Roadside Treasures: Wildflowers

Well, as you know by now, if you follow this blog very often, I love taking photos of the wildlife and scenery in Georgia.  I am not the person you want to be behind when something catches my eye.  I can stop that old chevy on a dime, I am a U-turn master and when I'm on my photography adventures I tend to drive slow.  You also know that I often talk about the little things that we take for granted every day, he things we should take time to notice, they are quite beautiful.  Today I would like to share with you some of the Wildflowers I found on the road side, along the ditches, in the swamps and in the racks of the concrete in the parking lots.
 Please keep in mind, I am by no means a wildflower expert.  I am going to do my best to identify these beauties, but I am human and I could be wrong, (please don't let my husband her me admit that).  Please feel free to leave comments and help me learn.  Let's start with the ever popular and easily recognized Black Eyed Susan, shown below can be found along just about any road side in south Georgia in the early summer.

This next tiny little treasure was found on the Jekyll Island causeway.   It is called the Asiatic Daisy or Mouse Ears, which I think is more appropriate.

 I have written numerous times about the Butler Island Wildlife Management Area just south of Darien in McIntosh county.  It is a plethora of hidden little treasures.  Most of these pics from there I didn't even have to get out of the truck and fight the black flies and mosquitoes, which is always a plus!

Buttonbush

Sweet Smelling Honeysuckle 

The unusual and delicate looking Passion Flower also know as a Maypop

I didn't find this one in abundance, but a few long the backside of one of the ponds.  Often referred to as a Swamp Rose.  Below is the Butterfly Milkweed which we found on that trip to Clayhole Swamp Wildlife Management Area, which is another wonderful place to find these little cuties.

 

Common Primrose

I think this one is an Oxeye Daisy

 Eastern Daisy or Common Daisy

 The name of this one just tickles me...Sensitive Briar, I have never found a Briar that was upset or distraught with me getting tangled in it.  HA

I found this Prickly Pear Cactus flower in Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge.

 Then on our way to the Okefenokee Swamp in Folkston I saw some these pretty Purple Coneflowers.

And of course we found many Water Lilies once we entered the swamp.

Zigzag Spiderwort, I swear I don't know where they come up with some of these names...Anyway, I have also written numerous times about Homer Wilson Way in downtown Brunswick which is where I found these.  The one pictured below, I have no idea, but it is so dainty and it produces a red berry. 

 Well, I think I have done pretty good identifying these lovely little flowers, but these next few photos I really of no idea.  But I want to share the beauty you can find along the dirt roads and ditches.

 

 

 Well, I hope you have enjoyed the pictures above, and again feel free to help me identify these flowers and in some cases weeds.  Remember to always take the time to notice the Beauty That Surrounds Us and of course to smell the flowers.

Georgia Shrimp Boats...Working Art in Motion

Well, it feels as if we are into the dog days of summer and it is only the first part of July.  We should be totally deep fried by August and then burnt to a crisp by the end of September!  In all honesty, I prefer this to snow...this girl can't handle the cold anymore.  Well enough of that, I was trying to think of a topic for today and as I was coming over the Sidney Lanier Bridge I saw a few shrimp boats heading out for the day and I thought that's perfect!  I love photographing the old wooden shrimp boats.  They have personality, if they could talk; the stories they could tell:

This photo was taken probably eight years ago or better when the Brunswick City Dock was full of the shrimp boats that helped build the culture of Brunswick.  This particular bunch of boats caught my eye because of the first one...the Himroid.  Which is how I feel about my husband's boat and it isn't a shrimp boat or any near as big!  The Himroid sank in the Brunswick River not far from the Sidney Lanier Bridge.

       

 The photo on the left is an old one also of the Dock behind Knights Seafood.  I don't believe any of these three are still in service.  The Sunrise shot is in Darien and I am happy to say I have seen both of these boats recently.

 This is a shot of part of the shrimp fleet in Darien.

This boat The Mary B was once owned by Jeff Brannen and was named after his wife Mary.  Mary had asked me a few years ago to photograph this boat and it seemed I could never find it while it was out working.  Then this spring I was out on Jekyll in the early morning and there she was.  I met Mary's son at one of the festivals and he bought this picture for his Mom.  I later found out that Mary passed away that night after a hard battle with cancer.

