Tag Archives: nature

The one where we run out of daylight because my husband won’t stop talking.

February 9, 2024 Rivergirl 17 Comments

Next to the cypress wetlands was the Port Royal museum. We love small local museums run by resident volunteers and always try to support them when we can.

This local didn’t share any history with us, but he was all about a good neck scratch.

Not St. Augustine, Florida.

Nope. That’s a common misconception. The Spanish actually settled Port Royal first, but it was abandoned a few years later due to lack of funds.

This museum was tiny but filled with interesting things.

Megalodon teeth… that you can apparently scavenge for on local beaches. Sign me up!

15 million year old clam? That too.

The docent had absolutely no idea what this was, but I’m there for it as well.

We’d had a busy day, and since I had one more waterfront walk on the schedule for the late afternoon I tried to hurry the husband along.

I think you can guess how that went.

Just when I almost had him out the door, the lovely lady who runs the museum suggested he might want to look at some military photo albums donated by a resident.

Yes, they were interesting.

Filled with heart warming pics…

As well as the horrors of war.

Most were taken during WWII and Korea. And while I appreciated her sharing them with us, I wasn’t as thrilled with the hour long conversation that followed.

Vacation time is limited!

Schedules must be kept.

As the sun was going down, I finally dragged him out of the building and we headed for the boardwalk.

Tiptoeing through the seagulls we made our way forward.

It’s a popular fishing spot next to the marshes and offers a long stretch of easy walking with a viewing tower.

Of course it was getting dark and the wind had ratcheted up to a howl which made it less than comfortable.

We only climbed to the first level of the three level tower…

The higher you went… the stronger and colder the winds. One quick picture and I called it good.

The sun was setting and we needed to get back on the road.

As you can see, our giant rental beast dwarfed all the other vehicles in the parking area.

🥴

Good bye Port Royal…. it was swell.

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The cypress wetlands.

February 8, 2024 Rivergirl 26 Comments

After that lovely meal we were ready to walk off some poundage and in the Port Royal area there’s nowhere better than the cypress wetlands.

The entrance is literally right in the middle of town and the boardwalks put you right in the thick of it.

I was excited to see a gator.

And as we started our stroll, a local woman passed by assuring us wide eyed Yankees we would see some.

Off we went through marsh and swamp and cypress… eyes peeled for alligators.

Not quite.

A third of the way through? A viewing platform.

Which the husband took full advantage of, but left reptile bereft.

Egrets and herons were abundant.

Yeah, yeah… so you keep saying.

As we hit the halfway mark the trees were draped with that lovely moss so evocative of the Deep South.

I tried for a mossy selfie but my arms aren’t long enough to capture much background.

There were some fabulously gnarly trees above and beside us …

And at times it felt like the forest primeval.

How cypress grows and roots in standing water always amazes me.

There were signs everywhere saying “Don’t Touch The Trees!”

So of course…

There’s my husband, touching a tree.

On the home stretch, there was a boardwalk right through the wetlands.

With a sign about alligators.

Which was actually spot on….

Because we finally saw one lounging on the opposite bank with a bevy of turtle friends.

Score!

As we were leaving I spotted an unusual stationary alligator.

He was wire framed and filled with trash.

An excellent visual on why you shouldn’t litter.

Cypress wetlands, a great place to stroll.

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Location is everything. The resort…

February 2, 2024 Rivergirl 31 Comments

Our home base for the anniversary trip was a two bedroom condo at Wyndham Ocean Ridge on Edisto ( Ed-iss-toe) Beach. Mid way between Charleston and Hilton Head…

It’s a quiet, laid back mostly residential beach community without all the tacky water parks and touristy crap cluttering most southern coasts. It’s the undiscovered country and that’s just how we like it.

When we arrived at the resort and checked in, we were given a unit on the golf course. We travel through our timeshare so sometimes it’s a crap shoot where we’re placed. But seeing that my husband has the gift of gab and makes friends easily, we were quickly reassigned to one of the deluxe units in the best area. (Me dropping the 40th wedding anniversary bomb may have had something to do with it as well. 😉 )

If it hadn’t been January, in the height of the off season this wouldn’t have happened. The Bay Point association is the primo spot of the entire resort and people book them two years in advance.

The peninsula itself is Edisto Beach with private homes all around. The areas in green are the resort and it was a crazy set up. One second you’re on the resort, the next you’re on a private road. As you can see by my arrow we were right at the tip on the water.

Our condo was in the middle on the top floor, which in reality is only the second but you have to climb 4 flights of stairs to get there.

