Clemson Experimental Station

So far February has been cloudy and rainy.  Some days complete wash outs...like buckets of water...so on the sunny breaks I'm ready to get out and go someplace! I took a short ride over to this spot called the Clemson Sandhills Experimental Station.  It's a pretty cool spot to hike, dog walk, and bird! I packed a sack lunch and drove over, its not too far away like 18 miles. There's 2 ponds and a lake.  I hiked the lake trail it's about 2.1 miles, outlined in blue... 

The trail meanders over the dam, over an eagle scout project boardwalk and 

through the woods....

Lots of American Robins up high picking berries I ran into them throughout my hike....maybe 50 in total

They did have some competition the cedar waxwings...saw about 10 darting in and out of this tangle of brier. 

In the woods area I saw 2 pair of Northern Cardinal, and they appeared to be searching for a nest spot...just the way they called to each other and the way they behaved made me think of Amor'e.

Near one of the smaller ponds this Eastern Bluebird was hunting in the Sycamore trees...

In the water I spotted 4 Pied Billed Grebes,  and 8 Double Crested Cormorants...all pretty far from the edge, 

 I found a bench to sit down and eat my sandwich this Carolina Wren started to have a fit...

carolina wren

I enjoyed his antics, and he stirred up a few more birds in the woods.  A Hermit Thrush  in the edge gave me a quick peek and higher up the Red Bellied Woodpecker squealed his displeasure too!  

Hope this one gets put back right before nest building gets  underway

Love the white bark on the tall Sycamore Trees. 

The bark...

After the lunch break I finished the lake hike and stirred up the interest of this Myrtle Yellow Rump Warbler.  

There is a young Pecan Orchard on the grounds and a few Northern Mockingbirds were patrolling the branches... 

There is an open area where they experiment with sod of various kinds, about the time I got over there an Eagle flew over way up high...and down on the fence line another Eastern Bluebird...

a heavy crop to pull this one out of this shot...

I would def go around here again...there is enough hardwood to make some pretty fall color behind the lake, so I must make a mental note! 

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Fall, Revisited

When I arrived home it was cool and blue sky, marvelous....then BAM...it changed,  had a couple weeks of sucky weather,  fall out from Nate. It gets really crazy during Hurricane season in the south...you never know when the weather will turn on you...I'm only just now getting a handle on all the dead wood and over grown shrubs and hedges around here.  I have been making busy with lots of  trimming of branches and other stuff...and even the gate is overgrown...

                                                      filling up the trailer with trimmings

Another chore: a large limb fell and smashed a section of my aging yard fence.  I headed to Lowes for supplies to fix it up...found out it was cheaper to buy this damaged section than to start from scratch so that's what I did...one broken picket made this 8 ft section half price...fine by me cause it will blend in better,  other sections have broken pickets...

                                                   once it's weathered it will blend right in

                                                             eastern bluebird

       I can tell from this shot the new door panels I put on the bird houses have been squirrel chewed!! WTH??

Here is another hunt n seek shot for you, the Northern Parula I mentioned,  they summer here so it's not rare to see one...but rare for me to catch a photo of one...do you see it?

                                                                  Northern Parula 

A DIY project I'm glad to have behind me:

The storm door that enters the screen porch had to have a doggie door.  There was an old doggie door missing the flap in the shed...my X removed the metal bottom panel of this storm door and got rid of it...so I put screen in the bottom and that worked for keeping bugs out but the dogs couldn't get out without me coming out to open it, I used to keep it slightly ajar, but then a bird got in and that was bad...so that didn't work out.  I made a new bottom section of scrap wood...and fashioned  a flap from a vinyl place mat! It works!  Another $80 saved, more like $180 in this case you can purchase a storm door sporting a doggie entrance but it is not cheap. I did it for $1 for the place mat at the Dollar Store.

