Litchfield Beach

     The eastern coast of the United States has the most wonderful beaches for walking.  It is almost as if you can pick any shore town, head toward the ocean and walk for miles!

     On one of our trips south, Jimmy and I headed east to Litchfield Beach, South Carolina.  We parked, put the leash on Daisy and headed over the dunes.  We needed to jump down to the beach, the dunes were so high.  

Off we went for our walk.  We prefer to walk close to the water where we can keep a steady pace without sinking in too much.  
On and on we walked, enjoying the sea breeze and the sounds of the waves.  However, a slight obstacle arose as we headed back to our path up into the dunes.  Which path?  What did the homes on either side of the path look like?  What color?  What style?  Did it have a shingle rooftop or tin?  Neither of us could remember.

I came up with the brilliant idea of following our footprints in the sand.  The only problem, the tide had risen.  Where were our footprints?  

            Climbing the dunes, we spotted a familiar home.  

                       
        Yes, our Hansel and Gretel tale had a happy ending!

A Little Curious

               When I visualize a Victorian home,

 https://www.pinterest.com/source/essential-architecture.com                                               

                                a Farmhouse,        http://www.countryliving.com/life/a37310/white-farmhouses-for-sale

or a Southern Colonial,

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/236227942932901780/                                        
   I see a covered porch with a painted blue ceiling . Someone once told me, ceilings on porches were blue because it kept away the insects.   

http://www.bhg.com/decorating/decorating-style/country-french/farmhouse-with-european-style/

I was a little curious -  not all porch ceilings are blue.  

http://www.homebunch.com/southern-home-with-neutral-interiors/

    If the insect story is true, why are not all porch ceilings painted blue?

                                  http://www.homebunch.com/southern-home-with-neutral-interiors/

Doing some research, I read that the paint used on porch ceilings, at one time, was 'Milk Paint'.  Made by mixing milk and lime and then adding pigment for color. Possibly the spiders, mosquitos or bees were attracted to the mixture. 

                      http://ellenhutson.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451614969e201b7c6e79179970b-450wi

No one knows for certain whether a blue porch           ceiling does keep away the insects

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/564709240748007724/

or that blue may seem to extend the hours of daylight when insects are less apt to appear.

                                                          https://www.pinterest.com/pin/95983035778974357/

One very interesting fact, I found, is that we can thank the  Gullah Culture of South Carolina's low country for starting the blue ceiling trend.  The African Descendants believed their ghosts, called Haints, could not cross water.  By painting the ceilings of their porches, and sometimes the casings around the doors and windows blue, they could ward off  evil spirits by making the ghosts think it was a river. 

http://trippalukastyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Blue-House-with-Blue-Porch-Ceiling-in-Abita-Springs-LA-001.jpg

       There is even a shade of paint called Haint Blue.

                                 http://blog.zingerhardware.com/2014/10/14/haint-no-more-bugs-in-this-house/


Whether for good luck, keeping the bugs away, or just the calmness blue can create, a blue ceiling above a porch is a must! 















 

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