October 1st was nature journaling day on the May River. My good friend, Kate, called and said we must take advantage of the extra high tides and journey up the May to its headwaters. OK! I’m there!

We pushed off just after 10 a.m., camera in hand. Not to far into our travels, Kate stopped the boat. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“Dolphins.” she replied. I didn’t see a thing, but my river rat (endearing term) friend saw the ripples on the water and knew we were in for a treat. About 20 feet from the boat they came up for air. Two adults and a calf. We watched them for a while. They too were taking advantage of the tide.

Onward we traveled. The channel through the spartina (cord grass) was getting more and more narrow. We were able to make it within 200 feet of the Palmetto Bluff bridge where the river begins! Love those extra high tides 🙂

We saw egrets galore – Great and Snowy, Little Blue Herons, a few Great Blues, juvi Black-crowned Night Heron, Kingfishers, Osprey, terns and gulls. And, a special fly over by 12 Wood Storks. I was in heaven 🙂

On the way back we anchored the skiff along the shady side of the river. We sketched and painted, had a picnic lunch and watched the tide as it changed. The extra high tides seem to get extra low real quick! We headed for the sandbar. It was just becoming visible when we approached. We set out the anchor once again but, between the winds and the tide moving out so quickly, the skiff kept floating back toward the bar. Couldn’t take advantage of the sandbar, not without the boat becoming beached. Oh well, how much ‘perfect’ can you have in one day? 🙂 Please click on the image for a better view of the 2 journal pages I created.