                                                  dogs can get in and out and no birds and no mosquitoes 

Hard to get a crisp shot anymore with my ailing camera...even a still bird close as this Northern Cardinal is blurred! BUT for now I'm still using it! With all the car repairs I had this past year, I'm trying to wait as long as possible to replace this camera...and that means the one I want to get is getting older and cheaper :o)

                                Three deer sneaked into the pasture the other day I sneaky shot of one. 

                                                               white tailed deer

So after almost 2 weeks of HOT humid horrible weather, it improved, chilled down in fact I've had to use the heat!  I'm  outside again tending to chores and cutting up firewood.  

                                                                 I have a lot in common with beavers 

 I saw this Yellow Throated Warbler,  Got this  photo but at least I can add it to my yard list.  

                                                   Yellow Throated Warbler

                                                       

It was so backlit I ran it through an editing program just to see what it was...glad I did cause I thought it was a yellow rump which is pretty common here, but after the editing I could see the yellow throat, the wide bright white wing bars, and the black face line including the eye...so a new yard bird for me. Normally I see these when I walk around Goodale State Park in the spring. 

Picking birds outta the twigs is hard with any camera! 

                                        

                                                             White Throated Sparrow

See that dogwood tree trying to bloom? That's how warm it got; the buds that should wait till spring started to open...

I've enjoyed reconnecting with my yard birds....here's our Carolina Chickadee...looks like a Coal Tit to some of you I'm sure!

I get daily visits from our State Bird the Carolina Wren.

...here is one I don't have to go far to find, just check my feeder and he will be there the Tufted Titmouse with his ink black big eye...so much more colorful than the Juniper Titmouse I was seeing in Colorado...but not as cool looking as JO's Bridled Titmouse down in Arizona!

Another common bird (but not in large numbers in my yard) is the Eastern Phoebe...a couple have been hanging around fighting over the best mosquitoes...

e phoebe

The Eastern Phoebe

Today I was chasing Ruby Crowned Kinglets around the yard I counted 5 in the Holly bush out back...they can hover almost like a hummingbird and they are super small...

Then up on the dead limb the Red Bellied Woodpecker was knocking quite loud...pecking out bugs..this shots shows why it's called Red Bellied!  

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Good yard bird friends!

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Belser Arboretum

I've been trying to get in a number of day trips before Mom returns and when she does our focus will be trips that don't involve hiking! One of my FB friends released a book of poetry and her drawings based on her life long battle with CP.  We are actually related through marriage her husband is a distant cousin in my Walling Family Tree.  So A visit to pick up her book and to give her a copy of my book...was yesterday.  Since I would be driving to Columbia I figured I'd go to the Arboretum that is nearby her location and see what was out and about..

Its only a small place but the trees are mature and it even has a cypress bog! 

the little creek was red! I guess red clay is on the bottom...lots of ferns growing on the banks 

there was a loop trail and a midline trail most of which is well marked but I managed to get off the trail a few times...

American Robins were around as they seem to be the most plentiful bird going right now...

this is a favorite of mine Clematis I don't know the variety but what a huge flower saucer sized!!

and even tho this white throated sparrow hid behind a twig he was so handsome I kept this shot...

his lores were such a brilliant yellow--another not helpful bird was the American Redstart, he wanted to follow me but he wanted to change his position constantly I had a hell-ofa time just getting this not hot shot! He just kept teasing me but I finally walked away! 

I know!! SO far these photos are hardly worth sharing...and it gets worse--Brown Thrasher

Even the normally gregarious Carolina Wren wanted to only peek from the safety of a high branch

Having little luck with the bird photography I turned to the leaves on the trees...at least they can't fly away...

I could hear black and whites, vireos red and white eyed, pine warblers, red bellied woodpeckers, downy wp, above me and then a Ruby Crowned Kinglet only showed me his belly and backside, I'm only basing the ID on that big eye ring...

I had a good walk around the plants were nice, the weather was good but the birds misbehaved! No new ones just good to see some that have been missing since last summer!

  Another day of 

Time...well spent

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.