Beautiful Baltimore Oriole

I took these photos last week from my upstairs “bird blind.” There’s a small window in our master bath that winds open enough for me to give my camera lens a clear view of the nearby trees and the bird feeders below. 

Male and female Orioles are still coming regularly to my Christmas gift camera feeder. This bird really loves jelly, especially grape jelly. See this recent post about the cool camera feeder.

New Fossil Find Could be Millions of Years Old!

 

Wow! What a find! There’s a new townhouse development going up just down Dorchester Road from us. From experience I know that when ground around here is dug up on a large scale there may be fossils to be found.

Two Sundays ago we went over and walked around. When I spotted this smallish sandy area at the work site, I paused to give a close look. Lo and behold this round protruding object caught my eye. I knew immediately that it is a shark vertebrae. This one is about an inch and half wide. 

I have found a number of shark teeth and vertebrae before over the years in a few miles radius from where I live. Hard to believe, but the South Carolina Lowcountry was under water (today’s Atlantic Ocean) as far west as Columbia, S.C. millions and millions of years ago. 

People sell shark teeth and vertebrae online! 

Camera Bird Feeder Fun!

 

A surprise Christmas gift (thank you Joseph and Tamy!) has added a new dimension to my birding hobby. 

It’s a bird feeder with a built-in camera that takes video or still shots. It is designed to be mounted on a tree but my immediate thought was how easy it would be for squirrels to get into it and eat all of the seed. 

I'm really liking the features and quality of this camera feeder, my first. Here's a link to it on Amazon. 

Instead of affixing it to a tree, I found a way to firmly attach it to this hanging basket stand that has long been in our backyard. Fits in nicely don’t you think? 

Unusual Bird Sighting

Odd word for an odd bird!

Male Northern Cardinals are known for their vibrant red colors while the female is more subdued with brownish hues and some red edges on her wings. 

They are birds commonly seen at area feeders.

So why the different look to this Cardinal spotted in my backyard a couple weeks ago?

My query on a bird Facebook site solved the mystery. 

Leucistic is a new word for me. A fellow birder identified this Cardinal as having a partial loss of pigmentation due to a lack of melanin. The embedded link at the start of this paragraph includes a photograph of an American Robin with leucism. 

According to an online site, abnormal plumage like this is very rare: 1 in 30,000 birds have leucism or albinism. 

The pale plumage is very noticeable when compared to the male Northern Cardinal. 

The one above looks different, but I agree with the Facebook bird expert who said the leucistic bird is still uniquely beautiful. 

Just as another point of comparison- the female Northern Cardinal. 

St. Augustine Visit Begins 2024 with a Bang!

 

It was quite a treat to begin the new year in a jewel of a city in Florida: 
St. Augustine!

Alesia and I arrived on Jan. 2 and stayed until Jan. 5.

St. Augustine is located on the Atlantic coastline 40 miles south of Jacksonville. From our North Charleston home, the drive was about five hours. 

This was my first time here and I hope it will not be my last because St. Augustine offers so much to see and do.

History…

Shopping…

Fine dining…

Architecture (the Hotel Ponce de Leon built in 1888; since 1968 part of Flagler College)…

Beaches (such as the one here at Anastasia State Park) and even a…

Lighthouse- the St. Augustine Lighthouse that visitors can climb to the top…

Christmas Time Bird Surge!

 

Tis the week before Christmas and all through the yard and pond creatures are stirring. Especially birds.

The current spell of colder weather was highlighted by a damaging nor’easter on Sunday, Dec. 17 that wreaked havoc in the Charleston area. Fortunately we had no major problems here in North Charleston. 

Since that storm, temperatures have hit freezing overnight. 

This is a favorite new photograph of a Wood Stork at dusk on the edge of a pond near my backyard. 

Bird activity at our backyard feeders has been frenzied as the chill in the air has our feathered friends eager to fill their bills and bellies. 

Eastern Bluebirds and Chipping Sparrows have been among at least a dozen species I have spotted. I’ll show some more feeder photos later but first…

Wood Storks are not regular guests at the golf course pond near our backyard so it definitely caught my eye to see this one the day of the big nor’easter. Maybe it was blown off direction! 

This Stork had a fishing partner in a Great Egret. Ahead in this post is video I took of the Wood Stork hunting in the small pond. 

