Hunting Island Part 2

Part 1 of our beach trip is posted below. Here is part 2.
Here is Ellen at the top of the light house. Her expression says it all. Last year no one went up the light house because one has to be so tall. This year Ellen was so tall but Arianna sadly was not. There are lots of proud making moments for me as a parent. And without digressing into my parenting philosophy or what I do and don't appreciate in children I'll simply say that Arianna walked away carrying both her disappointment and frustration without tantrum or one word of complaint. This occurred naturally without any prompting or forewarning. I just wanted to squeeze her to death. She showed restraint and self-control in a challenging situation. It never ceases to amaze me just how proud I can be as a parent and what small events trigger the reaction. No doubt I miss more than I ought. But I was preoccupied with her inner strength for the rest of the day. We have her on the body-stretcher for next year.

Here is the view of the light house from below. There is a reconstructed house foundation and several other buildings that held tools and such. A small rail was built to deliver goods to the outpost and fresh water was collected from the roof and stored in a large underground cistern. It seems it was a lonely and isolated life for the person or family charged with maintaining the flame.
Here are the girls in one of the light house buildings now full of light house history. We picked our favorites. They are beautiful structures-the beauty emanating largely from their functionality. Art of course ought imitate nature (I won't defend that).
On the way to the light house we traveled through the woods via trail. During low tide it is possible to take the beach back to the campground and so that is what we did. What we found was the reality of the ever shifting surface of this small island and the rapid forest loss which results. Without intervention, as the sand shifts with currents, the waves erode away soil leaving trees to die and eventually fall. What used to be forest becomes beach and later ocean. The next few pictures are of our hike back to the campground.

It was a very simple reminder that life is a precarious event beholden to much larger forces. Here the forest grew and thrived only to be washed away as conditions changed. The trees followed all the rules to the best of their ability doing everything in their power to succeed. But their success or failure wasn't so much under their control as it was that of winds and waters they could do little to nothing to avoid. Is there an analogy for us? If anything all one can do is be the best at what one is and leave the rest to...

Here you can see the root ball of this palmetto. There is another trail on the island which takes one into the marshy tide-waters which are mostly grassy fields with the occasional clump of shrub and tree where the ground rises above sea level. Much of the trail is on boardwalk due to the daily high tide which covers most of the fields in water. The Spanish moss, wind-swept gnarled trees, and endless streams create a beautiful landscape but not the kind one feels very comfortable walking into. The girls kindly posed but I failed to capture the true beauty of the surrounding scene.

Finally, we went into the small town of Beaufort on our last full day. Normally we wouldn't have ventured back into town on a camping trip but the wind was so strong and cold we just felt like we needed to do some sight seeing. Beaufort is a beautiful historical city which is now largely given over to the pursuits of wealthy retired folks (as a qualification my comments only reflect our brief tour of the gentrified downtown). The shops are quaint and expensive. We hiked around town and found this old Beaufort Artillery which was built in 1798 to house a local artillery which served in the Revolutionary war. It's a fascinating looking fortress with cannons set up throughout. The artillery houses the Beaufort History Museum which was unfortunately closed.
We packed things up and headed home on our fourth day. Nothing like sleeping in a tiny dome, eating by campfire, heating by campfire, and feeling sand in everything to make one long for home. On the way we passed this group of buzzards enjoying a hefty deer carcass. As is usual the picture doesn't do justice to the bird's size. They were soaring overhead, perched in trees, and bickering over position as they picked at the hide. Haven't you ever wondered, when you see them floating above, whether they ever successfully find anything? I have. They do apparently. Plenty.
So ends another family vacation. Much was left out and too much was said. But we had a wonderful time together and count the days till we can get away again.

Hunting Island Part 1

We just got back from a Spring Break trip camping for 3 days and 3 nights at Hunting Island State Park. It was another wonderful vacation. Below are some pics and descriptions. I will post a second batch here before long to conclude the trip.

