Ephemeral
We often plan hikes with a destination in mind: a highlight in a loop trail, a waterfall, an overlook from a high prominence, giant trees, a distinctive natural feature.
On the Cape Trail
The entrance to the Cape Trail at Santee Coastal Reserve passed through an area of machines: tractors, a trackhoe, trucks, boats, and a trunk (water control structure) waiting to be installed. The path ahead would travel over miles of dikes. These machines have allowed SCDNR staff to mow, repair and maintain those miles of banks.
Eldorado and Big Well
From the small parking area off Mazyck Road in Santee Coastal Reserve, the walk began on one of the unpaved forest roads, Eldorado. A mixed pine and hardwood forest flanked the roadway lined with live oaks. One prominent live oak had a broad base with huge bulges along the ground, and further down the road
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A missing mound
The muffled drumbeat was insistent on New Year’s Eve morning, the surf sound on the distant barrier island calling me toward the landing. On this daily ritual of going to a place with vistas to the east and south, I turned off on a wooded path and took a brief look at the old Andersonville
Onisecau
I stepped onto the public dock on Bull Island at 8:30, briefly talking to Wayne Tucker. He had spent the past two days working on the island, and was waiting for his boat ride back to the mainland and out of the cold. My relative warmth was a function of what awaited me on the
Two Forests
The closing of businesses resulting from the pandemic included the Audubon Center at Beidler Forest in Harleyville, SC. The 1,763-acre virgin swamp forest is part of Four Holes Swamp. After it’s reopening In October, I made the drive up I-26 for a visit.
King tide for Kingfisher
Sliding Kingfisher into the water at high tide was different that Sunday morning. The local news would report “sunny day flooding” in Charleston, with a number of downtown streets closed due to the king tides. At the landing,
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Knowing a place
I had last sailed out to Bull Island the day after the equinox, March 20, an astronomical event overshadowed by the onset of the U.S. pandemic. Several surprises had greeted me before I set foot on the island: a surfaced cormorant gripping an eel in its beak at the Shark Hole, and the news at
Update on my old acquaintance
Spring has continued to proceed in the LowCountry. New flowers erupt; birds make their spring appearance. The male painted bunting shows its spectacular colors; the female on closer inspection has a more subtle but equally appealing color palette.
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An old acquaintance
I stepped out the front door for a walk within the confines of stay-at-home orders. One of the books I had checked out of the library before closures had a reference to Henry David Thoreau walking six miles to visit a tree, as if it were an old friend. I had a visit in mind
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A sail into solitude
The sail out Andersonville Creek was into a moderate ENE breeze, and without other boat traffic. It was pleasant sailing, continuing downwind to the SW after bearing off toward the ferry route. My thoughts turned to my last sail,
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Botanizing in Philadelphia
There were pleasant surprises on our way north on I-95. Fortunately, we did not have to suffer through the extensive traffic slowdowns experienced on our last trip north. Swatches of color along the roadside in northern Virginia and beyond to Philadelphia
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