It's been cold, cloudy, rainy, and dreary here in SC this week. It must be November. On Thursday the highs did not get out of the 40's. I think it was warmer in MN that day. However we still have flowers blooming and lots of leaves on the trees. So, it's still looking better than MN right now.

On Thursday, we went for a drive as part of our official capacity as volunteers and in our official pick up into one of the areas that is closed from November to March to provide a resting sanctuary for water fowl. It was an area that is a combination of fields that have been planted to winter wheat and corn, and flooded ponds. We saw lots of coots, Canadian geese, one snow goose, vultures, turkeys, and maybe an alligator. Shannon had spotted the alligator resting motionlessly in one of the ponds. We watched a large group of coots swim toward the alligator, and we were expecting to see some alligator-action. The coots swam right by the alligator, and never a muscle twitched. So we were either observing a log or an alligator on Valium.

Monday we will be helping the volunteer coordinator with an outdoor education session for about 60 pre-school kids. I'm sure the kids will be well behaved and very attentive at all times. This will be a change of pace for us. Sitting in the visitor center waiting for anyone to cross the threshold is hard work.

The refuge is made up of 4 distinct, physically separate units. The visitor center is located on the Bluff unit. One of the things, besides the VC, that makes the Bluff unit unique is the presence of an Indian mound around which the British during the Revolutionary War constructed a fort to guard the main travel way from Charleston to Columbia. Francis Marion eventually led a successful attack on the fort and drove the British out of the area. Marion's grave is in the area, and the man-made lake on which the refuge is located is called Lake Marion.

The closest unit to the Bluff unit is the Dingle Pond unit. This is a Carolina bay. Carolina bays are located in both South and North Carolina as well as Georgia. They are oval shaped depressions that are boggy. The prevailing theory is that they were created by a meteor, but no meteorite material has ever been found in any of the bays. Another theory is that they were formed by wind action. Having been down here for three weeks now, my theory is that Paul Bunyan and Babe were down here messing around and that is what caused the bays. Locals aren't buying it, however.

The other two units are Pine Island and Cuddo with Cuddo being the largest. Both of these units have farmed fields and flooded ponds. And, both are partially closed from November to March. All of the units have hiking and biking trials, and some also have driving routes and canoe/kayak routes. So, there is good variety on the refuge and lots of recreational opportunities as well as animal life. Now, if we can only get some more two-legged animals to visit the VC, life would be good.