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Greetings!
Welcome to the Blue Wall Weekly, your source for what's going on outside along the Southern BlueRidge Escarpment. Feel free to share your own photos, videos, and adventures along the Blue Wall by sending them to the email address at the bottom of the page, and we'll do our best to make you (locally) famous!
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Flying Tigers
Take a scoop of sunshine. Flatten it into bright bits of yellow crepe, shape it into triangles, sew them together onto a velvety black and yellow body, draw in a few tiger stripes, and release it into a cool March breeze. There! An Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly has been created! We’ve bypassed the egg stage, a drop of pearl green no bigger than a grain of millet, bypassed the larval stages of brown, then green, then plump luscious juicy green with large, yellow-ringed “eyespots,” bypassed the chrysalis stage which would have attached to a leaf before the leaf fell from its tree, and, Voila! Now these bright bits of sunshine dip and flutter over Lake Jocassee, welcoming visitors back to paradise. They fly to a boat full of humans and hover close. Do we believe insects to be friendly, or curious? It’s hard not to imagine them as such. ~K
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Eastern tiger swallowtails gather nutrients
by "puddling".
Photo by Margaret Blair
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SPECIAL EVENTS
WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS
March 30: 8:30 AM-1:00 PM
#2 Laurel Fork Falls to Canebrake
CALL OR BOOK ONLINE TO RESERVE SEATS
A SWAN?? Well, yeah! This is Lake Jocassee!
THIS WEEK!
MARCH 25, 2024
STATE PARK EVENTS
Oconee Station State Historic Site
Originally a military compound and later a trading post, this Historic Site offers both recreational opportunities and a unique look at 18th and 19th century South Carolina. A self-interpretation station is available at the park office.
Table Rock State Park
March 29: 10:00-11:30 AM
Join us for a beautiful morning walk around the Lakeside Trail and explore the area in search of native wildflowers.
Dimpled Trout Lily, Photo by Bill Robertson
OTHER OUTDOOR EVENTS
Greenville Zoo
March 25: 7:00 PM
Join us as we celebrate International Dark Sky Week by welcoming lighting designer and nature photographer, Bobby Bradley. Join via Zoom: Meeting ID: 862-872-9123, Password: ZOOZOOM.
Conestee Nature Preserve
March 28: 3:00-4:30 PM
In this twice-monthly after school session, your child(ren) will discover the Preserve as young naturalists, letting their curiosity guide their hands-on exploration.
Conestee Nature Preserve
March 28: 4:00-5:30 PM
Babies and nests are everywhere this time of year. Based on known sightings, we'll go searching for some babies on the western side of the Preserve.
Mushroom Mountain
March 30
Join us for a gorgeous spring day of learning all about cordyceps at MM. Each student will get a copy of Will's Cordyceps Cultivation Handbook with their attendance.
Cordyceps, MM Photo
GNHA
March 30: 9:00 AM-11:00 PM
Many of us enjoy hiking the FHT and this is an opportunity for us to help them maintain the trail.
GNHA
March 30: 10:00 AM-1:00 PM
Since this is a short hike, bring a snack to sit by cascade to enjoy; hoping for some wildflowers.
SC BOTANICAL GARDEN EVENTS
March 30: 1:00-4:00 PM
Start at the Nature Center for hands-on fun activities, and then venture out into the Garden with new skills to explore.
SCBG Photo
Congratulations to JORDAN TROTTER! Jordan won the Jocassee Lake Tours BellFest raffle for a free Sunset or Full Moon tour.
JORDAN, please call our office at
864 280-5501 to receive your gift certificate!
Thanks to all of you who attended BellFest this year and stopped by our booth to say hello.
The Oconee Bell blooms will begin to fade soon. If you haven't seen them this year, come on out!
Photo by Bill Robertson
It's 2024, and local schools
are booking for
Jocassee Wild Child Adventures!
Your support makes this program happen!
and follow Jocassee Wild Child Adventures on Facebook!
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WEEKLY EVENTS
WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS
Cool Season Lake Tours
Tues., Thurs., & Sat.: 11:00 AM-2:00 PM Book Now!
Sunday Afternoon Tour: 2:00-5:00 PM Book Now!
FISHING ADVENTURES WITH CAPT. ZACH
8:00 AM-12:00 PM
Call (864) 280-5501 to Book!
PRIVATE TOURS ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE!
