WE BE Bloggin with LowCountry Joe®

Chasing Buffleheads Up Broad Creek

With an unusally cold February upon us, folks continue to comment…”The boat ride must have been really long and cold this morning”. For clarity purposes….those reading this pontification for the first time ….I live on Daufuskie Island which is accessible only by boat and I make the “crossing” daily to my office. My response has turned into simply shrugging my shoulders and feeling sorry for the unfortunate soul because he/she did not make that crossing with me and experience that particular morning’s  watery blessings.

You see….the fifty minute crossing over Calibogue Sound and up Broad Creek  is simply the height of my day…. and most days I do not want the adventure to end. First of all I have a nice hot cup of “Joe” to warm my inners, a pleasant warm cabin should I desire to be inside, and a delightful mate asking me if I would like the Island Packet or the New York Times. Now those that know me understand which paper I pick and which one is brought to my office for the convenience of my friend’s new puppy. But this pontification is not about the declining morals and falling subscription rates of the Times, it’s about my adventures “up top” which means being on the above deck, outside, being invigorated by steady flow of the oceans clean salty air.

This gets me to my point and the naming of this particular pontification “Chasing Buffleheads up Broad Creek”. As the ferry makes its way from the steel blue/gray waters of Calibouge Sound into the creek hundreds of Bufflehead ducks on vacation from “Up North” find sanctuary in the creeks calm waters. That being said these beautiful small spunky ducks with a prominent white circle on their head  are in the path of vessels and must make way or be turned into duck soup. So they meander  ahead just short of the bow looking over their shoulders…ahhh…wings…. flitting gracefully about in subtle harmony just ahead of the ferry’s wake. One passed they bobble up  and down in Disneyesque unison unscathed by their adventure to once again relish the peace and quiet their Southern watery home offers. They are simply a sight to behold,  normally unnoticed by the casual  “up top” observer that scans the waters hoping for the appearance of a smiling dolphin.

Now I could delve deeper into God’s Lowcountry watery blessings like the daily appearance of two bald eagles resting comfortable of the banks brilliant white oyster rakes or the way the morning sun glimmers and pleases the eye. But today I simply wanted to share and express the wonderful calming feeling  I get deep inside on each and every “crossing”  and maybe to convince others that a true Island without a bridge like Daufuskie is  a very special place to live. Yes, the morning transit to work is clogged with duck traffic  and  fifty minutes has disappeared from my life but the “Bufflehead memory” will live on…… and the expectation of an “evening up-top  crossing” under clear starlit Carolina skies will soon be realized,  as I make passage once again  to my true Daufuskie Island home.

Hope to see ya on a warm incoming Spring tide…

You see….the fifty minute crossing over Calibogue Sound and up Broad Creek  is simply the height of my day…. and most days I do not want the adventure to end. First of all I have a nice hot cup of “Joe” to warm my inners, a pleasant warm cabin should I desire to be inside, and a delightful mate asking me if I would like the Island Packet or the New York Times. Now those that know me understand which paper I pick and which one is brought to my office for the convenience of my friend’s new puppy. But this pontification is not about the declining morals and falling subscription rates of the Times, it’s about my adventures “up top” which means being on the above deck, outside, being invigorated by steady flow of the oceans clean salty air.

This gets me to my point and the naming of this particular pontification “Chasing Buffleheads up Broad Creek”. As the ferry makes its way from the steel blue/gray waters of Calibouge Sound into the creek hundreds of Bufflehead ducks on vacation from “Up North” find sanctuary in the creeks calm waters. That being said these beautiful small spunky ducks with a prominent white circle on their head  are in the path of vessels and must make way or be turned into duck soup. So they meander  ahead just short of the bow looking over their shoulders…ahhh…wings…. flitting gracefully about in subtle harmony just ahead of the ferry’s wake. One passed they bobble up  and down in Disneyesque unison unscathed by their adventure to once again relish the peace and quiet their Southern watery home offers. They are simply a sight to behold,  normally unnoticed by the casual  “up top” observer that scans the waters hoping for the appearance of a smiling dolphin.

