Every day the shifting water and wind add and remove sand and debris at the end of Folly Island. These dead trees provide some interest and natural framing to the view of Morris Island Light, left stranded on a sand bar a number of years ago.
Taken at the beginning of September before storm Irma came to town I would not be surprised on my next visit to find these particular tree limbs gone.
Folly Beach, SC, 9/3/2017
Ah, the wind…
The wind at the beach got the approval of this Basset Hound.
I think of these hounds as being plodders, but this fellow broke into a joyful run down the beach with all four feet off the sand. A senior citizen, he soon returned to a stately walk and was happy to rest when his people sat on a chunk of driftwood.
We often walk through the cemetery at Charleston’s Circular Congregational Church when we are in the neighborhood. Filled with trees, it is welcoming to many birds which may be why a Red-tailed Hawk buzzed the area, cruising over my head. He never slowed and I watched his beautiful tail disappear over a wall headed towards Queen Street.
We headed that way too, wondering if he might be perched in a nearby tree. Even better, he was in clear view on the tile roof of one of the old French Quarter homes.
I switched to my long lens and he stayed put while I angled around the front of the building, getting a few views of this temporary king of Queen Street.
Daily life went on below him: post-Irma trash pick up, street repairs, tourists bent on seeing every street but missing the details, a suited business man conducting his business on the phone in the street…nothing seemed to faze him.
Perched near the end of Sullivan’s Island, SC, overlooking Breach Inlet, these homes had a ring side seat as the sky and water reacted to approaching Hurricane Irma.
Taken 9/9/2017 — two days before Irma hit Charleston as a Tropical Storm with a storm surge higher than experienced last October during Hurricane Matthew.
Space was tight to stand on the bank of the canal and catch the Great Blue Heron flying in so I didn’t get his whole body.
He landed back on his little island and had a fluff up before going back to fishing.
On his own island paradise, complete with snacks, a Great Blue Heron was drifting down the canal at the edge of the old rice fields.
The shrimp were to his liking.
The island clump was moving just fast enough to make me dizzy looking through the view finder.
The Heron paced back and forth a few times and settled on some smaller catches, barely seen hanging from his mouth here.
He left paradise as it rounded a turn, but the fishing must have been good off its shores as he returned just a few minutes later.
A few Wood Ducks were hanging out on an alligator ramp in the old rice field pond. Everyone was happy until a hawk flew over and one by one they slid into the water and paddled to the far shore and relative safety of the reeds.
This one lone duck didn’t seem to get the message and stood her ground on a lump of debris.
These photos were taken two weeks before Hurricane Irma swept through South Carolina last week. I passed this spot yesterday and the duck weed blew into the pond corners and many of the reed islands are re-arranged.
It’s always a surprise to see a wading bird in the water with their body in. This Little Blue Heron was taking a prolonged bath in water that was a bit murky.
He stood in one spot having a soak for at least ten minutes. I’m not sure if those bubbles were from his splashing that I missed or something else was in the water.
Then the action started:
Bathing can be hard on your coiffure.
Finally hopping out of the water for a big shake.
And another:
Then a peaceful rest at the edge of his personal bath tub.
I took this series of photos of the Orb-Weaver Spider just before the single shot that I posted on August 23.
Seen at rest most of the time, these spiders can move with speed when lunch is involved, which is what caught my eye.
The web threads change color with the light, but this day they also had a yellowish coating that may have been pollen. It had just rained and there were a lot of wild flowers growing along the boardwalk.
Hanging on to her web from her hind legs she used the other legs to manipulate her catch. Other ensnared insects appeared to float in front of the web.
At one point she was dangling.
For reference, the entire web was about 3 feet across and that dangling fly was the size of a common house fly.
Stop and smell… the Gardenias.
This single blossom was partly hidden at the side of the swamp trail. I’ll be sure to watch for future blooms and possibly seed pods as the season progresses.
And yes, it smelled delightful.
