by David Cecelski These are photographs from a school field trip to Anathoth Community Garden in Cedar Grove. I was just chaperoning the trip for my friend Bob Robinson’s class of sixth graders, but I ended up weeding an asparagus bed, picking garlic and killing potato bugs. On a lovely spring morning, I thought it was… Read More →
Love at Hardee’s
by David Cecelski To the Hardee’s Bunch—Carl Allen, Sid Baker, Truitt and Georgia Blackwood, Harper and Mary Bloodworth, Eugene and Barbara Elliot, Ed and Ann Evans, Ralph and Chris Hayes, Ruby Hicks, Ray and Christine Howard, Jimmy and Millie Ingold, Lewis and Joyce Luxton, Al Mann, Willard and Ruby Mize, Roger and Inez Pendergrass, Harold… Read More →
Britt’s Donut Shop
by David Cecelski The glory of Carolina Beach is its old boardwalk. It’s a romantic place, where people of all ages share dreamy summer evenings. I was there last Saturday night and walked under a bright, near-full moon by the old arcades and pool hall, past the bumper cars, the Bingo parlor and the Methodist… Read More →
Currituck May Peas
by David Cecelski It is May now and my thoughts turn to Currituck Sound and May peas. The mainland of Currituck County is one of the few places in the state where May peas are a highlight of gardening and cookery. The humus soils and gentle, coastal climate there make for good growing conditions… Read More →
Chatham County Strawberry Fields
by David Cecelski Yvonne Cecelski at Jean’s Berry Patch My mother and I went looking for strawberry fields today. We found them at Jean’s Berry Patch, a pick-your-own farm in Chatham County. The fields were crowded with customers picking the ripe red fruit. We picked a bucketful in 20 minutes. My mother enjoyed being… Read More →
South Estes Farmers Market
by David Cecelski The bakers at the South Estes Farmers Market in Chapel Hill remind me of the French chocolatier, Vianne, in Joanne Harris’s novel,Chocolat. (She is played by Juliette Binoche in the movie version of the novel.) Vianne is abeautiful, exotic woman with a passion for the good things of the earth, an almost magical… Read More →
Sunshine Lavender Farm
by David Cecelski I have lived here all my life, but I never cease to be amazed by what I discover as I travel across the state. Today I happened upon the Duke Farmers Market, a lunchtime market for the employees and patients at Duke Hospital in Durham. Everything there looked inviting, but what really… Read More →
Trail Magic
This is the time of year that the Appalachian Trail hikers are passing through the little town of Hot Springs, in Madison County. From their first step north in Springer Mountain, Georgia, they have been hearing stories about a legendary innkeeper in Hot Springs who is known to have a soft spot for the trail’s… Read More →
Madison County Farmers and Artisans Market
by David Cecelski This past Saturday I was on my way to one of the big limestone caves in East Tennessee when I stopped for supplies at the Madison County Farmers and Artisans Market in Mars Hill. I was taking my 13-year-old son and a friend spelunking for the first time. Spring was just coming… Read More →
Gibsonville
by David Cecelski This morning my friend and I took a walk through Gibsonville, a small town west of Burlington. We were mostly just talking, but we were also exploring what the old mill town might have to offer hungry visitors on a Saturday morning. We started downtown on West Main Street and our first discovery was just… Read More →