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Boisterous! Energetic! Curious! Awe-inspiring! Apt descriptors indeed for a pontoon trip in the Jocassee Gorges with a bunch of fun-loving kids and their families. There’s nothing like exploring the splendors of Lake Jocassee with children… of all ages! Marveling at undulating waves, splashing around and sifting sand at Tahiti Beach, admiring the soft flutter of…

Walking With Dog Sometimes, when Devils Fork Park is unexpectedly full of humans and pets, a few laps walked around an uncrowded overflow parking lot is good enough for Mica and me. Mica, still magnificent, just had her 12th birthday, and she leads with joyful canine determination to never grow old. Surrounding this parking lot…

Fledgling eaglets Foraging bees Dragonflies on the prowl Turtles laying eggs Butterflies puddling Tiny spiders growing Ripening berries Tangy sourwood blossoms Rainy days to ourselves High clouds and soft breezes Cold water plunges Dozing in the warm sun Family and friends gathering Picnic baskets full of goodies Peals of laughter Jocassee in June ~ Sheryl…

Falconry   Imagine: an eight-year-old boy sees a wild bird, bird strikes a spark, and father ignites fire by leading child to the Encyclopedia Brittanica. (Remember those?) From that point, the young lad acquaints himself not only with the bird, a goshawk, but also with the study of falconry. He acquires a bird, immerses himself…

  In Chicago, the fog comes in on little cat feet, or so said poet Carl Sandburg. On Jocassee, I imagine that the fog comes sweeping in on the wings of a great blue heron. In fact, I have seen it. As the heron lands, the fog settles, enshrouding the landscape in a misty veil…

Tree-in-airs Once upon a time in the near future, a trillionaire—the world’s first human to have accumulated so much money—will seek the cooling shade of a nearby tree. The human lives a life of money and power: travel, extravagance, prestige; Tree lives the life of trees: grounded. Trillionaire has bought his way into space. Tree…

Thankfully, as forecasted, close to 6” of rain fell over the past week in the Jocassee Gorges; replenishing streams, recharging groundwater and slightly improving the drought conditions we’re experiencing. This much needed relief raised lake levels slightly, but Jocassee is still about 10’ below full pond. According to experts, most of SC is still abnormally…

Kids Squeals of laughter ripple across this narrow cove. Carefree children, sandy, sunburnt, hair wild and wind-tangled, chasing each other down the edge of the lake like puppies let loose into a yard of fresh snow. Three centuries back these might have been sons and daughters of Cherokee people, playing their games, slipping like sleek…

Jocassee was 12.8’ low this past Thursday as we finished the last of the spring Jocassee Wild Child Outdoor Learning Experiences. Those low levels didn’t stop us from having a blast, though. Several of the benefits of low water are discovering long stretches of beaches, rock outcrops (that make great new jumping spots) and the…

Trees Sitting on bedrock, hidden in shadows of scrappy little Virginia pines, I watch another cloudless day pass over Lake Jocassee. Once upon a time in this very place, Tulip poplars would have reached toward low-hanging stars–mighty trees–felled by storms, lumber contracts, and man’s idea of progress. The giants are gone. A few miles from…

Oh, how we love our waterfalls at Jocassee, especially bigger waterfalls. We love to get close to them. Maybe you get under a waterfall and feel the ‘massage’ on your head or back. But beyond the waterfall, there are plants that love the spray from the waterfall on the rocks behind the waterfall. In the…

Stumped   Six decades have passed since Duke Power announced plans to build nuclear and hydroelectric facilities to generate electricity for Oconee and Pickens Counties. Two lakes were to be created by containing Keowee River behind dams. Surveyors traversed Jocassee Gorges, marking a clean line through the hills. Timber companies followed, and bulldozers. Soon enough…