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We were on a boat in the dark, headed for the convergence of conservation and culture. The full moon fell slowly behind the mountain, as it has for eons. The deep waters beneath us covered the valley, once home to a timeline of inhabitants, from ancient ferns and mastodons to human settlers. This morning, Lake…

Flaming!   His dress was fish casual: lightweight camo sun hoodie, quick dry pants, polarized sunglasses, expensive flip-flops. His green ball cap had a hook stuck in it. His boat, which matched his trailer, which matched his truck, was Decked Out for Speed and for trolling, and clean inside and out. He made one more…

Spring is here! Oconee bells are blooming, dogwood trees are flowering, tulip tree leaves are unfurling. If these are a sight for winter-sore eyes, the spring bird song is music for winter-weary ears. Bird migration has begun and all the signs are here. Songbirds are returning by the thousands on their journey from the tropical…

Why Wildness? He challenged us to answer, “Why wildness?” so my brain immediately circled to, “what is wild?” Wild is an adjective, a noun, but not so easily a verb. What is wild? The wail of a loon? Is the turkey vulture soaring overhead any wilder than the goldfinch at the feeder? Is bear more…

Is it spring? For most, the spring equinox is the first day of spring. For some, including meteorologists, it’s March 1. Kay and I claimed March 1 as the first day of spring when we first moved here, to the shores of Lake Jocassee. We jumped in the lake on that first day of Spring….

Buy the Book! I’ve written a book. Actually, I’ve written this book paragraph by paragraph, week by week, over the past 13 years. Readers of the Blue Wall Weekly have read these paragraphs before. Still, the book debuted, appropriately, at Saturday’s BellFest, at Devils Fork State Park, on the edge of Lake Jocassee, and I…

LOON WEEK! What a week. 5 days of near perfect weather at the first of March studying winter loon behavior with loon biologist extraordinaire Dr. Jay Mager, ten very eager loon lovers, and professional staff from three loon conservation organizations from breeding lakes in the northern states. Six long, slow hours each day watching loons…

Bud Burst Oh, little bud. I see your hormones have been swirling. You’ve siphoned sweet warm rain through earth-bound root, swelling harder against protective scales until, now, finally, you have burst free. There is no turning back. Will you be flower? Will you be leaf? Do you understand that youth and tenderness will leave you…

Poet Mary Oliver writes, “the leaf has a song in it.” On a recent weekend Jocassee Wild Outdoor Education guides and volunteers spent two days listening for that song. Guides became students and set out to explore the gorges with the eyes of true Wild Children—noticing, wondering about, and connecting what we found. We role-played…

Flowers Standing tall over a pair of thick and mottled leaves (if you call three inches “tall”), a wild trout lily flower bends toward ground like a hanging lantern, yellow petals curved back, long maroon stamens reaching down in search of a trout lily bee. A few feet away, bloodroot shines stark white flowers skyward,…

  Refreshing! A tour on Lake Jocassee is amazing this time of year, when late winter melts into early spring. The mountains are resplendent with cool fresh air punctuated by the chatter of pine warblers and the call of a distant redtail hawk. The lake sparkles in the afternoon sunshine, amplifying the hoots of the…