We camped very near the beach which has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are the beauty of the ocean, the palm trees, and the close proximity and access to the beach. The disadvantage is that incoming wind, from off the ocean, is not blocked or filtered by forest. Next year we may camp in the woods to avoid the strong wind. Inside the tent was warm and cozy but it is not a roomy enclosure for leisurely fun. It is almost purely for sleeping given the tight quarters. That meant when we were not hiking or playing "out" at the beach we were chilling by the fire.
Camp life was pretty simple. No toys or other things to distract us we are always left to pile onto one another and laugh for extended periods until someone gets hurt. I always like that about camping: the way one is compelled by necessity to enjoy everyone else almost all the time. The girls were high spirits and energy. They helped prepare food, and they are becoming quite the fire making/ fire poking/ fire maintaining experts. We received congrats from a neighbor RVer, who had apparently been watching us, for cooking all our meals over the fire. We ate grits, oatmeal, burritos, pasta, cereal, and fried some tofu-dogs, coffee.
Here we are sitting around the fire pit. We did a lot of this. Food tastes SO good when camping. It's as if one's senses become hightened via the depravity of sensory overload so common in daily life. We all found ourselves appreciating simple meals and simple tastes.

Here the girls are cleaning the tent out. Oh were it this easy to clean the house or to get them to clean.
The beach was beautiful. The picture behind the title of the blog was taken from our campsite. Here Arianna found this huge conch. I know very little about the mollusks but we were happy to find this guy among others on the beach. She, the conch, was promptly put back to continue her sublime life. We also found sand dollars (alive), sea urchins, and many 0ther shells. Jennifer was the only shark tooth finder: a coveted award.
In the mornings the girls and I walked to an inlet where a small creek had carved a sandy ravine and the marshy grasses met the forest. We saw deer their eating along the forest border 2 out of 3 mornings. But we didn't get near as close to them as I did a large raccoon who enjoyed a half a bowl of Jay food (Jay is our dog) before I realized what the noise of crunching was in the middle of the night.We did a lot of this. Walking, looking, discovering. Behind us you see a vast beach. The reason for this is that the beach was recently rebuilt. Ole Mother Nature doesn't seem to be quite the conservationist we expect from each other. Due to the placement of the surrounding land and resultant sea currents Hunting Island has been rapidly eroding. This year we had tons more beach because someone spent a lot of money putting it back. The barrier we are walking on is one attempt to limit the effects of beach erosion. More on this later.
We also played tag on this set of boulders which are covered in muscles and barnacles. The boulders were placed there to stall the eroding process. Another very human attempt to restrain much stronger forces. I am not making any kind of moral judgment. We do this all the time. Try and shore up what little stability we have with small gestures toward preservation. I think all the barnacles are appreciative. I was reminded though of youthfully disrupting an ant pile with a water hose and watching as the ants, against all hope and all odds, try, one by one, to make things better: carrying dirt clods, rescuing babies, every bit of energy focused on repair. And for many circumstances in life this certainly the correct response. At first I thought it a perfectly human quality to persist with futility but too many examples exist in nature of the same. No, it would be a truly human quality to know when to walk away, to desist, to let go. Catastrophes are natural. Tragedies are all to human. At the heart of many a tragedy is not letting go, not moving on (think Oedipus) while not realizing that larger and unknown forces are in charge. Meandering in this way raises all sorts of interesting questions-but they are perennial. The anti-erosion strategies on Hunting Island are a mere token of a more general problematic type of phenomena.
The dilemma appears wherever a form of life is threatened.


One day we took a hike on the nature trail which led to the Hunting Island Light House. The forest here is absolutely gorgeous. The ground is covered with beautiful palm plants and young palm trees emanating a rich emerald green while the upper layer of trees are crawling with vines and Spanish moss. Very enchanting. Even in taking these pictures we knew we wouldn't be able to capture the real beauty of the place. You'll just have to go their yourself.The girls ran, jumped, and skipped the whole way. It was a long hike but well worth it.
When we got to the end of our hike we had the lighthouse to enjoy. Here is a picture of the lighthouse from the beach. In the next set I will cover our trip back home where we witnessed the devastating effects of beach erosion as well as our trip into Beaufort. Check back soon.

