Jazz and Arts on the Satilla

On Sunday I set up my Wildlife Personalities and Scenery Booth at the Woodbine Riverwalk for the Jazz and Arts on the Satilla Festival which was sponsored by the Woodbine Woman's Club. Here is a picture of me and one of my faithful assistant and husband, Don.

We had absolutely beautiful weather. The sky was a clear bright blue, the azaleas were in full bloom with splashes of color everywhere.

My friend Lydia Thompson was also there display her wonderful artwork. She does etching and intaglio print making. Please stop by and check out her blog at www.coastalgeorgiabirding-lydia.blogspot.com/. Here is Lydia at her booth.

In all I thing there were between 20 and 30 artists such as painters, quilters, photographers, pottery and jewelry. Sunday was a chance for local artists to set up their displays along the Riverwalk between 2pm to about 6pm. There was recorded Jazz music playing all day. But at 5pm at the Gazebo the live music started. There was quite a crowd who showed up just to listen to the music and enjoy a very relaxing evening.

The Woodbine Woman's Club has had the City of Woodbine classed as a bird sanctuary. They are also working to get Woodbine a designation on the Colonial Coast Birding Trail. They had many birdhouses put up along the Riverwalk as well as feeding stations with the help of Lydia and Wild Birds Store on Jekyll Island.

All in all I had a very nice day. It was a great chance to meet and talk to people and network with fellow artists. The ladies of Woodbine did a wonderful job of coordinating this event and were more than helpful and polite. I like to give a special Thank You to Lori for feeding my husband and checking on us.

Woodbine is located on Highway 17 in Georgia, exit 14 off Interstate 95. It is also the Home of the Annual Crawfish Festival which is held the last weekend April. The Crawfish Festival is always an opportunity to enjoy entertainment, great food and plenty of Arts and Crafts Booths. Woodbine Georgia is an example of some of the small town Beauty that Surrounds Us.

Time to take to the Water

Well, the weatherman sure was wrong today!! It turned out to be a really nice day. My wonderful Husband, Don, decided to treat me to a day on the water. He loaded up the boat and we launched at Blythe Island Regional Park. The Brown Pelicans were lazily watching us. This is also my Captain and Hubby, Don.

I have been wanting to take some photos of the Shrimp fleet in Brunswick so we headed that way. I was rewarded with some really nice pictures, these are from the City Dock and a Private Dock.

Then we cruised on down to the concrete pilings where the Cormorandts, Pelicans, Gulls, Terns and even some Grackles were hanging out. They were all kind enough to let me snap a few shots. I also took a few pics of the old ship ways from when Brunswick played a large role in the Shipbuilding Industry.

Today I was suppose to be riding out to Bird Island as a volunteer to help remove all the vegetation from the Island. But, it was cancelled at the last minute. I'm looking forward to it being rescheduled. Anyway, if you are not aware of what Bird Island is....It is basically a large sandbar/small island that was made a few years ago in St. Simon's Sound. It is mostly to benefit nesting and resting birds such as Brown Pelicans, Oystercatchers, Black Skimmers and shore birds mostly. So we decided to check it out from a distance. The important thing top remember here is to NOT disturb the birds. People are not allowed on this ground and there are several signs posted around it. But, it sure is a treat to check out with your binoculars or a zoom lens. Today there were many Brown Pelicans, White Pelicans and Cormorandts. Check them out!!

And of course since we were in the area we had to cruise along the Coast of my favorite Island, Jekyll Island. This is a picture of the Fishing Pier at Clam Creek Picnic area and the other are from Driftwood Beach. As you can see there were lots of people enjoying the Beauty of Jekyll Island today.

We finished our little excursion skimming the coast of St. Simon's Island. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to photograph the Lighthouse from the water. As you can see the St. Simon's Fishing Pier was packed also! Lots of people taking advantage of a beautiful day and enjoying all the wonderful and beautiful things that surrounds us.

We had a nice quiet ride back to the boat ramp enjoying the sun on our faces and wind blowing through our hair. And of course the welcoming committee of lazy Pelicans was still there. I hope everyone else had a chance to slow down and enjoy Beauty that Surrounds Us. Until next time, Be Safe!!

A Beautiful Day at the Ampitheater

I am so sorry it has been so long since I last wrote. I must admit the winter weather gets me a bit down. I can't handle the cold as well as I use to and I truly love seeing the sun shine down on us. There is nothing more depressing than a cold gray gunmetal sky. AND that certainly was not the case today!!! It was a glorious morning, sun shining weather warming and birds singing and flowers blooming.

This morning I headed out to Jekyll Island and decided to go to the old Amphitheater. If you have never been it is truly worth the trip. The Amphitheater is located across from the historic district and down from the firehouse. There are two dirt roads leading to a parking lot which is canopied by huge old oak trees, then a little archway leads you to the Amphitheater and the pond. Be sure to bring your binoculars!!

There are several paths winding through the woods that are filled with huge oaks, pines and lots of palmetto. Where there is a gentle breeze it will softly rain down oak leaves all around you. If you take the first path to your right and follow it around it will lead you to the back of the actual Amphitheater. The Amphitheater is no longer used all the remains are signs of time gone by. One sight that you are likely to see if you climb the step to the audience seating or sneak in back stage is a large array of Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures often seated on the benches or readied on the light poles as if waiting for the show to begin. Some people refer to them as the critics.

