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Siblings‍ Sure, it might look like some googley-eyed creature from a sci-fi cartoon, but this glob dangling from the tip of a sourwood branch is a wad of caterpillars. Huh? I snap a photo and do a quick search of the artificial intelligence app on my trusty computer/phone. Ok, the larval stage of a…

INSTANT FRIENDS It?s truly a beautiful thing when everyone on a public tour fits together like a puzzle, each person unique and joyful. Imagine this: 1 boat with 5 parties (4 ?couples? and 1 group of 3) on a 4-hour adventure deep into the Jocassee Gorges. Imagine everyone listening intently to one another, compliments rolling…

‘Shrooms!? August. The sun arcs high and hot, rain moves through in unpredictable cycles, and the underground network has exploded. Mushrooms. Everywhere. Not flower, not fruit, but masses of intertwined hyphae rising simultaneously as colorful stalks holding colorful caps, breaking through ground like an egg and opening wide like a parasol. It?s a smorgasbord of…

As usual, most days this week were divine. No intense heat or major weather and the water temperature was perfectly refreshing. We watched double crested cormorants, (which have less preen oil than other waterfowl), air drying their wings on the floating barrier by the hydro intakes, a healthy water snake in Laurel Fork, yawning and…

Jocassee Wild Naturalists‍ ‍For some people, Jocassee makes a deep, profound impression that goes beyond descriptive words. Some people can’t get enough of Jocassee, returning again and again to experience the wonder of this one wild place. You could call it – and many do – a spiritual experience. Maybe it’s the raw beauty of…

I turned the motor off, sat back in the captain’s chair, and closed my eyes so that I could listen.  I heard individuals getting to know each other, I heard the excitement in their voices,  I heard words of encouragement and support, I heard big belly laughs, I heard big sighs of relaxation, and then…

The Devil’s Walking Stick‍ ‍It’s possible that the North American native tree which sports the largest of leaves might also boast having the largest clusters of flowers. Like inch-and-a-half leaflets which make up a six-foot leaf, flowers of Aralia spinosa are small, but many. Quietly drift up to one hanging over the water of Lake…

We went from last week’s holiday busyness with its afternoon thunderstorms, to this week’s slower pace with slightly cooler temps and no significant weather.  One exciting thing we encountered was when a small, non-venomous water snake dropped from a low hanging branch into our boat.  I grabbed a small towel from my guide bag and…

Birds‍ It’s a dog day afternoon, and the welfare birds (as our old friend Joe called them) are coming in for lunch. Singing happy bird songs, too, as if a soaring mercury is what they’ve been waiting for. Titmouse drops four or five seeds down to waiting doves and a squirrel before taking one for…

I’m 1300 miles from home, and it’s July. I know, it’s hard to believe, but I’ve  been there in July  every year for 14 years! So my darling wife and dedicated crew released me to go just hang out with loons for a few days-in northern WI- me and the mosquitos that is. Just hang…

Puttering along‍ Slow down, you move too fast. Your wake leaves Lake Jocassee less tranquil. You’ll miss the nuance of the inimitable beauty of Jocassee, rushing as you do from waterfall to waterfall. Rediscover the lost art of puttering. These rocks tell stories, but you have to go slow and be quiet to hear them….

Wednesday morning, as we approached the dam, we watched a large raptor climb and dip repeatedly like a kite on a string.  Assuming at first it was a juvenile eagle, we  realized as we got closer, it was an osprey.  Within minutes, a second one soared up from the Keowee side of the dam, being chased by…