff is based on the traditional coastal architecture of the area.  According to our architect and land planner, Scott Barnard, Yellow Bluff’s design combines the casual elegance of the Sea Islands, a touch of the informal urbanism of Isle of Hope, and the southern charm of Victorian Savannah — all with a focus on the honest simplicity of coastal Georgia.  And I especially like the simplicity.

I’ve probably mentioned before that at other times in my life, I liked ”frou frou”, but now I am drawn to the simpler designs of the past — simple architecture, clean lines, and little frou frou to have to worry about cleaning. 

It feels good to honor the heritage of Coastal Georgia.  I can walk into the hundred-year-old Old Yellow Bluff Store and smell the past.  The well-worn wood floors, the old pot belly stove with rockers strategically placed for storytelling, a checker set in the corner, and the beaded board that’s synonymous with the coast.  It’s a little bit of heaven for me.

For me, the beauty of the marsh and the privacy of the Georgia barrier island beaches win hands down to the strips of land crowded with people on a holiday weekend.   Since Yellow Bluff is only 10 miles from the Intracoastal, it is easy to get to the pristine beaches that even on holidays have few sunbathers, walkers or swimmers.  Paradise. 

I like sitting on the porch with nothing to do.  Okay, that is still mostly a goal. But I do have moments of splendor when I sit in a rocker on the porch of the clubhouse and get lost in the view or relax for a few minutes on a bench in Bluff Park facing the calming water.  With birds twitting in the trees, water rippling with the tide and sloshing against the dock, a gentle breeze stroking my spirit, well I have to wonder, “Now, what was so wrong with the world?”

I agree with my friend, Joyce, that there is a nice camaraderie at Yellow Bluff.  She said, ”I like that people are friendly.  I can borrow a cup of sugar if I need it.  I have one or two friends who’d probably give me a kidney.  But I don’t have folks barging into my house unannounced all the time.”  Yellow Bluff offers lots to do or nothing to do.  It’s a choice.

I guess the Yellow Bluff tradition for me is that it combines the nostalgic simplicity of architecture and lifestyle with extraordinary scenic beauty and recreational activities and a level of superior quality of community design and expectations for discerning homeowners.  And like Capt. Wild Bill said, “It’s the prettiest place on land with easy access to the prettiest places that you have to get to by boat.”

Traditions die hard at Yellow Bluff.  Thank goodness for it.

The lead boat with Capt. Wild Bill arrived first to Blackbeard Island.

Bathing suits/bikinis, boating and beaches ruled the day after our first Smile Starter (complimentary blueberry muffins, sweetbreads and more) at the clubhouse at Yellow Bluff on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. 

The gang congregated in the clubhouse early and then headed to Blackbeard [...]]]>  

The lead boat with Capt. Wild Bill arrived first to Blackbeard Island.

Bathing suits/bikinis, boating and beaches ruled the day after our first Smile Starter (complimentary blueberry muffins, sweetbreads and more) at the clubhouse at Yellow Bluff on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. 

The gang congregated in the clubhouse early and then headed to Blackbeard Island for Shells & Shakes with Capt. Wild Bill, Yellow Bluff’s UGA certified master naturalist.  Five boats loaded with coolers, sunscreen, beach towels, and pails with shovels for shell collecting headed to Blackbeard Island, Georgia’s 5618 acre barrier island popular for its 9 miles of beach that is 2.5 miles wide at its widest point.  Of course, the fact that Edward Teach, the famous 1700′s pirate is thought to have buried treasure on the uninhabited island. 

Each time I climb the hill of the dunes, walk through the sea oats, and reach the top, I stop and take a deep breath of sea and salt.  Ahh.  The wide white beach stretches out wide and long.  Shells dot the sand:  sand dollars, lettered olives, arc shells, and more.  Joyce even found a beautiful live shell in the surf that Capt. Wild Bill identified as a Knobbed Whelk, Georgia’s state shell, that he tossed back into the ocean.  (On a previous visit, Joyce and I found a live starfish that we returned to the sea, too). Saturday, I returned quite a few sand dollars who still had the fuzzies back to their home in the Atlantic.

Throughout the morning, folks gathered around Capt. Wild Bill to learn about shells and to watch him use his slurp gun to unearth treasure from the sand.  Others sauntered off in search of turtle nests or walked on the beach.  A few sunbathed or slipped into the ocean.   A little girl ran at the edge of the ocean, looked for shells, giggled, and created lifetime memories with her parents and grandparents. 

A little boy dug in the wet sand, got mud on his arms & face, and had a lot of fun while learning.  Everyone was fascinated by the ghost shrimp, the ghost crab, and the multitude of shells scattered on the beach … some dead, some alive.  Alone time, couple time, and family time all added to the splendor of an outing to Blackbeard Island.  

Afterward back at the Yellow Bluff Clubhouse, we dined on the best sandwiches in the world, my favorite greens & berries salad (thanks to Lisa Braun of The Perfect Party), and homemade milkshakes – chocolate and cherry were the most popular.  Since there was a whole lot of shaking going on, a special thanks goes to Joyce who helped me scoop, blend, and top with whipped cream and a cherry.

