Goodread Review of "In the Arms of Angels"

I was excited and pleased to recently come across online this very favorable review of the "In the Arms of Angels" book about Magnolia Cemetery that I published last year. The review is on Goodreads, a website that helps readers "meet your next book."

Thank you Courtney! I'm glad you like my book and appreciate the great time and effort I put into it!

My "Best of Magnolia Cemetery" Video

I just cannot seem to get enough of Charleston's Magnolia Cemetery! 

Books, videos, photographs, blogs posts, articles, taking friends and visitors there, even a special CofC class that ties in with "MagCem." In preparing to take my "Beyond the Grave: What Old Cemeteries Tell and Teach the Living" students on a tour there recently, I used the opportunity to record video of my favorite Magnolia Cemetery landmarks and memorials. 

So without further ado  (drum roll please!)...I present to you "Patrick Harwood's Best of Magnolia Cemetery" video:   

The music was found on my go-to free music website, Incompetech.com.

Santee Coastal Reserve WMA

I came across a "kettle" of Barn Swallows last month while exploring the Santee River region north of McClellanville, S.C. I was driving toward the Intracoastal Waterway to see if the ferry was running to the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center (it wasn't- it only operates certain times of the year)

A nice spot this ferry landing!

If only I had my own boat! 

The ferry to the Yawkey Center- I tried to get the guy to take me across but no luck there

Hilton Head Island Delights!

My family and I spent Thanksgiving on Hilton Head Island. During our short stay we saw some area attractions we had not visited before. They included the iconic Harbour Town Lighthouse.

Sunrise at Magnolia Cemetery

Many thanks to Magnolia Cemetery's Beverly Donald, superintendent, and Jamie Parks, grounds manager, for today's early morning access for our Carolina Nature Photographers Association (CNPA) group.

Jamie opened the gates at 6 a.m., allowing early birds to come in and get set up for the sunrise, which would come at around 7:30.

I've been to the beautiful and historic cemetery (founded in 1849) many, many times but never at dark like this. The normal open hours are daily 8 a.m.-6 p.m. It was neat to walk around and take pictures in the dark!

I have never photographed the bridge across the front lagoon quite like this.

No, I didn't see a ghost.  I just look like I did!

Didn't see or here any ghosts, thank goodness. Any apparitions in these photos are most likely dust spots on my lens.

Glad Donnie Smith mentioned that he was bringing a flashlight. I'm glad I brought one. Would have been stumbling around all over the place otherwise!

It was neat to photograph the cemetery in different lighting conditions like this-- no light, that is.

The Smith Pyramid (below), one of the cemetery's iconic sites.

One of the many obelisk monuments at Magnolia Cemetery, which was founded in the mid-1800s amid America's Victorian rural cemetery movement.

The cemetery offices are in this old plantation house that dates to the 1790s.

Check out this amazing ancient live oak tree that graces the grounds.

Fellow Charleston CNPA photographers await the sunrise.

Raymond at the ready!

Alas, the sun started to rise from the east, over the salt marsh adjoining the back of the cemetery. This is the Lowndes family plot.

 We were fortunate to have a beautiful sunrise to enjoy and capture on (digital) film.

The sun just starting to come up. Temperatures were mild, in the mid-50s, and winds were calm.

The handless girl atop the T.A. Coffin vault sees the sunrise every day from her spot.

A huge container ship moves up the Cooper River toward the harbor and then the Atlantic Ocean.

The ship will go under the nearby Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge

First morning light bathes Magnolia Cemetery.

Sunlight, glorious sunlight!

Lagoon on the left, Smith Pyramid on the right, the rising sun dead ahead!

Meantime, at the front lagoon...

The birds of Magnolia Cemetery soon started their day. The ponds, marsh and food sources they bring attract quite an array of birds and ducks to the cemetery setting, such as this Red-tailed Hawk.

A Downy Woodpecker was busy drilling for a meal.

A Tricolored Heron and Snowy Egret hanging out.

A Mallard pair glides along the front lagoon.

The male Mallard. I never noticed before the green spot on the bill tip.

It was a truly blessed day at Magnolia Cemetery. Thanks again to Beverly and Jamie for this special CNPA outing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magnolia Cemetery Summer 2012 Favorites

My 2011 book "The Birds of Magnolia Cemetery: Charleston's Secret Bird Sanctuary" was not the end of my interest in this unusually beautiful and historic place. A second book is underway about the many interesting people and monuments at this graveyard that dates to 1850. But I do still keep an eye out for the delightful amount of bird activity at Magnolia Cemetery. This post features photos I've taken in recent months there.  In my new book, I may just have to have a chapter at the end with more bird photos, kind of a mini-sequel to my first book! 

I took this photo in July.  It's by far my favorite bird picture of the summer. I love the position of the two Wood Storks, how they are side by side but looking in opposite directions.  Their reflections are neat too, as is the greenish color to the water. And I like the Snowy Egret, its reflection, and position in relation to the storks. This is a photo I'm planning to have made a large canvas print.  Imaging Arts and Knight Printing in Charleston do great work with these. 

I love this photo also. I'm more likely to see Wood Storks in trees than in the water, so this was a unique sighting for me. And add the Snowy Egret to the mix, the green water color and the reflections- all make for a cool shot.  Plus I did a little PhotoShop black point treatment that I learned from Kate Silvia at our Carolina Nature Photographers meetings.  This easy fix can give photos a darker contrast, a positive polish.
I use that technique with some photos but not in ones like the next two that don't need such a treatment.

A Great Egret on a branch over one of the cemetery's two ponds.

It's been a hot summer and event the birds feel it. In 90-plus temperatures you're more likely to see birds with open beaks like this, sort of like panting but without a dog's (or my) heavy breathing.

This seems to be another cooling device.  I've seen Great Blue Herons (above) and Wood Storks in such unusual positions with their wings.

The distinctive Anhinga spreads its wings to dry them after a swim and food dive in the pond. This bird is quite an underwater hunter/fisher.

The Anhinga in its signature pose.

Then in flight...

A Great Blue Heron takes off over the salt marsh that borders parts of the cemetery.

The Double-crested Cormorant is another big bird that can be very symmetrical when in pairs or more. I love their green eyes.

Note the Cormorants webbed feet and the "can opener" beak.

A Green Heron on the prowl for a meal. This colorful small heron continues to be a favorite of mine.

It's amazing the neck extension Herons and Egrets have!

In June there was a Green Heron nest over the front pond near the cemetery entrance. This is one of the youngsters, just weeks old still with its downy feathers.

In May I spotted a pretty Bluebird on a headstone. The cemetery setting makes for some unique bird perches.  My book has lots of such compositions!

A Northern Mockingbird atop a decorative funerary urn.

Here's the wide shot of the monument and that Mockingburd at the top.  Sometimes I do a double take, stopping and seeing if such a bird is real or part of the sculpture.

Notice the "no see ems" in this shot. Nats, mosquitos, deer flies and other pests can be bad at the cemetery in the summer. That's why I keep spray in the trunk of my car.

A mother Mallard with two offspring in tow. An unusual amount of life- albeit bird life- can be found at Charleston's Magnolia Cemetery.

Aren't they cute, the little Mallards under the watchful eye of their mother! 

Magnolia Cemetery is located at 70 Cunnington Ave. in Charleston, which is off Meeting Street Road near North Charleston. The cemetery is open every day from 8-5. It's a great place to visit to check out the birds, the graves and all the history and style they present. The grounds are very walkable with flat roads and paths.