Growing up Southern is a privilege, really. It's more than where you're born, it's an idea and state of mind that seems imparted at birth. It's more than loving fried chicken, sweet tea, football, and country music. it's being hospitable, devoted to front porches, magnolias, moon pies and coca-cola... and each other. We don't become Southern - we're born that way.
Hey Y'all! (And if there is more than one person reading this - Hey All Y'all!) I don't like to brag but not only do I have the good fortune of being a Florida native - I am twice blessed to be a GRITS (girl raised in the south). Now, all y'all who live north of the Mason-Dixon just settle down. Northern women have their assets & advantages too but we southern gals seem to slow down enough to really revel in ours.
Southern girls know bad manners when they see them: Drinking straight out of a can. Not sending thank you notes. Velvet after February. White shoes before Easter or after Labor Day. Southern girls appreciate their natural assets: Dewy skin A winning smile That unforgettable Southern drawl Southern girls know their manners: "Yes Ma'am" "Yes sir" "Why, no, Billy !" Southern girls have a distinct way with fond expressions: "Y'all come back!" "Well, bless your heart." "Drop by when you can." "How's your mother?" "Love your hair." Southern girls don't sweat... they glisten. Southern girls know their summer weather report: Humidity...Humidity...Humidity Southern girls have more fun than should be allowed. Southern girls know their vacation spots: The Beach The Beach The Beach (from the web - author unknown)
Speaking of the beach.... I ran into 2 sassy beach-loving southern ladies on Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs. Carla is an online friend from the iLove Shelling facebook page. Carla always finds interesting shells, fossils, & sharks teeth while she is beach combing. She has a real eye for seeing the treasures in the sand & wreck that other folks just pass right by. Her home is full of her shell creations & now jewelry that she is creating from her shelling excursion finds.
A few weeks back Carla found an ancient arrowhead on top the sand under a fallen tree. She told me she literally had to sit down when the magnitude of the find hit her. Her arrowhead has been looked at by an expert and she was told it is 2,000 to 3,0000 years old. She has been sharing pictures of all the cool stuff that has been washing up from the dredging at Wiggins Pass which is next to Barefoot Beach. I drove down to take a first-hand look at what super moon & a -.05 low tide would bring in.
Carla's mom Susan is originally from Georgia. She shares Carla's love of the beach. Susan told me she feels southern women find more treasures on the beach because our pace is slower. We are not in such a hurry to get anywhere. With that being said she turned & sashayed up the beach to keep looking for goodies in the low tide sandbars.
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| Looking at Wiggins Pass in Naples across the channel to the south |
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| Susan took our picture. Carla told her mom "Don't cut our heads off". It's a southern-thing. All our mommas cut the heads off. |
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| All the birds like to come south too! |
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| Just kidding... Susan took a great pic of us |
I'm just saying...........
Reading your blog makes me so nostalgic for the ocean...I'm from Southern California but have been transplanted to the Northern Nevada desert...truth be told-I'll take the beach any day!!!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thank you so much for sharing all your fabulous beach finds.
Blessings!
Great post, I read about the arrowhead on I love shelling. Unbelieveable find. I have to tell you though-to me Fl is not the south, because I love Fl and I hate the south mainly because of the humidity, the critters and the tornados. Never met nicer people though. Hugs,
ReplyDeleteLove that arrowhead-awesome!
ReplyDeleteSince I spend part of each year up north and part of each year in the south, I feel I get the best of both worlds. Maybe that's why I make fried green tomatoes with spaghetti!
As another Florida native...I love the beach and all that comes with it. Except maybe hurricanes. But even those can do some good...sometimes. I also went to college in the south...Macon, GA. And I LOVE being from the SOUTH!
ReplyDeleteYour post was most enjoyable...loved the photos. That arrowhead is a marvelous find!
Jane (artfully graced)
Well, bless your heart, this is just the sweetest post.
ReplyDeleteLoved this post. I am a frequent visitor. Am drooling over that arrowhead. Thanks for your visit and nice comment. "Y'all come back now ya hear." ~~Sherry~~
ReplyDeleteVery cute post, Karen!!! So "Love your hair" is a southern expression?
ReplyDeleteVery nice post. Great photos. I have been in NYC all week. I thought of you on Thursday because a speaker for a presentation I was at said he grew up in Englewood, Florida!! He said I bet no one has ever heard of the town I grew up in...! Very funny.
ReplyDeleteI found you on Love of the Sea, and had to stop by and say hi! I was intrigued by the beginning of your post, it's so true :D Gosh, why didn't I find all a ya'll beach bloggers a long time ago?! I'm native born, partly native raised, and always a southern girl in my heart. Love your blog!
ReplyDeleteThere are very few of us "natives" left in FL. I now live in Savannah GA because of hurricanes Francis & Jeanne destroyed my house. I love Savannah, but miss "home" alot. The problem I have up here is I'm 35 minutes from Tybee Island beach and where I lived in Fl I was 2 minutes from the beach. That something I'm still getting used to besides having 4 seasons. I'll catch y'all later.
ReplyDeleteAwwww! Yall are two are my favorite shelling sistahs!!!! That picture is so cute of the 2 of you. That is so amazing about the arrowhead. Just think about the man (I'm not being sexist.... I'm sure back then the man would be the one to make the tool for hunting, right?) who made that and what his life was like.
ReplyDeleteCute photo!
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt...my mama cuts the heads off every time. She says it is because she has to press DOWN the button.