Now I could delve deeper into God’s Lowcountry watery blessings like the daily appearance of two bald eagles resting comfortable of the banks brilliant white oyster rakes or the way the morning sun glimmers and pleases the eye. But today I simply wanted to share and express the wonderful calming feeling  I get deep inside on each and every “crossing”  and maybe to convince others that a true Island without a bridge like Daufuskie is  a very special place to live. Yes, the morning transit to work is clogged with duck traffic  and  fifty minutes has disappeared from my life but the “Bufflehead memory” will live on…… and the expectation of an “evening up-top  crossing” under clear starlit Carolina skies will soon be realized,  as I make passage once again  to my true Daufuskie Island home.

Hope to see ya on a warm incoming Spring tide…

"Papy's Posies"

Light gray clouds blanket the Carolina Lowcountry and prospects for sun in the February days to come seem dim. I find myself alone in the Lighthouse....Mary said she had "Too Much Joe" and hopped the 8:15 ferry to the mainland.  A thoughtful blown kiss was accepted  as she made her departure by golf cart and disappeared up the oak canopied road like a rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.  Geeze....I miss her already.

Its not often I get to spend a day at the old Bloody Point Light alone. Normally I too would be on the mainland doing my thing, whiling away the day in my makeshift office. With the economy the way it is, that has all changed and now the historic  Silver Dew Winery is where I go,  all set up with new-fangled computers with things sticking out of them that let my words travel the Fuskie winds into the sky.

Now if I was one of those guys that get depressed easily, this surely would be the day. No Mary, no tourists stopping by to say hello and when you get right down to it...no people period..just the bald headed eagles soaring high above.  Actually its a typical early February for any given year but the overshadowing of  bankrupt resort proceedings plies away at my psychie.   And....the normally over seeded green fairways and greens of the Bloody Point golf course don't help much,  completing the puzzle with "mental  brownness" that psychiatrists would portray as perpetual doom as gloom.

But do not fear, my inner self says, remember the words of Mary..."You Make your own reality". "Buck up...."Life is in the living....in the tissue of every hour of every day"....and then there is the old Scottish proverb...."Live today and forget tomorrow....for you are a long time dead". Ok Ok....enough already inner self, I get the picture. Lets get my butt in gear.... lets make some real "funky ass" reality.

Now the best way I know of to make positive reality is to take a long  walk. So off I go, down to the beach, power walkin' big time....gettin' those endorphins movin'....struttin my stuff....The world is my oyster, and even though the clouds turn the shimmering waves grey....they look blue to me. And now I'm talkin' my trash....yes sir re: Bob...sayin' good morning to the pelicans....waving with delight to a passing Coast Guard helicopter....chasing frenzied shore birds, and even stopping and talking to my favorite tree...."Well trees are alive like dogs, aren't they....and you talk to your dog".....

A steady gait, and well trained legs, push me onward and a check of my sub mariner shows fifty minutes has somehow flown by.  The lighthouse steps welcomes me for some "porch sittin", a flock of red winged blackbirds chatter and cheet as if to welcome my arrival and bionic eyes  are enticed by a little patch of green in an otherwise bleak lawn.

A big smile comes over my face and a feeling of true well being envelops my inner soul. That patch of green is Papy's  doing!!!!!  Missed this morning because my eyes were "fixed" on my Brides departure, snow drop flowers, planted by a former Lighthouse Keeper "Papy"  in the early fifties have drivin' their little heads through the sandy earth overnight and will soon grace me with their blooms. Their snow white beauty have welcomed my Bride and I to Spring for ten (10) years and 2010 will be no exception. Soon the lawn will be covered with their glory, my pecan tree will come alive and a new "freshness" will permeate the Carolina Lowcountry. A spirit of rebirth will grace all Daufuskie humans and a spirit of well being will help embrace positive reality. Endless days of sunlight will soon be the norm and my Bride Mary will soon be back from the mainland. Life is Good.