Our Day Off - Samworth WMA: 4 '18

Today is our day off from the phones.  It has been a long  time since we had a day off together, and  last week was quite stressful.  We both felt like we really needed to get as far away as possible, from tax talk,  phones calls, and all the other routines of tax season.  When we suddenly realized we both had been re-scheduled to have the day off together,  we  wasted no time in taking advantage of this unexpected  blessing.  All chores were put on hold, and  we headed off  to explore the low-country  west of where we live.  

(Above) The small yellow house on the right lower side of the screen represents starting point our home ( above the 708 Springs) while the  blue car in the upper center of the screen  is where we wanted to go. The area is  by-n-large  an un-populated tract of wetlands under the control of various wildlife management organizations.  

In particular, we wanted to see the Samworth Wildlife Management Area which is located 7 miles due west of us ( as the crow flies).

To get there we had to head South on Highway 17.  Turn west via  the bridges which cross the Waccammah , Black and Pee Dee Rivers at Winyah Bay. Then circle back to the north via Highway 701.

From there  we veered off on  a series of successively smaller  paved county roads  which took us past interesting civil war ruins

and  through beautiful cypress swamps filled with waterlilies in full bloom.

Even though the Samworth WMA is only 7 miles due west of us, we had travel 24 miles to cross all the rivers creeks and streams, and it took us a full 40 minutes to reach the well graded road  leading into the WFA.

 ( *see footnote ant the end of this post for specific directions from Georgetown SC)

It was time well spent.

The Samworth WMA was a gift to the sportsmen of South Carolina from Thomas G Samworth   The original 500 acres of the property has grown to 1588 acres though acquisitions and additional conservation grants.  About 1300 acres are  wetlands, 200 acres are uplands and agricultural fields, and 88 acres are long leaf pine. From February 9 to  October 31,  the WMA facility is open  9 am to 5 pm EST to the public for fishing, bird-watching, hiking ( a 2.8 mile nature trail),  canoeing- kayaking, and plantation tours.**

To the right of the end of the road  stands the original colonial era plantation home.  

To the left is a large  picnic area  shaded by centuries old  heritage oaks

Some of which are truly impressive even by South Carolina standards

This one even boasted an osprey nest  in its crown

At the Northern end of the picnic area is a boat ramp for launching canoes and kayaks    It too is surrounded by massive centuries old Tupilo Cypress.

There is also a brand new dock to facilitate  loading, unloading, and landings. 

Both  facilitates allow easy access to  a small tributary of the Little Pee Dee River.

Other than the historic plantation house, there was not a human structure or sound  to be seen along the river.  One could get lost in the peacefulness of this place. Hopefully not literally,  as we intend to try kayaking  here.

But for the present, this trip certainly satisfied our desire to get away from it all.

We came rested and feeling at peace.

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* Directions from Georgetown travel 15 miles north on US Highway 701.  Once crossing the Black River Turn Right onto SC-S-22-4/ SC-S-22-52 and travel approximately 6 miles and turn right onto Samworth Loop road.  Follow to stop sign and turn left.  Travel about 300 feet and turn right onto Dirleton Road arriving at Samwort WMA.

**  ( For an interesting 3 min. video tour of the Samworth WMA see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toDkiw0Hp8Y)

***From February 9 to  October 31,  the WMA facility is open  9 am to 5 pm EST to the public for fishing, bird-watching, hiking ( a 2.8 mile nature trail),  canoeing- kayaking, and plantation tours.  For safety reasons, the WMA facility is closed to foot- traffic from November  1 through February 8 to allow public hunting of waterfowl, deer  feral hogs and doves.

Tax Day TBC 4 '18

Just when I thought it could not get any worse, the IRS servers crashed.

That means Bruce and I will still be doing this all day tomorrow.

Bawhahahaha!

It's Tax day, 4 '18

We have just 17 hours left before the fun and games are over

2 days left to file: 4 '18

Getting a lot of these calls today

Miniature Golf at Shipwreck Island: 3 '18

We finally got some really nice weather, and Bruce's back has healed enough for him to chip and putt , so we decided to play a round of miniature golf at one of the 50 miniature golf courses spread out along Highway 17.

We chose to play 18 holes at the Shiprwreck Island Course in Myrtle Beach.

It has two different courses. One flat and simple. And the other hilly and difficult. We chose the latter.  It was challenging and fun.

For more about this course see:

http://myrtlebeachfamilygolf.com/shipwreck-island-adventure-golf/

Pizza Nite: 1 '17

Bruce had fun with the brand's signature logo.

A fully loaded Screaming Sicilian Pizza seemed like the  perfect comfort food  on a cold winter day after dealing with anxious tax  payers all day.

Still Frozen: 1 '18

This mornings view of the house from inside my car.

 Bruce cleared  all the snow off the SUV yesterday evening so he could make a run to the store.  By this morning it had iced over again.  Those ice crystals are pretty but hard to see through.    In a day or two  it is supposed to warm up a tad. Hopefully the ice will melt and  everything will thaw out.

View of our  house from the street

Still Icy Here in the Low Country: 1 '18

Pond Adjacent to Fairwayt 3

We're still iced in!

