I was deep into a cabinet building project, and had completed an important stage of the process on the previous and long workday. After an early morning eye care visit in town, I headed home to take care of other neglected tasks. At some point close to home I noticed the fabulous weather and contemplated […]
Paddling to Bulls Bay Read More »
As I arrived at Gadsenville Landing just after sunrise, a flock of iris swooped in and landed in the marsh. This kayak venture was the inverse of my last trip, where I paddled into a side creek off a main channel. That waterway went nowhere, and as I paddled against the outgoing tide the creek
Three ibises precariously landed on the rope railing of the dock as I arrived at the landing. They were facing into the wind already blowing, quite unlike my last sail in early May where I half sailed, half drifted to the Northeast Point of Bull Island. I was on a mission that May day; on
I recalled the steep unpaved mountain road rising toward my destination as both exciting and scary. Hairpin, blind turns; steep drop-offs with no guard rails; steady climbing to the top. With no mishaps or close calls, I arrived at the Cataloochee Divide, and the entrance road into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That road had
Less traveled paths Read More »
I motored over to Bull Island with friends Ben Saunders and Rod Bungey – Ben for wildlife photography, Rod for all that the island has to offer, and me to view the second and larger of the two December breaches of the Jacks Creek impoundment. With the island’s new configuration, we walked the Sheepshead Ridge
I was listening to bird sounds at the landing before launching Kingfisher. I had named the Sunfish this bird for some similar characteristics – active, small, not speedy, and a distinctive look while in flight. I recalled last October finding a quiet place, a secret spot, along the Middle Prong in Walker Valley in the
I really didn’t need another project. I used to joke about how I had projects for my next several lives. This facetious idea was the result of a 1980 decision to embark on an ultimate do-it-yourself project – designing and building a house. It was a choice based on youthful energy and naivete. With the
Table to the world Read More »
My neighborhood walk always has a common destination – the landing on the Intracoastal Waterway. It is my window to Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge – the world of creeks and salt marsh, and Bull Island in the distance. Wildlife inhabits this world, on and below the waters, on shell rakes and mudflats, and in
A place of many natural attractions, Bull Island now had a new visiting star, a flamingo, courtesy of Tropical Storm Idalia. The storm had transported many of these birds from the Yucatan throughout the southeast and even to Ohio and Wisconsin. These pink creatures became magnets for a range of people from ornithologists to more
There were a number of river crossings on the way to the mountains. Enoree, Tyger, N. Pacolet, Green. My excitement grew as the elevation rose on a trip postponed for two years. I was following the waters of the Santee watershed to its upper elevations at the Blue Ridge. I met my old friend Mike
Following the waters Read More »
The forest canopy resounded with the explosive whoosh of a large bird taking flight – actually two. One lit on a branch above my path, and another to the right. These barred owls, disturbed in the early morning, did not sound their usual call, but instead a hissing (Cornell Lab of Ornithology identifies these calls
Search for Wildlife Read More »
In the process of submitting the manuscript for my second book, Tracing the Cape Romain Archipelago, I had the unpleasant task of having to reduce the book’s length. Several of my trips did not make the final revision. The following is a sail to Cape Island on September 22, 2006. Unfortunately photos from that day
A once and future inlet Read More »
