Winter Escape! Day #7: The Moss Cathedral

This morning it is nearly 70 degrees warm, intermittently raining then just misty.  I biked around the trails for 55 minutes. Yes, it rained and I didn't melt!  There were plenty of others on the trails, also oblivious to the short downpour.

At the same marsh where the three turtles were lined up in a row yesterday, there were two. No egret, no alligators!

Familiar turtles on a log, Hilton Head Island marsh.

It is good to observe that many jungle areas are 'protected' by the city of Hilton Head.  The tall palm trees and undergrowth are very dense.  Yet around the shopping areas and churches there are the tall trees but just extremelhy well landscaped areas underneath.  I thought the whole place looked like a Moss Cathedral, very tall and stately, quiet in the midst of a busy city.

Holy Family Statue at the church; trees with moss.

Beautiful areas of dense Spanish Moss dripping from the trees.

The Spanish Moss is so attractive, so enclosing, almost comforting, that I'll certainly miss it at home in Kentucky.  I teased Peggy that I'm going to find some artificial moss and drape it all over the maple trees in my back yard at home!

After lunch, the sky cleared and it was even warmer.  Peggy and I enjoyed a long walk on the beach.  I brought from home a most useful book, "Field Guide to the Water's Edge," (National Geographic, 2012).  I want to learn more about tides, waves, sea birds, sea plants, and sea shells.

There were plenty of seagulls, as usual, seemingly more active than I've seen them this week. The dolphins have gone elsewhere.  I saw a lone sandpiper (bird)!  It is as tall as the seagulls but not as chubby.  I tried to snap a photo but it flew away.

Swishing, splashing, breaking waves, Hilton Head Island, 2/5/14.

 

Sea oats in front of a wind break. I like this photo so much, I may print out a large copy and frame it (after cropping out the buildings and trash can!)

The beach's sand dunes, covered with different sea grasses.

Several shells caught my eye, including this bivalve clam shell, an "Ark" shell.  I've never found one with the two sections still attached (no clam inside!)

The beach was alive with plenty of people, many in shorts, some barefoot in the ocean, children digging in the sand, some biking, some playing with their dogs, some getting tan in their chairs and a lot walking, enjoying the sunshine.

A group of four worked with this multi-colored spinning kite and kept it aloft for a long time.

After our long walk, we enjoyed swinging before heading home.

On the way home, Peggy and I noticed that the extensive sections of green bamboo had sprouted leaves today.

 

Peggy in front of the newly lush green bamboo plants on the edge of her condo complex.

 

 

 These are the fan-shaped Palmetto Palms, the State tree of South Carolina.  After you leave the mountains, they are found wild and cultivated everywhere, in every size.  These are young ones.

After such an active day, Peggy and I plan an evening of fixing taco salad for dinner, watching "Las Vegas" (Red Box movie) and more episodes of our latest Roku series, "Land Girls."