Clemson Historic Preservation Program Official Reviews “Stories from the Underground” Book

It was a thrill to read the following review of my "Stories from the Underground: The Churchyards of Charleston" by Francis Ford, a diector and lecturer at Clemson University’s Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, located in downtown Charleston in the Cigar Factory building on East Bay Street. Ms. Ford wrote the review at the request of the Association of Gravestone Studies, a national organization of fellow taphophiles. 

The newest publication from Patrick Harwood follows the template of his previous book, In the Arms of Angels: Magnolia Cemetery Charleston’s Treasure of History, Mystery and Artistry. In this volume, Stories from the Underground; The Churchyards of Charleston (ISBN# 978-0-9847498-4-3) Harwood turns his photography skills and research to 13 Charleston, SC churches and churchyards as well as one synagogue and cemetery. 

Published in full color 8 ½ x 11 format on glossing pages with heavy bold print this hardcover volume catches one's eye with its bright green cover. 

Harwood's writing style is simple and easy as if he was having a conversation with you directly.  I suppose cultivated after many years of teaching college undergraduate students at the College of Charleston. In creating his narrative, he quotes historians, archivists, and online sources such as the church web sites, Wikipedia, blogs, printed church histories, and interviews with those closely connected to the sites among others. He supplies an index in the rear for those looking for specific information. He also supplies his sources and additional notes for readers.

Charleston Mercury Advertisement

I took the pricey plunge and decided to pay for an advertisement in the monthly Charleston Mercury newspaper. I have been a subscriber for several years and feel the Mercury's readership includes many folks who might like what I did with "Stories from the Underground: The Churchyards of Charleston."

I paid for a quarter-page ad but I think I got more for my money as the ad seems a little larger. And I received the three Santas at no extra charge! 

Here's the full-page view. I like how I am paired with one of Charleston's premier antiques shops, Geo. C. Birlant & Co.  located at 191 King St. 

My ad is in the Mercury's glossy holiday insert. According to the Mercury's director of account services, the paper reaches 50,000 household members. 

Butterfly Migration

 

Just two days before Halloween and temperatures in the low 80s, the beach beckoned! And I’m glad we went to witness something I’ve not seen before. 

This beautiful butterfly, a Gulf Fritillary, was one of hundreds flying southbound along the beach tree line at Sullivan’s Island. 

This little lovely is also called Passion Butterfly. 

It was difficult to photograph the fluttering fritillaries. I did my best as they streamed by one, two, three, or more at a time. 

The Gulf Fritillary, it seems, cannot stand cold weather, so south they go. In the U.S. in the winter you may see them in the southern parts of Florida and Texas. Many trek to Central America and beyond. Amazing that such a small fragile critter can cover such distances. 

Fun Neighborhood Arts and Crafts Fair!

 

My books and I yesterday made the short drive to the Coosaw Creek Country Club clubhouse and pool area to participate in what has become an annual early November arts and crafts fair. 

This was my second year to have a table at this popular event. It was very timely this time last year as my new book, “Stories from the Underground: The Churchyards of Charleston” had been released just weeks earlier. 

I decided to offer several of my old lightly used (and freshly washed) Coosaw Creek clothing and golf items as free gifts with the purchase of my more expensive books. The sweatshirt you see here on the left did find a new home! 

We have some “crafty,” creative and artistic residents in our fine neighborhood. Fifteen or so of them had creations to display and sell. 

The four hours went by quickly! I enjoyed many conversations with folks who stopped by my table and whose tables I visited. 

I figured I would not sell as many books as I did at last year's event, and I didn’t. But I actually did better than the “guesstimate” figure I had in mind. 

I did not leave empty-handed in other ways too. I bought a nice hoodie sold by Jairy Hunter who has his own clothing company called Holy City Brand Apparel. 

Check out his Instagram site here. 

Thanks Alesia for this nice pix. 

I am so pleased with this purchase! It fits great and is very comfortable. I am wearing it right now as I write this post while sitting on my back porch. 

Jairy has previously purchased a few of my books to give as gifts, I believe, so it is nice to reciprocate. 

Plus in my “Churchyards of Charleston” book I go into how the Holy City of Charleston earned this nickname. 

Here are two other items I purchased from neighbors: a decorative Christmas plate made from clothesline rope and a lovely long and thick scarf sewn by my crafts fair table neighbor named Biddy.