I Feel Blind

Lake Greenwood, SC

 
Calm waters and a beautiful sunset. This is what is directly in front of me.....a far cry from what was going on just a few days ago. The waters in the upstate have started to recede. Recovery efforts are starting to take place. However, back home, they are bracing for what's coming. The first wave was the heavy rains and flash floods. The second wave is happening now. My hometown of Andrews is under secondary flood warnings. The waters from the upstate are headed for the sea by way of rivers that run through the Low Country. The already swollen rivers are at historical flood stages.

I feel blind.

I am still at the lake and can only imagine what my hometown is going through. I see a few pictures of the flood and homes that have succumbed to the rising waters and I hear the stories, but it's all so surreal. I want to be at home to see what's going on in my neighborhood.  But with all the road closures, it would be like traveling through a maze to get there. For safety's sake, it's better that I stay put for now.

 Johnson Swamp at Highway 521, Andrews, SC

Black River is still rising and spilling into the swamps and low lying areas around it. The water is expected to crest by tomorrow. A friend posted this on Facebook, today. This flooded road is only a mile or so from my home, which is still safe. As I've said, it's on higher ground.

My heart goes out to all those affected by the floods. I just wish I could be there.

Laurie

Summer of 1973

 

Black River - March 2012

 

I don't have a picture of Black River from the summer of 1973. This picture is of the newer bridge. The older one, the one during the summer of 1973, was replaced a few years ago. But, the view of this bridge would have been much the same. The only differences are that the water level was much higher and of course, the trees would have been greener.

 

I'm not sure what made me remember the summer of 1973. It could have been that sitting here listening to the rain coming down had something to do with it and the fact that The Weather Channel has been posting flood watches for our area on and off the last few days. But for whatever reason, the Summer of 1973 came to mind.

 

I was a young teenager.....just 13 years old and was spending the summer in Spartanburg with my Granny. Mama would call every few days and on this one particular day had bad news.

 

It was mid June and it had been raining for days. Black River was at flood stage. The river was running fast and no doubt had debris from the banks floating down river, as well. Two local Andrews teenagers had the idea to jump from the Black River bridge. As they dove from the bridge, a man standing nearby saw the two and immediately knew they were in trouble. He was able to help one of the teens to safety and attempted to save the second teen. He said that the water was running too fast and he was not able to save the boy. It is believed that when the teenager jumped, he may have hit some debris floating in the swollen river. It was days before they found his body.

 

I had to do some research and asked the question on Facebook, if anyone remembered the accident. Right away, a couple of friends told me who he was. His name was Tommy Young. He was only 15 years old.

 

Tommy was not the only one who lost their life that summer. The local newspaper reported that five had drowned in our county within a few days of Tommy.

 

Again, I'm not sure why I remembered this. But I'll just take the opportunity to say, freak accidents happen. Be careful out there. Stay alert and don't put yourself in dangerous places.

 

Have a safe and really fun summer!

 

Laurie

A So-called Fishing Trip

Load up, y'all. We're going to the river. I'm about to take you on a little trip. A so-called fishing trip.

But first, no fishing trip is complete without food. Oh yeah, we'll have a picnic...right there in the boat. And since it was still early morning, I whipped up a couple of our favorite fried egg sandwiches, packed a couple apples and some granola bars and then we were ready to go.

Cliff hooked up the boat and we headed down to the Garden City Bait and Tackle shop. The no frills kind...the mom and pop kind....the kind that has ice, a few drinks and crickets.

Kind of nostalgic, don't you think? We like to shop at the mom and pop stores.

 

Anyway, with crickets and drinks and a cooler full of ice, next stop was the Waccamaw river.   

 

 

Cliff's been exploring a few creeks shooting off from the main river and thinks he's found a nice one to fish.  So he pulls out his cane, baits it up........