If you continue around on the path you will come to the Pond. The pond is an almost magical place. This is where many Great Egrets, Woodstorks, Anghingas and Night Herons come to nest and or roost. Here are some shots I took of a Juvenile and an Adult Yellow Crowned Night Heron along with a shot of the Woodstorks.

It is real important to try and not disturb these birds as many are nesting and tending to their young or simply trying to find a quiet place to rest. The area is abundant with squirrels, songbirds, some gnats, an occasional gator in the pond and if you're real quiet and time it just right you might even see my timid little three legged friend, whom I call Dolly.

The Jekyll Island Amphitheater and Pond are just one more example of some local places to find all The Beauty that Surrounds Us. Please remember to take everything you brought with you and keep it a beautiful place for those who visit after us. Until next time Take the time to slow down and look around. Be Safe!!

Happy New Year

Hello again! I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year. I decided to start my New Year doing one of things I love to do most. I grabbed up my camera and the keys to my trusty old truck and headed out to seek some local wildlife.

I started at the quiet little pond on Lanier Road in Brunswick. I haven't been there in quite a while and I was given a pleasant treat. As I pulled up a saw a Snowy Egret, a Great Egret, a group of Hooded Mergansers, a Little Blue Heron, a Great Blue Heron and that frisky little Kingfisher I have been trying to photograph for months. Well, the little Kingfisher must have been in a good mood, 'cause I finally captured a good shot. They are so quick and so shy. Here are the Hooded Mergansers, male and female, and the Kingfisher.

I was certainly off to a good start. I headed back toward Jekyll Island, I hadn't been there for a while, when I spotted this young Osprey having breakfast atop the telephone pole. He didn't mind giving me a photo op.

After saying goodbye to the Osprey I headed over to Ski Rixen Pond which is where Tidelands Nature Center is located and the Jekyll Island Boat Ramp. While slowly cruising thru the area I spotted a couple Snowy Egrets, a Great Egret and one of my favorite wading birds, The Little Blue Heron which I also managed to get several good photos. Check them out.

This was certainly my idea of starting the New Year off right. Then low and behold my electronic leash, (cell phone), started to ring. It was time to call it a morning, but I was anxious to check out the pictures I had taken anyway.

Once I got home hubby said we were going to go for a ride, maybe see what else I could find to photograph. Well we headed toward Camden County and started to hit some dirt roads. We came across some more Hooded Mergansers and a few wading birds but it was looking kind of slow until we hit Lampadoshia Road. As I was driving and chatting away, my eagle eye husband spotted a hawk sitting beside the road. I stopped the truck and turned off the engine. I was really expecting him to fly away. But, it didn't, I slowly got out of the truck with my camera in hand and started taking pictures. I probably wasn't more than 12 feet away. I couldn't believe my luck. After firing off several shots I decided to move closer slowly all the while snapping pictures. I could not believe my eyes, I was not no more than six feet away from this stunning creature. A Red Tailed Hawk. I have tried for months and months to photograph the Red Tailed Hawk on the Jekyll Island Causeway, but that Hawk is very smart, as soon as I take my foot of the gas pedal he flies away. Actually I think he just likes toying with me playing cat and mouse. But, now I was directly in front of this stunning raptor. The closer I got the more concerned I got, thinking this amazing bird must be injured, I asked my husband to call DNR. In the meantime a car pulled up with a guy named Joey and his friend, they were amazed to see this bird and me standing within only 3 feet of it. I was actually sitting on the ground beside the bird, it was awesome!!! While on the phone with DNR the Hawk starting moving around a bit and actually flew to another low hanging branch. I couldn't see any obvious injuries and the DNR Officer said as long as he was moving and using his wings that he would most liking be fine. He suspected that the Raptor has taken a glancing blow from a passing car and was a bit dazed. This Red Tailed Hawk will never realize the joy I got from photographing it and how incredible it was to be this close to one of God's amazing creatures. Here are several shot I took of the Red Tailed Hawk.

This Red Tailed Hawk was very lucky to not have been seriously injured. Well, I hope your year started off as good as mine did. Remember to slow down and appreciate all the Beauty that Surrounds Us.

Merry Christmas

WOW! It has been a busy time of year. I would like to take a moment and wish everyone a very safe and Merry Christmas. I am pleased to report that in spite of the economy and our illustrious government I found the Christmas Spirit to be very plentiful this year. At work we were involved in the Angel Tree/Santa Tree program. People sponsored a child or family and helped make their Christmas much Merrier. In all we were able to help about 100 families in the Camden County area. I must say some of my co-workers went all out. It was great seeing people giving and being so generous and having so much fun doing it!!

Then my favorite local radio station The Wave 104.1, put on their own radio-thon to raise money for coastal Georgia families. The always entertaining Joe Willie Sousa and Mike Cornell stayed in the studio and on the radio all day last Friday. They raised in excess of $2600.00! WAY TO GO GUYS!!! Everyone is feeling the belt tighten a bit this year and I think it was amazing that our little coastal community pulled together to raise this money to help those less fortunate. This is the true meaning Christmas! This is the true Beauty that Surrounds Us.

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry and Blessed Christmas! Please be safe during your holiday travels and look forward to hearing from you again next year!!

Remember:

Live Simply............
Love Generously....
Care Deeply.............
Speak Kindly...........
Give Freely...............