There is a small patch of Canna Lilies at the edge of the big field at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. It’s a wet spot and the lilies and cattails seem pretty happy there.
This dragonfly found an unfurled blossom a nice place to perch on a hot day. True to form he lifted off just as I was ready to shoot then returned to the exact same spot,
The orange and yellow combination of the flowers is quite attractive, shouting out “summer!”
I liked the green reflection from the distant trees in this old rice field canal. A storm was brewing and the sky had become dark eliminating the more common blue reflection. The water was so still it looked solid.
Ted and I have been visiting the Donnelley Wildlife Management Area regularly for almost three years. Somehow we always take the same few routes. The place is huge, just over 8000 acres, and yesterday we tried a new walking trail which starts in some woods overrun with mosquitoes then opens up to this!
The puffy clouds reflecting in the old rice field ponds were the perfect touch for some landscape photos. Several walkable dikes wind around the ponds and we saw a wide variety of birds, a few Alligators, and two Armadillos. And not another human being.
Built in 1905, The Gibbes Museum of Art refers to the dome that crowns the Rotunda Gallery as “Tiffany Era.” It seems the sought after Tiffany markings are not to be found based on the museum’s news articles about a recent renovation that included cleaning the dome.
I took the image above standing on the big fleur-de-lis in this next image and looking up. I wanted to lay on the floor but thought it might be frowned on.
The floor is tile, that was (gasp!) covered in brown linoleum along with the beautiful woodwork being painted white sometime in the 1950s or early 1960.
This view out the huge windows in the front shows a hint of the neighboring Circular Church, another architectural beauty in Charleston.
File this under not what I was expecting.
Yoda inside a gazebo in front of a stately brick house with a fabulous front porch fits that criteria.
Yoda, the door is open.
Manning, SC: “Matchless for beauty and hospitality”
White-eyed Vireos are small {0.3-0.5 oz (10-14 g)} song birds that are usually difficult to spot due to their preferred habitat of thickets and scrubby trees. I could hear this one singing just in front of me on a narrow path and was surprised to see him on an open branch.
And when he flew I could still see him!
Although White-eyed Vireo was my first thought, I used the Merlin Bird ID app to verify the ID.
I returned to Beidler Forrest one morning this week hoping for another opportunity to see a Prothonotary Warbler or two. I did hear a few high in the tree tops but mostly they eluded me. The promised sun did not materialize, keeping the forest dark.
I did capture this one as it was returning to its nest, which the center staff pointed me to. The nest is down inside that Cypress knee. After a moment the adult dropped into the nest and stayed put for at least the next twenty minutes, likely laying on eggs.
May 7, 2019.
The Prothonotary Warblers have returned to my area. Often you hear them before seeing them, even with this brilliant yellow.
These images were taken at Beidler Forest which has many of the features these warblers like: tree cavities for nesting, damp forest floor, dense undergrowth and both standing and slow moving water.
As I was leaving for the day one final Prothonotary Warbler crossed my path and perched on an open, if dimly lit, branch for a few moments.
This is probably a Carolina Anole, due to the bright green color. They have the ability to change to a duller green or brown, depending on the temperature and their environment.
This one is shedding his skin, which is brought on by growth: like other reptiles their skin doesn’t grow with them.
Anoles become less active when going through the shedding process and this one picked a dangerous spot at the edge of the swamp to just hang out. He would easily be seen by a passing bird who could snatch him up for lunch. I left before that happened.
This is a somewhat artsy presentation of the Ravenel Bridge through a monument at Magnolia Cemetery.
