the roof! the roof! the roof is free of snow!

"Most excellent! So glad to see that most of the front yard is also devoid of the white stuff! But where's the blue car?"

 

I took the photo from my car! We had been out and about today. Hooray!!! We took a nice, leisurely, stroll down to Tybee Beach, basking in the sun along the way.

 

"Look at her shine! So, the weather song hit some higher notes?"

That it did, reaching for the upper 50's this time. Tuesday and Wednesday should be great!

"So I see. And those lows aren't nearly as horrific as they've been. I did notice in the top photo that the street seems dry now."

 

You're correct! Not that there aren't patches of snow runoff to cause alarm, but I took my time driving. Fortunately, not many folks were on Highway 80. There were just the bridges to give me pause, but they were pretty dry, too. Plus, I was home from the Tybee Post Theatre well before dark, before the colder temps returned.

 

"I'm so happy for you! I know you had a crazy case of FOMO cabin fever going on. It seems that four days is pretty much your limit for stuck at home due to weather."

 

I did, and, having missed out on events yesterday, I was determined not to forego this lecture. As I told Wesley Pridgen, I've had my ticket for "On The Wings Of Shorebirds: Building Connections For Coastal Protection" ever since November 14th. Remember, this was the lecture that had to be rescheduled last fall because of Hurricane Helene. So, as soon as I saw it back on the TyPostTh roster, I signed up for it again!

And I sat in my favorite seat: I-18, which felt good, even though the chairs are new.

(smile!)

That's Allie Hayser giving us the scoop of Red Knots. Really cool birds that fly from the southern tip of Chile, South America, all the way to a marshland in Alaska, USA, in North America, stopping off for fuel at some favorite watering holes along the way. Here, they come for the protein-rich eggs of Horseshoe Crabs.

 

"That sounds familiar. Have you heard about this before?" 

Actually, I have! And from this young woman, Abby Sterling! She was part of the One Hundred Miles lecture in 2019. I had a lovely chat with her today before they started, and she said she remembered me from that day! How about that!!!"

She and Allie are both with Manomet Conservation Sciences. Their goal is to get beach goers and boaters more interested in the birds so they will care what happens to them. To that end, there will be the first-ever Shorebird Festival in February, at the Tybee Marine Science Center and the pavilion. I'm looking forward to that! 

I'm so glad I was able to go to this today!

i thank You, God!

a flick on the stage at tybee

"Whatever are you talking about?"

Do you remember those Naturalist 101 talks that One Hundred Miles used to have here?

"I sure do! Those were quite informative. I can't believe that local office closed after the pandemic hit. I miss those lectures."

I do, too. Brunswick is just a bit too far to drive for an hour-long talk.

"So, what brought that to mind?"

The panel discussion I attended tonight at the Tybee Post Theatre. Actually, it was a taping of a live podcast of a GPB show, "A Fork In The Road with David Zelski". I've seen the show on TV listings, but I had never tuned in. I'll be watching for it from now on!

"A podcast? Isn't that just talking heads on the radio?"

Not exactly. It's talking heads on the internet, which is why I would prefer to watch old episodes of the show instead of being leashed to my 'puter. Still, I may tune in to hear again the lively discussion for "Hope On The Water" from the stage. Seriously.

"Very good! Who did David Zelski have on this show?"

Three people I didn't know and one I did, amazingly. That's what brought to mind 100 Miles. I knew as soon as I saw his name, though that wasn't until I got home.

"Give, girlie! Don't keep teasing! Just go ahead and tell!"

Bryan Fluech.

"Holy cow! I do recall that name!!! It's pronounced like 'flick', right? And wasn't that a talk that you'd attended with the physicist?"

Yes, it was, and I'd invited the bfe for tonight, but he abstained. I think he would have enjoyed this one. Captain Judy Helmey was there and she was very entertaining! That 73-year-old has been taking folks out on the water for 59 years! Such a hoot!

"73, huh?"

Yeah. I took that as a sign of right place, right time.

"For sure. So you mentioned this was a panel discussion?"

 

Yep! So, looking at the chairs on the stage, here's the line-up, from left to right. David Zelski, Dave Snyder, Laura Solomon, Bryan Fluech (UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant), and Captain Judy. I realize the image is a bit blared out, but they're all white folks under bright lights.

"Yeah, it isn't just folks of color that are difficult to film."

Heard. So, to fill in some gaps. Dave Snyder is a Captain and a chef (Halyards Catering, Hook & Knife Charters). Laura Solomon farms marine life with her husband for their company, The Tybee Oyster Company.

"That seems like a pretty mixed bag of guests."

Actually, it was a carefully curated group designed to provide several facets of "Hope On The Water." Judy gave us the perspective of life on the water. Bryan let us know of the safety provided to the Georgia coast by legislators from the local to the state level. Laura spoke of the miroir, the local flavor imparted to the ocean-derived food here, much like the terroir of wines from the grape locales. And Chef Dave worked on that last one even more, speaking of promotion of native fish species.

"Like red snapper and flounder!"