Manure Mania

Added Note: Horses are Arianna's thing right now. She was enthralled. She had a horse themed birthday and has been drawing them incessantly. So it was exciting to watch her watch and pet them. My favorite quote was: "Dad, dad, one of the horses heads is as big as my WHOLE body."

If one wants to improve one's soil it doesn't get much better than manure. Our soil needs extra attention. Science tells us that the Atlantic ocean used to break just where Columbia SC was built. We live in what is known as the sand hills. For all we know our yard used to be underwater or beach. And sand doesn't hold much water nor has there been millennia of heavy amounts of decomposing matter in our sandy yard. But we want to create conditions where our garden can thrive and need to do it for free. We are composting yard and food scraps, along with leaves and such. Jennifer has started the worm-compost (vermicompost) which is another step toward healthy soil. You also might have seen the large pile of wood chips we are composting for the same purpose. Today we added another element. POOP!

Jennifer spent some time calling around and found a stable outside of town which we visited today. Some research was needed to make sure the stable didn't use any inorganic materials to clean the stables. The folks at the stable were incredibly helpful and friendly-they seemed completely unaffected by the fact that we were stealing this black gold. In fact they welcomed it. A stable hand told us the horses poop 50 to 100 pounds a day. They shovel it up and redistribute it back onto their fields but told us we could come as much as we wanted. So, we plan on taking advantage of this opportunity. For comparison I think I remember that bags of mushroom compost cost around $4.50 a bag. We probably brought home 5 or 6 bags worth. And that is just the beginning.

Big corporations were bypassed, local relations were enhanced, no money was transacted, and we got some exercise without a gym membership. A win win for the Kruideniers. We are also becoming more aware of the life process which we think is really cool. And, we will remember the poo when we are carrying in baskets of food this summer. It's going to make growing food a much more successful project.

So, if your thinking about growing or looking for ways to enhance your growing get out the local phone directory and start calling your stable. Some of the best soil amendments are being pooped for free at a stable near you.

BEWARE-There is a bit of the evangelist in my blood. Read on at your own risk.
Growing our own food decentralizes power, builds local relations, gives citizens control over their sustenance, and keeps a knowledge of food production in the hands of those who need it (the eaters). To the degree that we lack control over our food we lack freedom. A decentralized food production system will be much harder to destroy in time of natural or human catastrophe. Local food production develops local breeds that work in local environments creating variety. Variation in turn creates statistically better chances of avoiding massive die-off from disease avoiding the risks associated with large corporate agri-mono-culture. Feel free to share your experiences and experiments with us.

Correction: Bald Cypress not Cedar

My friend emailed me that I had labeled the first tree in this post about Congaree swamp wrong. It is a really old bald cypress, not a cedar. I was confused:) Thanks for the correction Christina!

Congaree Field Trip

We went for a hike at Congaree National Forest with our homeschool group. One of the moms in our playgroup was one of the park rangers before becoming a full time mom and she led us on a guided hike. This national park has the "largest old-growth floodplain forest in the continent."

Here we are standing around an 800 to 1000 year old cedar tree. The next picture is a huge pine tree.



We walked on the boardwalk trail for 2.5 miles and took in all the sights and sounds of the forest. After about half a mile into the hike most of the group turned around and headed back for naps and lunch. A few of us wanted to do the full loop and go by the lake. Soon after the group split we walked right past a wild pig! It was awesome. It came so close to us and it didn't seem to be bothered by our presence at all! Christina had told us that there were pigs in the forest but she had actually never seen one. We love spending the day outside. You just never know what you are going to see.

Art, Astronomy, Garden

Painting the crocus. We are making a book of drawings of the flowers that bloom in the yard. We painted the daffodils the other day.

Last night we stayed up late (9:30pm) to watch the total lunar eclipse. It is really fun now that the girls can actually understand what's going on. We used our binoculars to watch the shadow of the earth slowly move over the moon.


