Thursday, February 23, 2012

Barnsley Ruins

I took a  walk around the grounds here yesterday, checked out the golf course a bit hoping to see the swans in one of the water hazards, but didn't and soon got bored of the scenery.  Like many golf courses around here the grass is a type of bermuda grass which means that in the winter it goes dormant making the golf course a sea of rolling brown hills - not very pretty. 

So I turned around and headed in the direction of the ruins of the Barnsley Estate.  This site was purchased around the 1840's by a shipping magnate to build a home for his  wife and family.  Sometime around the turn of the 20th C a tornado took the roof off and the house was abandoned. 


It looks like the resort uses this area for evening cocktails/dinner? when the weather is warmer.





You can walk around the inside of the ground floor and there are many unobstructed views of the gardens surrounding it!  Also a bit of information on the history of the place.



Weddings are a big part of the business here, I understand and I've seen a few pictures of bridal portraits done in the surrounding gardens, but the whole "ruin" theme seems a little creepy to me.  I don't think I would want this place as a back drop for a wedding!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Barnsley Resort

We arrived here at this resort yesterday afternoon.  It's a bit like a planned unit subdivision with all the little houses in rows on "streets".



I took this picture this morning on our way to breakfast.


This is the building where the restaurant is and also the rooms where the work meetings are happening.  Looking at these two pictures together - looks more gloomy than it is!  It was early this morning but also cloudy.  Later this afternoon I'm going to go for a walk.  I hear there are swans on the little lake by the golf course and a few interesting gardens.

And since it was cloudy and damp this morning I did make a fire when I got back from breakfast.




Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Winter views

I've kind of let this blogging thing go by the wayside for the past few months.  Things have been busy, but mostly I've just been lazy.  It was just beginning to be winter in Atlanta when I stopped.  Here are some photos of the view outside our windows now.





 

It still really looks like this now even though I took these pictures in November.  However, I have started seeing daffodils blooming here and there, so it won't be long before the leaves start budding.



Here are Smokey and Cindy checking out what's going on on in the street.