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Meet one of Jocassee’s most misunderstood inhabitants: the Northern Water Snake! Just look at that sweet face! Listen, ya’ll….. these snakes are nonvenomous and play an important role in keeping aquatic ecosystems healthy by feeding on fish, frogs, and other small critters. They are not cottonmouths! We don’t have cottonmouths on Jocassee! 😊 When threatened,…

Storms The warning signs are there. It begins with a distant grumble, a closer rumble. Air hangs hot, sullen and heavy under a sky that grows darker and more threatening by the minute. Electricity brightens the world one second and deepens shadows the next. Then comes wind, first in a menacing dance with treetops, then…

Stopping to admire a rosebay rhododendron in bloom, we saw a slight movement off the right, front corner of the boat. Just as we turned to look, the shape quickly & silently slipped from the rocks into the water. With gasps and exclamations, we realized we just caught a glimpse of a river otter, trying…

The Present of Presence   These Mountains, these Gorges. They don’t speak to just anybody. Some of us are in too much of a hurry to listen. Some of us are too self-absorbed to see. Some of us leave trash behind, disrespectful of our place. But these Mountains, these Rivers, surely they speak kindly to…

Head out of the water like a periscope, the northern water snake glides toward the shore, gripping its prey sideways. We form a semi-circle and patiently sit through one act of the ongoing drama that is the circle of life. Time passes, and our scaly companion seems to weary of the spotlight. It swims away,…

Independence   Remember our native landscape of 1776: Giant tulip poplars and white pines were not yet laid low by axes and cross-cut saws. Tonnages of native herbs–goldenseal, ginseng, cohosh–were not yet carted to market. Dark, fertile topsoil was deep across the land. Rivers ran free to the ocean and sturgeon ran free up wild…

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…