Greenville, South Carolina

That wreath looks good as a necklace. For the season, at least, it puts the green in Greenville and accentuates the big dog and her riders. Thank you Dale Rogers. These days it is permissible to display Christmas decorations until the feast of Candlemas on February 2. Think the collar is still around her neck? It's been five weeks since Christmas. [2022]

Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Artists, like geographers, are adept at exploiting scale. What you are looking at may be the world's largest fireplug, deliberately scaled up to outsize the one in Beaumont, Texas. By the way, the Jersey barriers are part of the sculpture. [2016]

Gaffney, South Carolina, USA

Joy to the world of Gaffney, with its nod to the first inhabitants, its role as county seat, its preference for patriots, its reputation for the best peaches anywhere, and the town's name itself. The images are all carefully-chosen icons that establish Gaffney's brand. Think of each one as an app, an invitation to find out more. [2022]

Smyrna, South Carolina, USA

Here's what the family car looked like in the 1950s, big enough inside for all the baby-boomer kids, plus a Christmas tree on the roof. Today, 85 percent of Christmas trees are artificial, but before the 1960s you had to drive out into the country and cut one yourself or buy one from a seasonal tree lot. [2022]

Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA

Downtown Spartanburg's most recognized landmark is the bell tower, which quadruples as a clock tower. Yes, there are four recently-modernized clocks rising high above town and visible from all directions. No one ever has a good excuse for being late in the Hub City. [2022]

Greenville, South Carolina, USA

Late Sunday morning in Greenville: You could either go to church or the brewery. Notice the same confrontation in your community? Especially with regard to sports events. Nevertheless, it's a appealing blend of outdoor and indoor space, the type of design that more eating establishments should emulate. [2022]

Johns Island, South Carolina, USA

Every residence needs a house guardian, especially this time of year. Ghouls and goblins will soon be pounding the streets, perhaps intent on mischief. Surely the alligator who lives in the swamp grass near this home's mailbox will be able to ward off unwelcome visitors. [2012]

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Citadel Square is easily identifiable as a church. Even without the cross, the steeple itself (a tapering octagonal prism) would lead you to identify it as a  house of worship. Why a steeple? (1) To dominate the surroundings. (2) To draw the eye towards heaven. (3) To provide height for the church bells. (4) To establish the social status of the congregation. [2007]

Beaufort, South Carolina, USA

Confucius say: "Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without." That's why we should litter the landscape with opportunities to noodle some notes. How about a xylophone on the waterfront?  It's especially useful for banging out "Happy Birthday." [2007]

Port Royal, South Carolina, USA

Welcome to Lowcountry, the southernmost part of South Carolina. It's a region where the boundary between water and land is masked by marshes, where Spanish Moss creates one of the nation's most distinctive geographies, and where the pressure to gentrify has overcome the tendency of the natural environment to isolate. [2007]

Horrel Hill, South Carolina, USA

An abandoned filling station: When you pass through Horrel Hill, there are no reminders of the past. All you can see is a gas station in ruins. It's hard to believe this was once the county seat of Richland County; that is, until Columbia was built (smack-dab in the middle of the state) to be the state capital. It was then that the eclipse began. [2020]

Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Feeling sleepy? Whether for a nap or a full night's sleep, wouldn't it be nice to just hollow out a pit and make it your bed no matter where you happened to end up? Such grizzly habits might represent the ultimate in becoming a minimalist, a lifestyle being championed by many millennials. [2020]

Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA

As a mill town: Fort Mill was one of the many Piedmont towns that brought non-farm jobs to rural areas thanks to its rail line. As a spill town: Fort Mill became one of the many Piedmont towns that brought urban jobs to the spill-over zone of Charlotte thanks to its Interstate highways. [2020]

Blufton, South Carolina, USA

These heaps of oyster shells along the banks of the May River go back to at least 1899 when the Blufton Oyster Company was founded. Five oyster landings once dotted this small river. Now there is only one, and it is the last oyster shucking business in all of South Carolina's Low Country. [2008] 

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Mailboxes: Stopping roadside to take pictures of mailboxes means a lot of U-turns and illegal parking. Although the creative ones are few and far between, Geographically Yours did an entire month of mailbox pictures in February of 2018. This one matches its home, the Huger Street Fire Station. [2012]

Columbia, South Carolina, USA

In the High Latitudes of the Western Hemisphere you might see a sea lion. The High Latitudes extend from 60 degrees N to 90 degrees N, and from 60 degrees S to 90 degrees S. If your pinniped sighting is not in the High Latitudes, you are probably looking at a coastline affected by an offshore cold current.[2020]

Port Royal, South Carolina, USA

As the sun sets on the summer, let's reflect on what an unprecedented summer it has been. Tomorrow ushers in a new season; hopefully, one that will bring back some normalcy. [2008]

Blufton, South Carolina, USA

The suits have arrived without their suits. Let there be no mistake about it, though: These men and women will determine the ground rules for groundnuts at Blufton's farmers' market. Demographically, they present a nice mix of bosses, too. And, none of them look like goobers! [2008]

Columbia, South Carolina, USA

"God Bless America" and every other country, too. We are all children of God. But, it's Flag Day, so let's honor the red, white, and blue, knowing that the events taking place on America's public square today are making the stars and stripes ever brighter. It's good to see democracy in action. [2020]

Columbia, South Carolina, USA

South Carolina ratified the Constitution on this date in 1788, so South Carolina has been one of "these united States" for 232 years. Or do we have to subtract the Civil War years when South Carolina was part of the Confederate States of America? Either way, it is time to say Happy Birthday to the Palmetto State. [2016]