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Tag: Lowcountry

#SOL24-18 Alligator

Published on March 18, 2024 
It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

I use my arms as a long set of alligator teeth as Bird sails down the slide, and I pretend to bite her, singing 

Alligator, Alligator
I want to be your friend
I want to be your friend
I want to be your friend, too
[one final chomp, with bravado]

This child’s jingle always leads to laughter, as they evade my chomping. I am not sure which early childhood “mentor” teacher (is such silliness “mentoring”?) offered this earworm to me.

I have long wondered why one would be friends with an alligator.

What a scandalous idea to teach children, right?

Wanting to show my granddaughters a photo of a real alligator, I searched for “alligator” in my vacation photos. Google only recognized a sculpture of an alligator from someone’s backyard, taken more than a year ago.

Yet, I had taken several photos of alligators on our trip this past week to the Lowcountry, South Carolina. Where did these photos go? 

We came across several alligators. Bounteous alligators. Seriously, at least two dozen alligators, lazing about, as we meandered the island over the course of our week-long vacation. They are everywhere, these dark green mysterious dangerous beings. Everywhere you go, there are also warning signs, big bold letters about ALLIGATORS LIVE HERE and USE CAUTION. Here are the warnings:

- Assume every body of water contains an alligator
- Stay at least 60 feet (4 car lengths) away from alligators.
- Alligators are ambush predators and can move faster than you or your pets.
- Keep yourself, pets and children away from water’s edge.
- Swimming or wading is prohibited in Sea Pines’ waterways.
- Feeding or harassing alligators is dangerous and illegal.
- When fishing or crabbing do not throw used bait or fish parts into the water

I am a cautious person. I am often an obedient rule-follower. I am also curious, especially about nature. I do love to take photos when I am out and about. So I snuck a few photos, when we happened upon alligators. Obviously, very bad images from a scaredy-cat photographer, because Google didn’t even discern them as existing. Let me share them with you.

Here’s an alligator on our side of the bike path, as we turned the curve on our bikes:

Here, we saw several alligators lazing on the opposite side of a lagoon:

Here’s an alligator in the forest preserve (you can spot the warning sign, on the left):

My less-than-vivid photos show you that I was hasty, hesitant, and not hovering over alligators. The only way one can begin to discern an image is through editing the photo and zooming in. I think I will share the image of the alligator sculpture with my granddaughters, so that they might actually ‘see’ one. 

Yes, I was unnerved by these sightings. One hears and reads horrid stories about alligators attacking people. Terrifying! 

“They” say that alligators will eat anything. When their stomachs are cut open, after they die, there is evidence of trash and leaves and metal and bones and more.

Once, we heard a really loud splash as we studied a turtle at the forest preserve, and immediately wondered – wait, is there an alligator nearby? We hopped right back on our bikes, and bantered as we pedaled quickly away –

I heard their eyesight is limited. 

I heard you can’t tell if they are asleep or looking right at you. 

I heard they only run straight, so you should run or pedal away in a zigzag. 

I heard you should simply run faster than the people you are with. 

(This last advice from my witty brother.)

_______

Let me close with an alligator poem, my attempt at a playful Double Dactyl, inspired by Wendy Everard, in today’s Ethical ELA Open Write. 

Alligate-Alliwait 
Missus McGoo on bike
Slowing down taking pic
While full of fright

Step too close, pause too long
Irrecoverably
Alligate for the win 
Not pretty sight 
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#SOL24-10 Firsts

Published on March 10, 2024 
It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

The FIRST real signs of spring were around Fayetteville, North Carolina, where we stopped for the night, to break up the long drive south. There were lots of flowering trees and bushes; here are a few photos to share the joy:

The FIRST flowering redbuds – my favorite spring flowering tree – were just south of Florence, SC. This means the redbud in my front yard in Maryland should not flower until I return from this trip – yay! I want to be home for this beautiful sight. 

The FIRST time the four of us traveled together was last March. We had so much fun, we insisted on a reprise – here we are, my brother, sister-in-law, husband, and I, on vacation together in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. 

The FIRST celebration of the week is my brother’s birthday; later we’ll celebrate Tony’s & my anniversary – this is a joyful time for a getaway.  

The FIRST blast of truly warm air was at the rest stop on I-95 near Ridgeland, SC. Until then, we’d had a cool rainy drive south. We spread our arms wide and spun around, rejoicing, in the parking lot – this feels like vacation!

The FIRST sighting of Spanish moss was on Carolina route 462 – this growth means Lowcountry to me. Spanish moss needs just the right mix of salty, marshy air, humidity, and heat, in order to grow and spread. It dances through trees in this part of the south, flowing from branches. 

photo taken from the car window . . .

The FIRST slice from our vacation is this brief one. More to come! 

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SOLSC #8 – Refuge

Published on March 8, 2023 
It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

We walked the Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge in the late afternoon, about an hour and a half before sunset. I took so many photos of this glorious area, where you are surrounded by salt marsh and tidal creeks. I could imagine what the Lowcountry terrain looked like before all the developers discovered this jewel of the south. 

Our first wildlife encounter truly startled us, when an armadillo crossed our path – right in the midst of all of us. We would see another, later in our visit. I had only seen these as photos (or, sadly, roadkill, out west). What funny little beings! These two seemed absolutely oblivious and uninterested in us; their mission was to gnaw on decaying trees, in pursuit of protein-rich bugs, I suppose. 

The trees were rich with all sorts of birds, well-hidden by the pines and Spanish moss. We heard them singing and calling out. My sister-in-law opened up her bird app on her phone, and multitudinous birds were identified – woodpeckers, gnatcatchers, marsh wrens, mourning doves, and so many more. 

We walked to a pond on our trail map, and witnessed a gorgeous rookery, filled with white ibis, heron, and egrets, all settling in for the night in their respective tree nests. Let me share a few of my ridiculous number of photos from here –

As we watched from the pond’s edge, my brother noticed a large alligator in the pond…and a baby alligator right along the pond’s edge, much nearer to us. Okay then! This sightseeing is done for the day. We walked quickly away from this precious interlude, thinking these wildlife should enjoy their beautiful evening all to themselves, without the distraction of us.

Another gorgeous day in the Lowcountry.