New Year Sunrise
Tag Archives: Landscape
Ravenswood Pond, October Morning
The sun had been up about an hour when I reached Ravenswood Pond on this October morning. There wasn’t any bird activity; the pond was choked with vegetation, so the reflections I hoped for were not to be had, either.
There were some rising tendrils of pond smoke.
There is an Anhinga drying his wings at the top of the Skinny Tree, but he blends right in.
Ravenswood Pond, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
October 18, 2021
Seeing The Forest and the Trees
It was a morning to be aware of both the forest and the trees, standing tall in the fog.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
December 12, 2021
Bulls Eye
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
October 19, 2021
Santee Delta By Boat, 1
The first week of November we took a boat trip in South Carolina’s Santee Delta, about half way between Charleston and Myrtle Beach.
We starting at a public boat landing where US Route 17 crosses the North Santee River and headed up river. These images were from the first stretch of the river.
Once we passed a few docks with moored boats it was easy to imagine our boat of ten folks as the only humans for miles.
A variety of trees line the river bank, and were in various stages of color and leaf loss.
Santee River Trip with Coastal Expeditions
November 8, 2021
Fall Colors, Donnelley Dike
I went down one of the dikes in an effort to get closer to the autumn color.
Some openings into the reeds allowed a colorful reflection. The gap on the closer side of the canal is an Alligator passage, created as they go back and forth from the bigger pond to the canals.
These canals are kept clear to allow the management of water flow to the back ponds.
I do not know plant that had gone to white fluff.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area
November 14, 2021
Great Egret, Fall Colors
I wonder if the limbs of the Spoonie Tree creek as a Great Egret works his way along them.
Knowing you can fly if needed probably gives some confidence, even if your perch is on its last legs.
The Great Egret found a satisfactory spot…
a little breeze ruffled his feathers as I dropped to a better angle for the background.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area
November 14, 2021
Fall Colors, Donnelley Pond
Pine trees dominate the South Carolina low country landscape, including most of the wildlife areas I frequent so I don’t see a lot of autumn color change.
The back edge of the big pond at Donnelley WMA is an exception, and more this year than I remember.
I didn’t expect to see so many Alligators out as it was only about 50 F (10 C).
If you zoom in on the next photo you’ll see Alligators gathered under the Spoonie Tree, which I recently featured in a post: The Spoonie Tree, Slowly It Tilts.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area
November 14, 2021
The Spoonie Tree, Slowly It Tilts
How low can it go before it falls?
First, a throw back to two years ago… changing water levels in the pond worked to carve out the earth under the roots. Alligator action might have played a role, too.
The smaller branches long gone, some kind of vegetation hid the base over this past summer.
At the beginning of October:
A couple of weeks later that cavity beneath the tree had collapsed.
I’m hoping the tree will stay around even after it collapses to serve as a perch for the wading and water birds.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
Moon Rising Over Middleton Place
The almost full moon was up, the sun had just gone down behind me casting a glow on the front of the South Flanker at Middleton Place.
Charleston, SC
October 19, 2021