It was clean and spacious.

With a decided seaside decor.

It was newly remodeled with carpet that looked like waves.

And had a pretty sweet view from the bed.

And speaking of views…

One look out the balcony and I was a happy camper.

Off season with an entire beach to ourselves. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Second bedroom. No, we don’t use it… but if you book a two bedroom unit you get two baths and that my friends is the key to a long and happy marriage.

Master bath. This was mine in case you were wondering.

😉

We settled in and unpacked.

Very pleased with our South Carolina home for the week.

❤️

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The fishing life.

January 30, 2024 Rivergirl 28 Comments

Maine is a coastal state and has a rich fishing heritage. Lobsters are our mainstay but we also harvest scallops, crabs, oysters and numerous deep sea fish.

The men who work the ocean are a hardy bunch. Strong, stoic, and weatherbeaten. They also have a quirky sense of humor.

So when a local apparel outfitter started a big catch contest giveaway and asked fishermen to submit pictures, you know it was going to get interesting.

Here are a few of my favorite entries.

This is the son of a friend…. with an extra large lobster roll.

In case you ever wondered what scallop dragging looks like.

And that is one monster scallop!

I believe this is a Mahi…

I have no idea what these are, but they’re definitely plentiful.

This is your typical – man with fish – proud catch photo.

This, on the other hand….

Is not.

🤣

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Miscellaneous nonsense.

January 21, 2024 Rivergirl 27 Comments

If I was a dishonest person, I could get rich doing my husband’s laundry.

He’s forever leaving things in his pockets.

I think I need this book.

I have long suspected my spider plant was in cahoots with my succulents. Maybe now I can prove it.

Mr. Hawk is back.

And currently driving His Lordship crazy.

I’m not sure what makes this French…

But Martha Stewart assures me it’s a good thing.

As seen at a local convenience store.

Better than sour balls I assume.

That sums it up quite nicely I think.

😉

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Are lobsters the canary of the sea?

January 16, 2024 Rivergirl 16 Comments

We’re poisoning our oceans.

With chemicals and plastics and oil spills… and though the waters off the coast of Maine are cleaner than most, I’m afraid even they’re showing signs of the pollution.

I live in Maine and have lobsterman friends. They often post pictures of the weird and wonderful blue and orange lobsters they haul up in their traps. The colors are rare but occur naturally as a mutation of genes.

But lately?

The pictures have taken a darker turn.

Mutations are being found.

And this doesn’t bode well for our oceans.

This last one is not only disturbing , but downright creepy.

😰

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Hello beautiful…

January 13, 2024 Rivergirl 9 Comments

A Coopers Hawk has discovered our bird feeding station.

And while I haven’t seen the telltale sign of feathers on the ground…

It’s only a matter of time before some poor slow moving dove succumbs.

Birds of prey are glorious creatures and though witnessing an innocent death is never easy, it’s most definitely part of nature’s plan.

Not the most riveting video, but I’m sharing anyway.

As you can see we have no snow, but the wind was blowing and the hawk was puffed up against the cold.

This next photo?

Mid poop.

🤣

Hawk visitors.

Another reason I love living in the country.

❤️

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Talk about being on point.

December 14, 2023 Rivergirl 9 Comments

Have you ever seen something that was simply too perfect?

Okay, so it’s not a pear tree. But a partridge on your Christmas wreath is pretty damn close.

We had one of those beauties on our front lawn a few years ago.

I had no idea what it was and had to look him up in my bird watchers bible.

Native to the Middle East and southern Asia, the Chukar was brought as a game bird to North America, where it has thrived in some arid regions of the west. From late summer to early spring, Chukars travel in coveys, but they may be hard to see as they range through the brush of steep desert canyons. They become more conspicuous in spring, when the harsh cackling chuk chuk chukar of the territorial males echoes from the rocky cliffs.

They’re noisy little devils and if you’ve ever heard one… you’re not apt to forget it.

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🎶 All I want for Christmas… 🎶

December 14, 2023 Rivergirl 18 Comments

Remember when I found that adorable opossum site a while back and said I wanted one for a pet?

Well….

I found another site.

And now I think I need a raccoon as well.

As a Christmas gift it sure beats a toaster.

When my husband was young and living on the farm, his father rescued an injured baby raccoon that had been hit by a car. Not wanting to release it back in the wild because it limped.. they adopted him and named him Teddy.

Somewhere I have a picture of the hubs as a teenager lying on the couch with Teddy. Talk about cute!