Blog

Who Cares? ‍ ‍Contained in the Jocassee Gorges within the boundaries of four intersecting highways grows this good Earth’s entire native population of Shortia galacifolia. Shortia is a plant. It hugs the ground in dense mats of shiny evergreen leaves, and for a scant few weeks in early Spring, its diminutive, sparkling white flowers…

Due to the high winds and cold temperatures this week, we rescheduled several tours. However, classroom guide training and preparations for the season are ongoing as we anticipate the spring arrival of close to 1200 local school kids for Jocassee Wild Child Adventures. Here at home, less than 10 miles from the lake, I’ve been…

Wind ‍ ‍Cold winter wind chases cold winter rain down mountain slopes, across open water, through undulating hills. The wind is no joke in a landscape where trees have been pushed off kilter by last September’s hurricane. In a matter of time their precarious leans will topple. Walking through woods, or even driving, feels…

‍KICK OFF! No, not that one. Mid February is the beginning of the most exciting two months for the loons of Jocassee. They have completed their mid-winter molt, when loons shed ALL their flight feathers and grow entirely new ones, in preparation for spring migration and the long flight to their breeding waters. Their winter…

Black Birds ‍ ‍A slow “whoop…whoop…whoop” passes overhead. A vulture. But no… a very big and very black bird, but not a vulture. Raven? Big black bird settles beside a large nest near the top of a young white pine. Nest building? I’m intrigued! “Caw, caw! Caw, caw!” One of the neighborhood crows calls, another…

  Although we still have weeks of winter left, the recent warm weather was welcomed and brings with it some noticeable changes. Earlier in the week we heard wood frogs calling from a small cove. We boated in to listen, but couldn’t get close because of a submerged tree in our path. Thanks Helene! This…

Shaped by Adversity ‍ We’ve come to the South Carolina coast for both business and pleasure, a short few days to watch birds and discuss a future book highlighting the mystery and wonder of the Jocassee Gorges. A morning walk with Mica the Magnificent (canine) takes us along the shoreline and back up through a…

  ‍Cool things happen when you meet fellow naturalists. So often on our tours, most everyone who comes out with us has some interest in nature and the beauty of this place. However, once in a while you get a chance to briefly connect with kindred spirits. This past week, I met just such a…

A Long Road Ahead‍ Bare-branch winter does little to hide chaos left behind on one fateful day in the autumn of 2024, beyond those terrible, terrible floods. Road trips reveal how much of the southeast was victim to a storm like no other. Healthy trees, ripped violently from earth, lay fallen across entire hillsides, fanned…

FLUTTERVILLE. That’s what we have named our front porch this year, all 30 feet of it. Along its length are 4 bird feeders, proof positive that we have learned nothing from prior visits by neighborhood bears. We live in the woods, so speciation is limited (red-bellied woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, cardinals, house finches, goldfinches and tufted…

More Winter!‍ What does it take to get twelve people in a boat, on a lake, on a day that won’t reach 48 degrees? An invitation. That, and the chance to see Jocassee’s famous waterfalls in a rare frozen state. It is cold, but the sun is shining, and the company is warm and lively….

Brrr…January! As this Canadian cold air mass sinks in on top of us, we’re busy prepping for the coming year. January is typically our coldest month and the wildlife around the lake are not much different than us when it comes to this cold. They seek shelter and food to ride it out. Rock outcrops,…