Middleton Place has recently added a new pair of Cashmere Goats to their Heritage Stable yard.
Goats like to climb on things.
The day I was visiting one of the goats was getting trimmed outside the pen and the one left behind wanted to know where his pal had gone. My answer didn’t satisfy him.
Stony lady waits
All visitors are welcome
Her bench has a view
Along with the heritage breed Coastal Sheep that have free run during the day at Middleton Place there is a small mixed flock of colorful chickens.
The Sheep had just been penned for the evening and needed a bit of grain to induce them into their quarters.
The chickens were well aware there might be droppage available for pecking.
They also seemed to know not to get amongst the sheep until they settled down,
A fourth fancy-looking fellow joined the crowd on the safety of the divider.
The big rooster decided to move on, dropping into an empty pen that is awaiting the birth of lambs, expected any day now.
Middleton Place
March 30, 2021
A troupe of five cherubs are nestled in one of the garden paths at Middleton Place.
You first see it down a straight shrub-lined path, which draws you in.
Last week when I was there some late Camellias were in bloom.
A closer look of the Cherubs; it looks like the statue has recently been cleaned, which rather highlights their imperfections.
Years ago Ted called this statue “Freaky Babies” so of course that is what I think every time I pass it. He a nice B&W version from a visit in February which in a post he aptly named Freaky Babies.
Seen through a Camellia hedge across the great lawn, the South Flanker at Middleton Place
March 24, 2021
Prior to the Civil War the main house was flanked by the North Flanker and the South Flanker, which was built in 1755 as gentlemen’s guest quarters and a business office.
From the Middleton Place website:
Both flankers, along with the main house, were burned by Union troops in February, 1865, just two months before the end of the Civil War. The South Flanker was the least damaged of the three buildings and repairs to it began in 1869 and included a new roof, Dutch gable ends and an entry hall leading from the Greensward. Thus strengthened, the South Flanker survived Charleston’s Great Earthquake in 1886 that brought down the gutted walls of the other residential buildings. By 1870 the Middletons had returned to live again at Middleton Place and the South Flanker continued to serve subsequent generations until becoming a House Museum in 1975.
middletonplace.org
The Sheep bolted for the barnyard after the Sheep-pede and seeing the pressure washer. Their caretaker went back to the barn, too, for some grain. Clearly the group was won over and towards their pen they trooped.
Except these two that stayed behind cleaning up some grain that got spilt by the group leaders.
The shepherd continued to call and one of the two wanted to be with the group more than he wanted a snack.
The final hold out was determined to do a thorough job.
Then he scampered along to join his pals.
A low key stampede, but these sheep were on a mission.
As part of their Heritage Breeds program Middleton Place maintains a herd of Gulf Coast Sheep that roam the grounds freely during the day.
Herd of Sheep
Every afternoon the animal staff go through a process of securing the animals for the night.
Herd of Sheep – Getting Closer, Me not ready with 100-400 mm lens!
The sheep know the routine and easily headed towards their enclosure when it was their turn.
Herd of Sheep
They got a surprise when they got closer to their nighttime quarters and decided they would mill around rather than go by a pressure-washer that a worker had been using to clean fence that evidently hadn’t been there when they left that morning.
Herd of Sheep, Milling AroundA few more images of the Mute Swan Busking , after he had moved further into the pond, but still displaying with his wings raised.
As the Mute Swan got further from me the reflection of the sky in the water was quite different and the sun created a nice rainbow in the fountain.
Lastly, a nice front view with a few drops of water from his beak.
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
January 29, 2021
Busking not as in a street performance, but a threat display or the same posture used for “wind-assisted transportation” per Wikipedia.
The wind assist was not something I’ve seen described elsewhere, but there was a stiff breeze this day. Two Mute Swans were traveling the length of this 600 foot (185M) long pond in no time, so it would not surprise me.
A water performance and no tips expected, the Mute Swans at Middleton Place were very entertaining.
Middleton Place has a flock of sheep that roam the main grounds keeping them manicured. Weighted gates that close automatically behind the tourists allow foot traffic into the central green of the plantation and keep the sheep from escaping.
The sheep are looking scraggly as we head into winter; they will be shorn in the spring after lambs are born.
Belgian Horses are another heritage breed raised at Middleton Place. They provide carriage rides for visitors around the plantation grounds and are ignored by the sheep as they graze.
Middleton Place
“A National Historic Landmark, home to the oldest landscaped gardens in America and an enduring, vibrant, and essential part of the Charleston and American experience.”
