Awake: 7:13am Temp 46 sleep 6+19 sunny overnight @ Frostproof, FL.
Kathy makes a breakfast of sourdough pancakes, bacon, eggs over easy with maple syrup. While I clean the dishes, she continues our campground search for a suitable site @ a reasonable rate & relatively close to people we want to visit & places we want to see.
My 1st cousin, Florentz, calls from cold Pennsylvania; he reports that his geo-thermal heating & cooling unit is keeping their house warm @ 72 degrees. When the outside temp is @ (zero), the unit runs 80% of the time; when the outside temp is -11 degrees, the unit runs 88 % of the time. He is quite comfortable about this as his geo-thermal unit uses a low rate of amps.
We drive to Lake Wales (13) miles & visit the Historic Bok Sanctuary & Gardens. A little history: In 1922, Edward Bok decided to create a sanctuary for birds & people in Florida because he was so awed by the beauty of Iron Mountain in Lake Wales. He acquired a large tract of sandy soil covered with pines & palmettos & hired the famous landscape architect, Fredrick Olmsted, Jr., to transform the area into a sanctuary that would “touch the soul with its beauty & quiet."
The first year was spent digging trenches and laying pipes for irrigation, after which soil was brought to the site by thousands of truck loads and plantings began. The Olmsted plan included the planting of 1,000 large live oaks, 10,000 azaleas, 100 sabal palms, 300 magnolias, and 500 gardenias, as well as hundreds of fruit shrubs including blueberry and holly.
The Singing Tower is the centerpiece of the gardens. The tower was built at the highest elevation of the site, south of a reflection pool that allows the water to reflect its full image. A 60-bell carillon set within the 205-foot (62 m) tall, late Gothic Revival tower that was designed by architect Milton B. Medary. Construction on the tower began in 1927 and was completed for the dedication of the gardens. The tower is 51 feet (16 m) square at its base, changing form at 150 feet (46 m) high to an octagon with 37 feet (11 m) sides that include sculptures designed by Lee Lawrie. The tower is surrounded by a 15-foot (4.6 m) moat that serves as a Koi pond.
Although the tower's interior is not open to the public, it contains the Anton Brees Carillon Library, said to be the largest carillon library in the world.
Inside the bell chamber is a playing room that houses a clavier, or keyboard, that is used for playing the carillon bells. Recitals are given daily from the 60-bell carillon set.
Under construction for over five years, Bok Tower Gardens was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge on February 1, 1929. Edward Bok died in 1930, and was interred at the base of the tower.
We enjoyed @ (4) hrs at the Bok Sanctuary. We explored the visitor’s center & its many exhibits and listened to & watched on closed circuit TV as the carillonneur, William De Turk, played several selections. After his performance, he met with those interested & answered our questions about himself & the carillon. De Turk is a native of Philadelphia, has a Master of Music degree, has performed throughout the USA, Canada & Europe, has done much research on the Carillon & published many articles. He became the third Carillonneur & Director of Carillon services in 2004.
We strolled some of the many paths admiring the various plants, flowers, trees, etc. We also visited the Pinewood Estate which features a twenty-room Mediterranean Revival mansion. This mansion was built in the early 1930s by C. Austin Buck, an early twentieth-century steel industrialist. The sanctuary features several events at this mansion during the year.
It was a lovely afternoon & well worth our time.
Dinner: leftover filled pepper with a Waldorf salad.
Tonight’s movie: “Fanny” with Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Boyer, Horst Buchholz, Baccaloni, Lionel Jeffries. Gorgeously photographed & beautifully scored dramatic version of Marcel Pagnol’s trilogy involving young girl left with child by adventure-seeking sailor. 1961. Another movie that Kathy really enjoyed & had NOoo problem staying awake for; she had seen this movie as a teenager & thought Horst Buchholz was awfully cute.
Lights out: 11:57pm
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