Brookgreen Gardens Zoo, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

After enjoying the sculpture garden, we headed over to the zoo part of Brookgreen Gardens.

Before seeing the fauna, we admired some flora. Most of the trees have Spanish moss on them, especially the old, gnarly trees.

Maybe this isn't a good first picture for a post about a zoo?

The ponds had the usual warning about alligators and snakes waiting to take a bite out of us. We weren't here to eat a snack or be a snack, so we were just fine.

We didn't bring our bathing suits anyway

The first thing we saw at the zoo was the goat pen. Since we visited in springtime, we got to see some baby goats!

Eating up

Following a parent's good example

Older, less active goat

We saw a bull rubbing his horns against a tree. Maybe he was getting ready to break out!

Or maybe he had fleas

Speckled hens are always fun to watch.

Hen pen

We did not approach this next feature, a tower of pallets and other stuff that makes a good home for various insects.

No rooms for rent

The zoo has a nice collection of predator birds. These birds have been injured in the wild and have been given a longer life in captivity.

Barn owl

Bald eagle

Side view

The red fox was too shy to come close for a picture.

A zoomed in and cropped photo

The river otters were a playful bunch who did a lot of swimming and cavorting.

Going downstream

Coming ashore

This skink was hanging out on one of the walls. It is not part of any exhibit, just a bit of wildlife living at the zoo by choice.

The blues are behind him

Another aviary had the non-predatory birds on display.

Hanging in a tree

Looking for lunch

Found it!

The zoo also has a horse and a donkey, both of which were more interested in food than in entertaining guests.

Not much grass left

As we left, we saw a bit of history. This cypress tree log was found in the Waccama River in 2009. It's believed to be felled in the late 1700s or early 1800s as slaves cleared the swamp for planting rice. The log, which is seventeen feet long and 10 feet in diameter, has hand-axe marks. Experts think it was around 500 years old when it was cut down.

Cyprus tree log

I'm fairly certain that our kids enjoyed this part of our visit to Brookgreen Gardens more than the sculpture garden. Your mileage may vary.

Brookgreen Gardens Sculptures, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Brookgreen Gardens is a former rice plantation. The last owners were Archer Milton Huntington and his wife Anna Huntington. Anna was a fine sculptor and the couple decided to use their land as the largest outdoor sculpture garden in the United States. They established a cultural center on the land in 1931. Today, the area includes a small zoo, several boat and bus tours, and a historical walk describing the plantation days.

We bought tickets at the house by the road then drove to the parking area, which had some signs about the family's history dating back to the American Revolution.

Distracted by information

The outdoor sculptures are numerous and impressive. Here's a sampling of what we saw.

Our first sighting was Ode to the West Wind II by Rod Zullo (b. 1969). Zullo's favorite subject is animals, mostly sculpting horses. This statue was cast in bronze in 2010.

Ode to the West Wind II

Greg Wyatt's Albert Bierstadt (Bronze, 2016) is one of a set of sculptures honoring the Hudson River School painters from the 1800s. Bierstadt lived from 1830 to 1902; Wyatt was born in 1949. The sculpture is especially interesting for the short biography of Bierstadt on the back!

Albert Bierstadt

Bierstadt's story

Fillies Playing is a sculpture by the gardens' founder, Anna Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973). She made two sizes of this subject. This particular copy is from her original 1956 plaster model but was cast from new molds in 2010.

Fillies Playing

Polar Bears (Bronze, 1905) was created by Frederick George Richard Roth (1872-1944). He liked to use playfulness and movement in his sculptures, often favoring the Impressionist style. I didn't realize Impressionism was used outside of painting!

Polar Bears

Gustav Bohland (1897-1959) cast Group of Anhingas out of aluminum in 1936. An anhinga is a water turkey!

Group of Anhingas

Gleb Derujinsky (1888-1975) worked in wood, stone, and clay. He often used biblical themes as in Samson and the Lion (Limestone, 1949). This pond is where the original house stood.

Samson and the Lion

Another pond has a sculpture in the middle and I assumed that the picture would get the information off the sign. Back home, I discovered the sign is unreadable in my picture. 

???

The Offering is a classic Madonna and Child made for a church in North Carolina. Marjorie Daingerfield (1900-1977) created it in bronze in 1972. I like how the child is more active.

The Offering

Herb Mignery (b. 1937) experienced the American West as he grew up on a Nebraska ranch. His works depict people from there, often with authentic details. Call of the Bison (Bronze, 2005) shows some natives ready for the hunt.

Call of the Bison

Faun (Bronze, 1931) is the work of Italian artist Leo Lentelli (1879-1961). He came to America in 1903 and worked in studio in New York. This sculpture was cast three times, the original going to the Boca Raton Club in Florida.

Faun

To get a break from the heat of the morning, we went to a display building that includes these models for a schoolground sculpture. We also watched a video of how the sculptor turned these smaller models into the triple-sized final works.

Models

Back outside, we saw Shark Diver (Bronze, 1952) by Frank Eliscu (1912-1996). It captures the underwater lightness and grace of both the human and the fish.

Shark Diver

Another work by Gleb Derujinsky is Diana (Bronze, 1925), depicting the goddess of the hunt in action. Even though it is still, the statue gives a sense of grace and movement.

Diana

Man Carving His Own Destiny (Limestone, 1961) was started by Robert Baillie (1880-1961) and completed by Arthur Lorenzani (1885-1986), though obviously there's more work to be done before this figure is free from the block in which he is trapped. Careful with that chisel, man!

Man Carving His Own Destiny

Alligator Bender (Marble, 1937) was sculpted by Nathaniel Choate (1899-1965). The near-perfect circle frames the strong man who clearly is more afraid of clothing than crocodiles.

Alligator Bender

Persephone (Bronze, no date) by Marshall Maynard Fredericks (1908-1998) depicts the goddess as she springs up from her wintery underworld domain (she was married to Hades and had to live in the underworld for six months) to return to the land of the living in springtime.

Persephone

Presidential Eagle (Bronze, 2004) was enlarged by Sandy Scott (b. 1943) from a smaller work called Eagle of the Rock. A second large casting was made for the Bill Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Presidential Eagle

The Saint James Triad (Bronze, 1996-1999) is named after the hometown of the individual who commissioned the sculpture from Richard McDermott Miller (1920-2004). Miller uses the sharp boxes to contrast the soft curves of the females.

Saint James Triad

We did not get too close to the Don Quixote sculpture as we headed toward the zoo. Don Quixote was sculpted by Anna Hyatt Huntington and cast in aluminum in 1948. The trailing figure Sancho Panza (Aluminum, 1971) was created by C. Paul Jennewein (1890-1978) and makes a natural companion.

Sancho Panza and Don Quixote

Next, we visited the zoo, which will be the next post!