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Greetings!
Welcome to the Blue Wall Weekly, your source for what's going on outside along the Southern Blue Ridge 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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Arachnophobe, calm down
Go ahead. Just try telling your old grandmother than this granddaddy longlegs is not a spider. “If it’s not a spider, then why does it have eight legs?” I imagine my grandmother saying, shaking her head and muttering to herself that I couldn’t tell a spider when I saw it. That spider’s got no fangs, grandmother. He’s got no venom. “WHAT?” my grandmother might have roared. “Why, that’s about the deadliest spider there is, if it could bite you. But his mouthparts aren’t big enough to bite.” And that settles it because who’s going to argue with grandmother? But granddaddy longlegs are not spiders. They have one main body part instead of two, no fangs, and no venom. They do, however, have stinky scent glands to discourage predators, and they’ll eat almost anything. They smell, taste, and touch with their longest, creepiest legs. Truth be told, a granddaddy longlegs watched my grandmother every day from the broad shade of a hydrangea outside her back door. She never bothered him, and he never bothered her. ~K
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Not a Spider
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SPECIAL EVENTS
WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS
October 19: 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
October 24: 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
October 31: 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
Full Moon Rising Tour - Hunter's Moon Book Now!
October 20: 5:15-7:15 PM
First Sunday Expeditions with Keith Bradley Book Now!
November 7: 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM
FISHING ADVENTURES WITH CAPT. ZACH
Call to Book!
View from Jumping Off Rock 10.10.21,
Photo by Bill Robertson
STATE PARK EVENTS
Oconee Station State Historic Site
January 1-December 31
Park Grounds Open Daily: 9:00 AM-6:00 PM
Gorges State Park
October 18: 1:00 PM
Come join a Park Ranger to learn about the fire cycle, how fire can be good for the environment, how to prevent dangerous wildfires, and the NC State Park’s prescribed burning program.
Controlled burn at Clemson Experimental Forest, Photo from CEF's FB page.
Table Rock State Park
October 23: 4:00-11:00 AM
Be an extra early riser and take a unique moonlit hike to Bald Knob overlook on Pinnacle Trail. After experiencing the nocturnal aspects of the forest we will enjoy the pre-dawn sky from the outcrop as we anticipate the beauty of a new sunrise.
Gorges State Park
October 23: 4:00 PM
Join us for a relaxing nature journaling activity. This month’s theme will be the autumn leaf color changes in GSP.
OTHER OUTDOOR EVENTS
Conestee Nature Preserve
September-November: 1st & 3rd Thursdays
This program will offer students the opportunities to engage with our expert education staff and explore different areas around the Preserve.
Callicarpa americana, American beautyberry, Photo by CNP
SCNPS
October 19: 6:30-8:00 PM
Dr. Ashley Morris and her students at Furman University are investigating clonal structure in the federally endangered bunched arrowhead and the state-listed Oconee bells (northern and southern species) using genetic tools. During this program, she will provide some preliminary data from the work that students have been doing this summer, with thoughts about possible implications for these two rare species.
Mushroom Mountain
October 21: 2:00-3:00 PM
Tours of MM include an introduction to fungal ecology and life cycles, laboratory tour and research overviews, and the fruiting room. Many aspects of mushrooms, including medicinal properties, cooking, and mycoremediation to soil creation will be discussed along the way!
Holly Springs Center
October 23: 10:00 AM-2:00 PM
Join Frank Porter and learn to identify stones, gems and geode cracking as well as the Geology of the Appalachian Mountains.
Conestee Nature Preserve
October 23: 6:30-8:30 PM
DNR wildlife biologist, Jennifer Kindel, will share lots of interesting facts about bats, their place in the ecosystem, and the conservation issues they face.
SC BOTANICAL GARDEN EVENTS
October 21: 4:30-5:30 PM
We’ve chosen birds as our focus but will always be open to all the fascinating things we find as we explore the Garden. Children ages 6-12.
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WEEKLY EVENTS
WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS
PRIVATE TOURS ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE!
CALL OR BOOK ONLINE
TO RESERVE SEATS
THIS WEEK ON LAKE JOCASSEE
OCTOBER 18, 2021
ANTICIPATION. Sat, Oct. 16. That’s what fills me this time of year. So much is ready to happen, ready to explode. All the elements for a spectacular fall color show are aligned. Ample rainfall, cool, crisp mornings, followed by bright sunny days. That’s just the ticket for eye-popping fall color. There is no other place on earth that can match the southern Appalachians this time of year, and Lake Jocassee is the jewel in the crown. And don’t you know the migratory birds know it! We’ve not spotted even one migratory waterbird yet this year, but the cold front forecast to come through this weekend could change all that. I’m fully expecting to see our first loons and Bonaparte’s gulls this coming week. Alas, with every change of seasons there are things we must bid farewell. We took what I imagine was our last swim yesterday, saying goodbye til next year to the satin caress of Jocassee waters.
THE PEAK. To answer the question we are asked a thousand times this time of year, Kay and I have lived here for 12 falls, and the ‘peak’ in each one was right at the end of October and the first ten days of November. This year all the talk is about an early peak, but things seem rather normal to me, and right on course for the cusp of October/November. On the other hand, the Jocassee Gorges has the greatest diversity of hardwood trees in the country, each tree with its own timetable of preparation for winter, so peak can have a different meaning here. It’s more like a slow climb to the peak and back down the slope to the mellow glory of early winter. ~B
COMING SOON!
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER
STATE PARK EVENTS
Table Rock State Park
October 28: 6:00-7:00 PM
GNHA
November 6: 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
GNHA
November 7: 10:00 AM-3:00 PM
OTHER OUTDOOR EVENTS
Oconee History Museum
October 29: 7:00 PM
Hagood Mill Historic Site
October 30: 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Foothills Trail Conservancy
November 5-7
Foothills Trail Conservancy
November 6: 9:30 AM
Friends of Jocassee (FOJ)
November 13: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
Conestee Nature Preserve
November 13: 9:30-11:30 AM
Holly Springs Center
November 13: 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
SC BOTANICAL GARDEN EVENTS
October 26: 12:00-1:00 PM
November 4: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
November 6: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
BORROWED GLIMPSES
This will be the view in a couple of weeks. Plan your trip so you don't miss the peak! Photo by Bill Robertson
Fall kayaking y'all, Photo by Kerry McKenzie
Great blue heron, Photo by Karen Palmer
Forest gifts, Maitake mushrooms aka Hen of the Woods,
Photo by Tricia Kyzer
Monarch butterflies fueling up for their 2500 mile flight to Mexico, Photo by Kerrie McKenzie
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Granddaddy longlegs, also known as harvestmen, will loose a leg in order to escape from a predator. The severed leg will “twitch” for up to an hour, holding the attention of the predator while the harvestman escapes. The leg does not grow back.
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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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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? Help protect and preserve the beauty of Lake Jocassee and the Jocassee Gorges by joining FOJ!
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.png) Visit Oconee Convention and Visitors Bureau
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Your Portal to Paradise!
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Lake Jocassee
&
Lake Keowee
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