Of Flora and Fauna

Our first stop on our trip home from South Carolina was the Francis Beidler Forest, a favorite of ours. Understandably, our canine friends are not allowed there, so if Barker is accompanying us, we do not stop and linger. Today, however, dear Barker was home with his beloved housesitter, so we were able to take in the wonders of Beidler!

We could hear the Prothonotary Warbler singing his lovely song, but we couldn't spot him to save our lives. Suddenly Polly saw him and I started snapping pics:


Isn't he a gorgeous little guy! Actually, there were several throughout the forest, but this one was the most photogenic!

Jeff spotted this brown water snake all curled up in a Cypress stump:

I found a rather large and unattractive snapping turtle gliding just below the swamp's surface:

We also saw this lovely chartreuse Skink:


The Cypress Knobs are lots of fun to look at and personify. Here is a bowing maiden, covered in her veil:


And then there was this attractive lichen marching up a tree trunk:



The reflections in the black water were terrific this morning:


Due to the recent rain, the Resurrection Fern had returned to life on this tree trunk:



Polly and I just loved the Cypress Balds and had a great time making up stories about who they were. A colony of Druids?:


A Weasel Trio:

We stopped by Sweatman's Barbecue for a late lunch, and we were not disappointed:

PEACE