Like grouper and trigger fish and a host of others that non-fishermen may not have ever known. Due to the ocean warming, we're now seeing fish, and bird, species that have only been down in more tropical waters until now. I like the analogy Bryan Fluech used, to the environment being like a picture drawn on an Etch-A-Sketch. One tiny jiggle and the picture changes, and the little changes add up.

"Very cool. Well, I'll look forward to hearing the podcast."

Just hit up that "Hope In The Water" link. Just that easy!

trembling earth and bubbling water

It doesn't much matter which etymology is used when defining "Okefenokee".

Either way, the addition of the word "swamp" pretty well says it all.

It's been in my life for almost as long as I can remember.

This afternoon, I was at the Tybee Post Theatre to hear about the latest danger to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

The blackwater swamp lies adjacent to a source of white pigment and yet another mining company wants to go after rights to dig in to the pristine land.

It isn't as if Titanium dioxide isn't readily, and cheaply, available in many areas.

No, that isn't the case at all for this common mineral.

The company wanting to mine it here, along the eastern edge of Trail Ridge, the sandbar that keeps the Okefenokee Swamp in check, wants to take advantage of the total lack of competition in the area.

It doesn't matter to Twin Pines Minerals LLC if the sandbar might collapse and endanger the many lives that call the refuge their home.

After all, that's just 'gators and frogs and birds, right?

Who cares about that?

Well, I do.

It's never "just" 'gators and frogs and birds.

It's animal life not found anywhere else, it's plant life that's indigenous to this one place on Earth, it's humans that owe their living to the existence of this swap and its denizens.

I even took advantage of the offer to write on the poster.

"Okefenokee Swamp was 

one of the places I'd visit each 

summer with my grandparents.

They lived in Waycross, GA, our summer

vacation site. Every time I go now,

it's like seeing it with them again."

The words just flowed, as If I'd known I was going to write them.

(smile!)

 

I was there through an invitation from One Hundred Miles.

I'm not sure how Barbara and Kal learned of the free event.

Perhaps it was through an article in the newspaper, perhaps it was through a variety of groups in support of the effort to save the area.

Quite a few people had come out on this Sunday afternoon, though, so that was good.

We all viewed two films, both shorts.

The first was about flyfishing and had two young men enjoying an outing, poles in hand.

After "Okefenokee Swamp: On The Fly" came the longer film, "Sacred Waters: The Okefenokee In Peril" (available on youTube via the Okefenokee Protection Alliance).

Both movies were quite enjoyable, as well as educational...

and absolutely full of beautiful cinematography.

Then came the part I was most interested in:

the roundtable discussion of the issue of how to stop the mining company from obtaining the rights to dig.

On the left is Kim Dinan, Media Specialist with the Center for Biological Diversity, part of the effort to have the region in south Georgia become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

What a boon to the economy that would be!

On the right is Cathy A. Sakas, notable for her work with the Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary, among other ecologically-conscious groups, and author of "Swamp Goddess: Tales from the Okefenokee Swamp".

And the man in the middle, whose name is either Ken or Charles, is possibly a lawyer and very knowledgeable of the politics surrounding not only this case, but also one several years back of a similar take-over attempt. Probably he is with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, as he was quite familiar with the Twin Pines Minerals LLC bid for operation. He was sure to talk about the importance of contacting our elected officials during this period for public comment.

I've already done so, even before this event.

I do hope others will follow suit.

They gave me a sign and it goes up in the front yard tomorrow to promote the Okefenokee Swamp in the hopes that my neighbors will get involved, and maybe even those high school students that drive through.

I feel I owe it to my grandparents to make sure that wildlife refuge stays alive.

Plus, one of their ancestors died in that swamp.

I found that out in my recent genealogy work.

Guess that makes it personal, as if it weren't already.

(smile!)

watching birds go by

I'm a bird watcher, I'm a bird watcher, watching birds go by...
my, my my!
Yes, I'm feeling a bit heady after a sunny afternoon at the beach!
Such a wonderful time at Tybee with the One Hundred Miles folks!
They hosted a walk and talk titled "Tybee Island Beach Dynamics: Shorebirds, Barrier Islands, and
Sea Level Rise" and now this
1968 pop song is playing on my mental jukebox.
(smile!)

Stephanie Chewning and Abby Sterling led the talk.
Stephanie is from the Brunswick chapter of 100 Miles, the ones who started the group.
Abby, in the blue shirt, is a marine biologist and very knowledgeable about the effects of dredging on water flow around the barrier islands, and how that change led to the coarse sand now on Tybee.
I was the only native Savannahian, so I was the only one who recalled how the beach once was.
(smile)

This was something new, though,
for all of us!
The sign has been in place for less than a month and proclaims Georgia as a member of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, officially marking us on
the map as a legit pit stop for hungry and tired traveling terns -
and other frequent flyers of those highways in the sky.
(smile)

I'm glad there were so many of us that chose to partake of this lecture today, that chose to be out in the sunshine, feeling the warm sea breeze, listening to the ocean's voice, and learning more about the world around us.
What a perfect, soul-satisfying,
way to spend a summer Sunday!
i thank You, God.