Based upon prior years records, for this area at, time of year, the snow should have melted days ago, but as you can see, it has not. Worse yet, everything has turned to a dense layer of ice

... including all the retaining ponds.

Pond adjacent to 6th Green

Bruce took these photos this afternoon when he did a  supply speed run.

Pond adjacent to Pawleys Plantation Way and PP Way looking east

 Most of the streets are clear of snow and ice, but as you can see there is still snow everywhere that does not get a full sun. 

 DUH. Its the South. Most folks here thinks that global warming  means its going to get hotter.   It is already 'Hotter than Hades' here in the summer, so of course   all development are built in harvested forest area,  where the developer attempts to preserve as many  of the remaining shade trees  as possible around the homes to shelter them from the summer sun's rays.  

What's that you are saying?  Global warming doesn't mean that every place will be equally hotter ? Huh... it means that as the global average temperature goes up,  our  jet stream based climates will change dramatically,  so stand by, we could be in for more weather extremes. 

Really??? Oh No!

Tee time availablility: 1 '18

 Twelfth fairway looking east toward the  green near the marsh

Better hurry up and book your tee time. 

The rush is on at Pawleys Plantation.

 Twelfth fairway looking NW toward the tee off

Brrrrr, Again! 1 '18

Front yard

Brrrrr.   It's not much warmer than yesterday, and there is  a thick layer of snow covering everything

Back yard

The snow is deep enough to make snow angels 

If we had snow clothes we might be out doing that.

Icicles are formed on everything, even my poor camellias which were just about to bloom

At least the sun is out, so hopefully  the snow and ice will melt off  soon.

Low Country Snow Day: 1 "18

Aaaack. It's snowing. 

View from my upstairs office window

Very dangerous road conditions. All the bridges between us and Charleston are closed again. SC has no equipment for handling snow or ice so they are forced to close the highways and bridges.

Everything is Icy. Our street light has icicles,

as does my poor vehicle.

Merry Christmas: 12 '17

And a Merry Christmas to All

New Boundaries; 12'17

At 7 a.m. this  morning, the developer began putting up a storm fence all around his property boundary.  He said it will reduce soil erosion when they start grading.

Along Tanglewood

Across the Heritage Oak lot

Does a jog at the corner of Masterplace

Cuts across the grass  behind MP  Buildings 51 and 57

Stays at the edge of the woods behind Building 92

Enters the woods at the east end of Building 92

Runs through the woods behind Building 108

Connects with the street behind 108-4

 It runs around the west and south edge of the private home property-line at the end of Twelve Oaks Drive.

And yes, it does run the length of the 18th fairway!

Xmas is back on the table:12 '17

With Hanukkah behind us, the Christmas lights are back on and the table is set with gold and silver  in anticipation of  the Christmas and New Year's  Eve Celebrations

Happy Eight Night of Hanukkah: 12 '17

It is the last night of Hanukkah.

The menorah is burning brightly.

There are games to be played for who gets to open their gift first.

Everyone wins on  the last night of Hanukkah.

And a feast awaits us.

Wish it could be Hanukkah all year long.

Wishing y'all a last Happy Hanukkah for 2017.

Not the best way to celebrate Hanukkah: 12 '17

Pre-op

 Those party pooper nurses at the hospital wouldn't even let Bruce light the  Hanukkah candles ( but we did say a prayer at sundown.)

Post-OP

Perfect end to a perfect night:: 12 '17

And our decorated  Hanukkah Bundt cake

 provided the perfect finish 

to a perfect first night of Hanukkah

Happy First Night of Hanukkah;12 '17

Honoring each others holiday traditions in a mixed religion marriage can be a bit or a challenge, especially when the holidays overlap one another.  But with a little effort, we have made it work for both of us.    For example, this morning, all the red and green Christmas theme decorations were switched out for a blue white and silver Hanukkah theme.   We'll return to the Christmas theme, when the eight days of Hanukkah are over on Dec. 20th. Now after 25 years, I don't think either one of us could imagine ending the year without celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas.

 But for us, Hanukkah is not about the color scheme.  It really always begins with lighting the candles on a simple Menorah Bruce, and reciting the Hanukkah prayers. Bruce got both the menorah and the book from his family when he went into the  military at age 18. Bruce reads the prayers in Hebrew, and I read the translation in English. 

Then we  each open  a gift from under the Hanukkah bush.

The gift giving is more symbolic than luxurious, since the gifts are almost always something practical we  would be buying anyway, but

receiving it wrapped up does make the evening seem a bit more special.

Then we sit down to a formal (and fancy) Hanukkah dinner  planned and prepared by both of us.

Happy Hanukkah everyone.

Star of David Bundt Cake: 12 '17

CC is so pleased with her new bundt pan. 

We can't wait for the cake to cool enough to decorate for to night Hanukkah dinner.

First frost:12 '17

We just had out first hard frost of the season.   So glad we brought our tender potted tropical plants into the Carolina Room yesterday. It is so cold that Ms Kat won't step outside!

But it could be worse. Check out this video we took in the same location on Jan. 29, 2014.