 

 

........and starts the slow paddle along the creek's edge. I, on the other hand, had brought my neighbor's camera. She's brave. She probably didn't remember that I dropped my iPhone in the creek last year. I didn't say anything. I learned a lesson and I was sure I could take good care of her camera. We have been comparing our cameras. Joyce's has more mega pixels than mine and I just wanted to see the difference...up close and personal.

 

And then, there was the hope that we didn't have a repeat of the incident that happened a few weeks ago in Black River.  Cliff had pulled the boat up to the bank under a tree branch hanging out over the water. And of all the trees on Black River, OMG!!!! With a capital OMG!!! There was a big ole fat snake stretched out on it... hovering just above my head. I nearly walked on water. I didn't want to scream, fearing I would spook the snake and he, she or the devil incarnate would fall on me. So, I high tailed it to the back of the boat whispering very loudly for Cliff to "BACK UP! BACK UP! BACK UP!"

 

Lord, my heart hurt for 15 minutes after that incident. I mean, seriously, I've been scarred. I can't even go to the river anymore with coming home with a neck ache.

  

OK, back to the present and after a little while, with no luck yet on catching any fish, we decided to have our sandwiches. I pulled a nice cold bottle of water out of the cooler for me and for Cliff, a canned Pepsi. He has this excessive concern about his drinks. They have to be cold...ice cold. So, he asked me to put some ice in his Pepsi can. What? How the heck am I gonna put ice through that little bitty hole? "There's the ice pick", he says. It was a ding dang knife that could have taken off any one of my ten fingers. But to be the nice, accommodating wife that I am....I commence to stab the one inch cylindrical shaped cubes of ice with the knife - just so he could have an ice cold Pepsi. It took me ten minutes. I think he may have just been messing with me. He can do that with a straight face. But none-the-less, I completed the task at hand and iced his Pepsi. 

 

On with the fishing....and nothing happening. Cliff's fishing patience was wearing thin. He decided to call it quits. But for me, the picture taking was good. So, what started out as a nice little fishing trip turned into a........

 

"Waccamaw River Photo Shoot"

 

Warning: Picture Heavy

Disclaimer: I used my neighbor, Joyce's camera. Thanks, Joyce! Girl, you and your camera rock! I love the close-ups. The distant ones........well let's just say that I needed to read the manual and practice a little more. But hey, have you ever noticed how much flora and fauna is right in your own back yard?  

 

Well come on...let's just see what lovelies showed up through the lens of Joyce's camera.

(Remember that you can click on the photo to see the actual size.)

 

 

Oooh look, a purple flower. I just love, love purple flowers of all kinds...

 

Nice close-up of oak leaves...

 

Sun filtering through the canopy of trees...

 

The grasses along the edge makes a great home and hiding place for the alligators...

 

Interesting tree branch..... 

 

Yellow flowers dotted the banks here and there... 

 

Watch out! Wasps...

 

What do you know...blackberries growing wild along the river bank.

I can just imagine the native Waccamaw Indians snacking on these, back in the day...

 

Cliff's hand after placing the blackberries in mine...

Sweet!

 

Foraged blackberries with a couple of unripe red ones thrown in for color.

Quite tasty...

 

Osprey with a fish dinner in his talons...

 

The Osprey's nest. Can you see the baby Osprey heads sticking up?

 

The stately Cypress tree...

 

And, another leaning towards the river...

I love trees...can't you tell?

 

Not sure what this is called, but do you see the purple flowers among the leaves?

 

Not so much in the main river, but a common site in the creeks is the alligator...

And as luck would have it, we saw one taking a leisurely swim. It's in the middle of the photo just under the hanging limb. If you look closely, the gator appears white...just on the surface of the water.

 

Lastly, one of our usual stops for lunch or dinner when out on the river....Bucksport Marina.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the Waccamaw River Photo Shoot! This just makes me want to go home to our stomping grounds - Black River - for a photo shoot there.

 

Oh, by the way, keep checking back...there may be a kayaking trip coming soon.

 

And just for good measure......

 

 

I want to wish my baby sister a Happy Birthday!

 

 

Laurie