THIS WEEK ON LAKE JOCASSEE
MARCH 25, 2024
VULTURE MIGRATION! And you thought we were nothing but loonies around here. Au Contraire! Black vultures in our region don’t migrate, nor do turkey vultures. For the most part. Never say never or always when discussing animal behavior. In our neighborhood, most turkey vultures stay put, and some turkey vultures join them from farther north for the winter. For the most part, though, turkey vultures from farther north migrate to destinations much farther south than here. That means they are on their way back north this time of year, which explains the hundreds of them in a kettle over a field near our house this week, and the over 50 that roosted in the trees around our house! Sadly, just for one night, and off they went on the next morning’s warming air. Jocassee is not just a significant stop-over lake during fall and spring loon migration. Not at all. Did I mention swans?
LOON MIGRATION! The next two weeks should be the most active period of time for loons to head north, and thus my favorite time of year here. Heads up whenever you are outside. Watch for a large bird, beating their wings at 250 times a minute. No gliding or soaring for these birds. Just pure determination. ~B
COMING SOON!
STATE PARK EVENTS
Table Rock State Park
April 6: 10:00-11:30 AM
April 13: 10:00-11:30 AM
April 18: 10:00-11:30 AM
Oconee State Park
April 6: 10:00-11:30 AM
Jones Gap State Park
April 13: 10:00-11:30 AM
Table Rock State Park
April 13: 1:00-2:00 PM
Table Rock State Park
April 13: 2:00-6:00 PM
Table Rock State Park
April 20: 2:45-10:00 AM
OTHER OUTDOOR EVENTS
Conserving Carolina
April 3: 10:30 AM-12:00 PM
Mushroom Mountain
April 4: 2:00-3:30 PM
Conestee Nature Preserve
April 4: 3:00-4:30 PM
Conserving Carolina
April 4: 6:00-7:30 PM
Foothills Trail Conservancy
April 6: 2:00-7:00 PM
Conserving Carolina
April 9: 2:00-3:30 PM
Conestee Nature Preserve
April 11: 4:00-5:30 PM
GNHA
April 13: 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
KOBA
April 13: 9:00-11:00 AM
SCNPS
April 13: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
Foothills Trail Conservancy
April 13: 9:00 AM-1:30 PM
Mushroom Mountain
April 13: 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Conestee Nature Preserve
April 13: 10:00-11:00 AM
Hagood Mill Historical Site
April 13: 10:00 AM-2:00 PM
Conestee Nature Preserve
April 13: 12:00-20:30 PM
Upstate SCNPS
April 16: 6:30-8:00 PM
Greenville County Bird Club
April 20: 7:00 AM-2:00 PM (Longer Walk)
April 20: 8:00-10:30 AM (Shorter Walk)
SC BOTANICAL GARDEN EVENTS
April 5: 2:00-6:00 PM
April 6: 9:00 AM-1:00 PM
April 6: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
April 11: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
April 13: 1:00-3:00 PM
April 20: 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
April 20: 9:00 AM-1:00 PM
Borrowed Glimpses
Okay Wild Child... we say beaver, what say you? These were found on Tahiti beach and measure just a few inches long.
Photo by Kerry McKenzie
Handsome cormorant!
Photo by Lisa Ristow
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Predators of the Eastern tiger swallowtail include birds, such as the sharp-shinned hawk, great-crested flycatcher, red-winged blackbird, downy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, and common crows. Mammals, such as the eastern gray squirrel, raccoon, and the Virginia opossum, will not pass up the opportunity for a quick meal. Other insects, such as the bald-faced hornet and the green darner, feed on this slow-flying butterfly.
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ABOUT THE BLUE WALL
Spanning three states (North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia) and encompassing 859,000 acres, the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment, known as the 'Blue Wall' by Native Americans, contains some of the highest natural diversity of rare plants and animals found anywhere in the world.
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Thanks to Sheryl White for compiling the Blue Wall Weekly calendar,
and to all JLT GUIDES for photos and continuous inspiration!
Phone: 864-280-5501
Jocassee Lake Tours Depart from the Main Dock at Devils Fork State Park
PLEASE CALL 864-280-5501 AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE TO RESERVE YOUR SEATS!
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Enjoy this Lake Jocassee peaceful hideaway.
CAMP GLAMP!
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Love Jocassee? Join FOJ!
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Visit Oconee Convention and Visitors Bureau
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Your Portal to Paradise!
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