Message from the President

Hello Coastal Master Naturalists!

I hope your summer is going well. I am not really a fan of all the heat and humidity, but I do enjoy many of the natural aspects of the season. I've even tried to grow some of the native plants that were at the MN graduation ceremony. I'm pleased and surprised that I haven't killed any, yet. My black thumb may still work its magic.

I've just retired as many of you know (and thanks for the card!) so I have some more time to enjoy the outdoors these days. Some of these recent days have just been too hot to get out and do much, so I've been doing some more focused observations around my yard. I encourage you to do the same. I found a shady spot on my porch, had a cold beverage, and watched a female Green Anole hunting the other afternoon. It was quite interesting. She used what I learned to call "still hunting" when we did it for deer: slowly move to a spot, stop and look carefully while waiting for a period, then, if nothing appears, quietly move to another location. She did this across the porch deck. It was quite interesting to see her pounce on smaller beetles and flies, when she could, but completely ignore the small ants that walked right in front of her. I think she could easily have eaten the same weight, or volume, over the same time period, if she would have tried, but apparently ants were not on the menu, and they knew it. Take a look around your yard and see what behaviour you can find. It is surprising how much is going on right around us.

I haven't been completely inactive, however. I volunteered with the Charleston Audubon Society to help with a prescribed burn in the long-leaf pine sections of their McAlhany property. That was hot, hot, hot! We had a very successful burn over 47 acres. It was interesting to see just how hot and fast some of the lush green vegetation would burn. There was one area that was full of small sweet gums, purple passion vines and flowers, Smilax, and other vegetation. I was using the drip torch and skeptical about how the fire would burn, but once it got going, it was very intense; as in having to move well back across the road/firebreak intense! I never would have thought that would have gone up like it did.

A bonus of that experience was finding a 6-7 foot long Coachwhip snake. This is only the second one I've seen and the first one was just as it zipped across a road in front of me. They are, so I've read, thought to be our fastest snake. In this case, the snake was pushed right to me by the smoke from the fire. It was moving slowly and coiled up for a bit before moving on to a safe location across the firebreak. I was able to get some cell-phone pictures of it, which are included. It was a beautiful snake, with a dark head and neck fading back to a light tan color on its tail, on which the scale pattern looks like a braided leather whip, hence the name.

I hope your naturalist adventures have been similarly rewarding. If you aren't having any, I encourage you to get out and go exploring, even if it is not anywhere too exotic. As always, remember to record your volunteer hours. That not only helps you stay in good standing, but helps the Clemson Master Naturalist program get funding from the state to help serve us, and new Master Naturalists.

I hope to see you in the field soon!

Dave