Although it has its moments, I love staying home and learning with the girls. I captured some of the good moments on camera today. Some of you not familiar with homeschooling might wonder what we do all day. Well I thought I'd share that tonight:)

I like to do reading, math, and writing everyday with them. They both have to spend time reading aloud to me and we do math orally or written most of the time using the Math-U-See curriculum. For writing we alternate between a course called "Draw, Write, Now" that uses drawing to teach handwriting, and a curriculum called Explode the Code. The girls enjoy most of this time but we do have moments of frustration when I know the girls could be doing more but are not. That is one of the hardest parts of homeschooling for me--knowing my child's potential and trying to encourage her to press on even when it is not fun. I want them to enjoy learning and they do now so I'm just trying to keep it that way:) After we get all this stuff done (which usually takes 1 to 1 1/2 hours) we have the whole rest of the day to do art or science projects, visit museums, go to dance and gymnastics and most importantly for the girls go to playgroups!

We are all learning about growing a vegetable garden. Here are a few pictures of what it looks like right now. Some of the plants were started from seed but we did get a tray of broccoli, chard, kale, and lettuce from home depot this weekend. We also have 3 trays of seeds inside with tomatoes, peppers, greens, flowers, beans, squash, eggplant that we check on and water every day.
Lettuce, Kale, Chard

Garlic and a few broccoli

More broccoli and greens.

Valenitne's

We (me and the girls) woke up to love notes, a beautiful bouquet, and a can of frosting for chocolate fondu with strawberries. It was a happy valentine's day!

That was definitely the highlight of the week.

We have been having extreme spring fever here. The weather has been nice--not to cold or warm. We've spent long afternoons at the park and spent some time in the evenings thinking and planning our garden. We are making it a lot bigger this year and we're trying to decide what to do for our very sandy soil. Daniel has been growing seeds inside to get a head start and just to learn more about growing from seed. We hope to do a lot of gardening this weekend planting greens for an early spring harvest! We'll also be starting peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant inside. I'll be posting lots of updates as spring arrives.

Arianna turns 5

We had a wonderful vacation down in Alabama for a full week. We played at the beach, swam in the pool, visited with family and the last day we were their I got to do some relaxing. The day after we got back from the trip was Arianna's birthday and so we had her party on Saturday. It turned out to be a beautiful, warm day. Grandaddy William came in town and went with Daniel and the girls to the mall to get their ears pierced. (Daniel got his other ear done with Ellen in Sept.) Aunt Anna also came in town for the party. We had a scavenger hunt, pinata, a horse cake, and tons of horse presents. And thanks to William for taking these beautiful pictures. It was very nice not to worry about that for this party and he always gets amazing shots of the kids!

I just can't believe my baby is 5 years old. It doesn't seem possible. I feel older when I think about the fact that I have kids now--they're not babies any more! This 5 year old birthday party was a special one. People stayed over at our house into the evening and we ordered out and ate dinner together here. The kids had a blast until about 9:30 (the party started at 2). They played outside a lot since the weather was beautiful. Daniel set up the tent in the backyard so they went on trips to far away lands and traveled in their boat (on top of the mulch pile) then slept in the tent. It was very sweet. It is really fun to watch these young friendships develop. We are so thankful for all of them for coming and celebrating our Arianna with us!

What I miss most when they're gone

First, my loving wife: I miss her friendship-the kind you have with someone day in and day out who can read you like a book even when you don't want to be read. I miss the daily encouragement and real belief-by real belief I mean the kind someone has in you when they really know your strengths, weaknesses, and quirks and can make an honest assessment. I miss the warm body at night. I miss sharing the labor of living. I miss feeding off of her strength and endurance...
Second, my loving girls. I miss the little feet, the little hands, the huge smiles, the soft sweet faces, the quick, strong, and fluid bodies. I miss the young energy, I miss the honesty, I miss the innocence, and the insight that comes with not knowing much. It's been days since I have heard a "Today I did X for the first time" or "Dad did you know X ?". I miss the surprise neck hugs from behind or the surprise tackle hug when I'm not looking.
And its only been a few days! But just imagine if three of your best friends took off for the beach. Now I am left here uninterrupted with my own mind. Yikes. (Cue the violin).
These are my days,
Daniel

Dauphin Island

Here's were we've been this week. More to come




Happy Mardi Gras from Mobile AL