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JOCASSEE LOON AND WINTERBIRDS REPORT! And it’s about time. My neck is just about stretched out looking up for the first loons of winter to arrive. We’ve had increasing numbers of Bald eagles over the last few weeks, and on Thursday, Oct. 10 our first loons appeared. ! Most of our guides spotted them. 2…

Cool nights, shorter days and soaking rain have transformed the Jocassee Gorges. The streams are full again with picturesque cascades and surging waterfalls. Now that chlorophyll production has significantly slowed, the scarlet, maroon, terra cotta, amber and olive leaves are dazzling. They won’t last long – so book a seat and check them out before…

Noticing November Our boat motor switches off, and our wake laps shore with gentle slaps. Everyone takes a deeper breath. Sixty seconds of no-one-say-anything. Sound is the shushing of clear, cold water falling over rock, the rustle of leaves in the slight fall breeze. Jocassee’s deep waters reflect the luminous beauty like adoring green eyes,…

“Can you eat these”? Six Mile Elementary 4th graders asked me as we walked toward the dock for their Jocassee Wild Child trip on Wednesday. Looking at their teacher, I explained they are edible and told her if she was okay with it, I’d let each one of them taste a berry if they wanted…

Happy New Year! Even as leaves begin to float down and seeds continue to float away; as birds have flown south and your potted annuals are about to turn black from frost; even as we humans look forward to “peak” of leaf color yet dread the darker days of coming winter, a brand-spanking new joyful…

We thought we’d seen it all out here… until a 101-year-old Wild Child showed us otherwise! I had the absolute joy of welcoming a living legend aboard — a centenarian whose birthday wish was to celebrate by touring the lake. He grinned as he gave a thumbs-up for the camera in front of a waterfall,…

Pre-peak If you’re not leaving that easy chair for a drive or a tour until the mountainsides are drenched in full-on, in-you-face color, fine. Stay there. You will be missing out on the best part of fall: the slow fade, pre-peak time of year when the wall of greenery is punctuated by startling splashes of…

  The week started on Monday with 5 boats heading out for the Full ‘Hunters’ Moon Rising Tour. The forecast called for a slight chance of rain around moonrise, but you wouldn’t have known it as we left the dock with sunshine, high clouds and perfect temperatures. About halfway through the trip, someone noticed a…

Nuts! (and seeds) POW! My eyes fly open. POP! POW! I wait for a crash that doesn’t come. Usually these POPs and POWs—which is the exact sound of wood breaking—are followed by a crash of limb or tree trunk coming down. Ice storms bring that sound. So do hurricanes. POW! I try to place the…

“What did you learn today?” At the beginning of our Wild Child adventure, I tell my students to be prepared to answer this question. None of us really know what the response will be. A lot can happen during a few hours in the Jocassee Gorges. At the beginning of our exploration, I tell them…

Goldenrod It’s early autumn. This is the season when goldenrod blooms. Why, we wonder, does this beauty not grace our own garden, realizing not that throughout summer we have willfully removed it, or poisoned it with chemical spray, deeming it a weed not worthy of the wait. We (or our paid gardeners) discard goldenrod to…

“Welcome to the Jocassee Gorges! This is YOUR place.” I smiled and held my arms out toward the beautiful cloud-kissed wall of mountains in front of us. The Jocassee green waters shimmered all around. The slightly awkward 6th graders on my boat were from Oconee County. “We are going to get to know your place…