So we spent a day learning about beach ecology with Capt. Wild Bill and time with our family and friends while exploring the waterways and pristine beaches only accessible by boat from Yellow Bluff.  Did we find any treasure?  You bet.

Capt. Wild Bill:  A Birding Trip and the [...]]]>

Photo by Capt. Wild Bill

Capt. Wild Bill:  A Birding Trip and the Roseate Spoonbill.

I’ve been mesmerized by what seems like thousands of white ibis flocking to the marsh over the weekend.  I’ve stood on the bluff watching.  I’ve stood on the dock “oohing and ahhing” over the sheer numbers of the magnificent birds.  Most of them have stayed at a [...]]]>

White Ibis Over The Marsh - Photo by Capt. Wild Bill

I’ve been mesmerized by what seems like thousands of white ibis flocking to the marsh over the weekend.  I’ve stood on the bluff watching.  I’ve stood on the dock “oohing and ahhing” over the sheer numbers of the magnificent birds.  Most of them have stayed at a distance.  But a few ventured closer to Ashley Creek to feed.  A few soared overhead.  Five or six roosted in the tree near the oyster shells.  But most of them have congregated in the marsh, creating a massive white blanket across the vibrant green marsh.  Occasionally, they’d flutter up above the marsh, almost like a wave building, cresting, and then crashing back to the water.  It has been a lyrical dance of white magic over the marsh.

A special thank you to Capt. Wild Bill who captured the scene that he describes as ”a flock of mature white ibis bursting above the emerald green spartina marsh grass.”

I grew up in North Georgia with stately pines, red clay, rolling hills, sweet ice tea, and a relaxed way of life (or so it seemed as a child).  I guess that’s why I feel comfortable when we leave our daughter each fall at her NC college (that has a similar landscape), just as [...]]]>

Birds Over Marsh

I grew up in North Georgia with stately pines, red clay, rolling hills, sweet ice tea, and a relaxed way of life (or so it seemed as a child).  I guess that’s why I feel comfortable when we leave our daughter each fall at her NC college (that has a similar landscape), just as we did last weekend.  She’s going into her third year so she definitely doesn’t need anyone to go with her.  But Allen and I have gotten into the routine of packing 2 vehicles and enjoying that last weekend with her of what seems like the end of our summer.

I asked her about it on Saturday, and she said, “It helps me transition back into college life after spending the summer at home.”  Meredith loves the coast and everything about it.

I agree.   Though I enjoy traveling and seeing new things, I am drawn to our Georgia coast.  I feel at home when I breathe in the salt marsh, teeming with life.  Even now, the seabirds wheel and squawk overhead.   White birds hover over and in the marsh.  The brisk breeze cools the land and air and teases the gray-green Spanish moss on the ancient live oaks.  St. Catherine’s and Ossabaw, almost mystical as they rise from the water in the near distance, constantly change from the forces of the wind, ocean currents, tides, and storms.  But still these barrier islands seem to stand as protectors from the storms that often travel up to the  N.C. coast.

There’s a sense of wonder on the coast … if you take the time to savor the experience.

Early on, I loved the beach.  But when I lived in Charleston after college, I also fell in love with the salt marsh, the meandering creeks, and “whiling the day away” with friends on a small boat, crabbing.  You have to understand that at the time, I was driven … corporate all the way, working on my MBA, a golden girl moving up.  But when I was on the water, everything stressful slipped away.  My good friends always reminded me that life had a lot of different sides.  Work was just one of them.

It is a balance I’ve struggled with most of my life.  But at Yellow Bluff, I am reminded by the minute that life is precious.  Birds twitter in the trees.  Crickets hum.   White puffy clouds against a background of darker storm clouds paint ever-changing pictures of animals over St. Catherine’s.  I’m hopeful that the dolphins will surprise me at the dock (as they did a few days ago) when they resurface long enough to delight, and then slip back to their watery world.  It’s peaceful.  Miss Goldie, the Yellow Bluff cat, cracks one eye, stretches on the porch, and then sighs as she drifts to sleep again.  All is good.  It’s home.

Jeff Arnold, founder and manager of Arnold, Stafford, & Randolph, has served as a municipal court judge for Hinesville [...]]]> Yellow Bluff attorney and lot 23 owner, Jeffery L. Arnold, is being sworn in today by Governor Sonny Perdue as the Judge of the State Court of Long County.  We are so proud of Jeff and his accomplishments.

Jeff Arnold, founder and manager of Arnold, Stafford, & Randolph, has served as a municipal court judge for Hinesville and Pembroke.  He serves as the president of the Atlantic Judicial Circuit Bar Association and sits on The Heritage Bank Board of Directors.  He was recognized by Martindale-Hubbell in the Bar Register of Preeminent Law Firms and was named a “2010 Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyers who selects attorneys who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Jeff is also a major general in the Army Reserves.

Congratulations to Jeffery L. Arnold from your friends at Yellow Bluff.

Now Through October 30 at The Savannah Theatre.