Botany Bay Beach- Always a Great Getaway!

Still another Charleston-area diamond in the rough is the State Wildlife Management Area (WMA) property called Botany Bay Plantation, which became part of the state system in 2008.

It features hiking trails and a driving tour, but the neatest thing about Botany Bay is its barrier island. A half-mile walk on a well-maintained boardwalk is required to reach the shell-filled boneyard beach. That lengthy walk, plus the remoteness of the the wildlife refuge located off Highway 174 approaching Edisto Island, keeps the crowds down. So when you go to Botany Bay you can be assured plenty of room to relax, explore or both, without the influx of people common at the Charleston area's more popular beaches.

From Highway 174, it's still a few miles of dirt road driving to the Botany Bay entrance. Along the way you will be treated to a beautiful avenue of (live) oak trees.

Botany Bay, I should mention, is in coastal South Carolina's ACE Basin, a vast protected preserve of former rice plantations, rivers, islands and waterways.

Earlier this month I posted pictures from another ACE Basin wildlife area, Bear Island.

Bear Island Bonanza!

Father's Day- June 19, 2016- found this pop headed south of Charleston down Highway 17 to the wonderful ACE Basin. Destination: Bear Island. This is one of the Lowcountry's secret jewels. It is a vast preserve of former rice plantations, woodlands, waterways, barrier and marsh islands that have been protected for visitors and seasonal hunters to enjoy and appreciate.

Virginians Visit Magnolia Cemetery

I had a really nice time on March 15 showing a group of Virginians from my parents' (Northern) Neck of the state around Magnolia Cemetery. 

 Thanks to cemetery superintendent Beverly Donald for her hospitality and the man upstairs for delivering delightful Chamber of Commerce weather! Special thanks also to Diana Russell who organized the three day trip to Charleston for your friends and neighbors. 

We walked the grounds around the front part of the cemetery for a good two hours before the visitors, unfortunately, had to leave for lunch and to visit some other Charleston attractions. 

On a Splendid Saturday CofC Students See Magnolia Cemetery

I was so excited and proud to take my 20 College of Charleston "Beyond the Grave: What Old Cemeteries Tell and Teach the Living" students to Magnolia Cemetery on a special Saturday tour. On Feb. 20 we all met in front of the Stern Student Center for the short bus ride to the Cunnington Ave. Thanks to the First Year Experience program at the College for funding the transportation via Lancaster Tours.

Backyard Bird Visits on the Rise!

As February slowly turns into March I've been noticing more activity at my backyard bird feeders. It has been fun to see the surge in traffic, and I've been scrambling to keep my buffet well stocked.

This American Goldfinch seemed to harken the spring harbinger. Still in winter plummage this bird offers a preview of the glorious golden yellow to come in a few months.

Glad the sunflower seeds are to your liking pretty boy-- or girl.

Hooded Mergansers Encounter

You just never know where you might encounter birds!

That's why when I'm outdoors for any length of time I try to remember to bring my camera, even if it's just putting it in the car.

I was glad that I did this in December when I went on a Sunday morning run in North Charleston's Palmetto Commerce Parkway, a light industrial area near my home.

I chose to run in an area of the industrial park I had not been in before. While running by a holding pond, I spotted a pair of Hooded Mergansers, waterfowl that migrate south in the fall and winter from as far north as Canada.

Upon finishing my run, I prepared my camera and monopod, then drove a short distance, in hopes the birds would still be on that pond. Lucky for me they were!

Thanksgiving Message: Don't Take Life for Granted

On the eve of Thanksgiving 2015 I am uploading to my computer photographs I took yesterday at Charleston's beautiful and historic Magnolia Cemetery, about which I have written two books.

I am always touched by the gravesite of little Annie Kerr Aiken who was not quite 3 years old when the throat disease diphtheria took your young life in 1856. Passersby often place small toys and stuffed animals at this site, or as I saw yesterday, coins. Thirteen cents someone placed here- bad luck?

Kizoa Slideshow: Magnolia Cemetery in All Its Splendor

Kizoa is a fun, easy to use, slideshow and collage program for creating colorful presentations put to music and an array of special effects and animation.

I created this Kizoa slideshow about Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston. I have written two books about this grand 19th Victorian necropolis. You can read about them on another blog I have called BirdsEyeViews.

Magnolia Birds - Kizoa Online Movie Maker

Another great thing about Kizoa is that it is free! Free up to a point. There is a nice assortment of music option with the program. But if you want to add other music, you may have to pay for that before your slideshow can be shared. 

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.