On that same morning I also was able to photograph this boat the Gambler as it passed by Little Cumberland Island.  The Gambler is currently docked in Woodbine, Georgia and is still currently shrimping.

Here is the Miss Harley shrimping of the coast of St. Simons Island.  She is no longer in service.  The other is the Kevin and Bryan along the shoreline of Jekyll Island, they came in so close I thought I could climb on board.  The Kevin and Bryan is docked in Darien and I believe it is still in service.

 I find the wooden shrimp boats very interesting, a piece of working art.  I find it very peaceful watching them heading out in the early morning.  I realize it is a lot of hard work for the people that work these boats.  This one is the Hard Times heading out past Jekyll.  I think the name says it all.  The price of fuel going up, imported shrimp running the prices down, high cost of insurance and the long hard days can make for some Hard Times.

And all to often they meet their demise, some times just wear and tear, the carelessness of others, the victim of unseen sandbars or they fall prey to the ocean....

 The Sunhippie was originally out of Key West, Florida but wound up on the hill in Brunswick to be scuttled.  She looks as though she put in many years of service.

 

The Capt JW was at the dock, when another boat came in and pushed against the pylons and she sank and was later stripped down of all valuable parts and she eventually wound up in the same heap as the Cobia shown below.

  I was told at one of the Art Shows, where I get to meet many of the people who work and own these boats, that the Captain of the Cobia had a heart attack, wound up running aground and passed away.

This last one is All that Remains of the south end of Jekyll of the shrimp boat the Marianne.  Well, this is just a small collection of some of the shrimp boats I have photographed.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Keep the shrimpers and their families in your prayers and remember friends don't let friends eat imported shrimp.  Wild caught sweet Georgia shrimp Only!!

Great Egrets

In keeping with the bird theme, today I would like to talk about the Great Egret.   Whenever I see a Great Egret; I think Simple Elegance.  The Great Egret stands about 39" tall, is all white with a yellow bill and long slender black legs and feet.  They look sort of prehistoric in light with their long neck tucked in.   During breeding season they get a greenish blue patch in the corner of their eye.  I always tease and say they are wearing their eye shadow.  This bird is so familiar to almost everyone along the Georgia Coast, we see them all time along the marshes, roadside ditches, ponds and even on the beach.  But, have you ever stopped to watch this Egret hunt its prey; they gracefully high step along the muddiest river bank and never seem to get dirty.  Then in a instant they seem to freeze so they cannot be detected by their intended meal.  The pictures below show an Egret in the marsh and one perched in a cedar tree near Ski Rixen Pond on Jekyll Island,  In picture on the right you can see the long plume feathers the Egrets use to display and entice to their potential suitors during mating season.

   

These long feathered plumes almost caused the demise of the Great Egret and many other wading birds in the late 1800's due to hunting the birds for their plumes to decorate fancy hats and boas.  The formation of the Audubon Society surely helped restore these magnificent creatures back to a healthy population.  The picture below is two Egrets displaying and building their nest at Etowah Park which is located o Kings Bay Naval Base.  The Navy Base had originally intended these nesting platforms to be used by the endangered Wood Stork, but the Egrets, Anhingas and Herons moved in quite quickly.  These nesting boxes sit in the middle of a small marshy pond which has developed into a lovely little rookery.  If you take notice around the eyes, you can see the blue/green eye shadow I was speaking of.

These little chicks with bills that seem way too big for their bodies were photographed at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm..  Which I may add should be on your list of places to visit if you would like to see many wild birds up close and personal.  The Alligator Farm also serves as a natural rookery for many amazing wading birds such as the Great Egret, Wood Stork, Snowy Egrets, Tri-color Herons, Cattle Egrets and the always pretty in pink Roseate Spoonbills.

 

 Then last but not least, I leave you with one of my favorite images of the graceful Great Egret taking flight along the creek bank.  This photo was taken along Homer Wilson Way which is an Important Bird Area (IBA) located just west of Mary Ross Waterfront Park in Brunswick.