Magnolia Plantation
We spent most of a day at Magnolia Plantation. We started in the petting
zoo. Evan was very excited to pet the deer and goats, and got lots of
practice walking. Then we walked around the garden paths. We thought there'd
be more in bloom, but the Spanish moss draped trees were very pretty.
We went on a nature boat cruise and saw lots of birds and a few alligators.
On our way out, we walked around the Audubon Swamp Garden. Most of the trail
was a raised boardwalk, so we really felt like we were in the swamp (Paul
almost was in the swamp...)
Evan really liked the goats in the Magnolia Plantation petting zoo.
Evan never caught the rooster but it was fun to try.
in pursuit of a deer
Evan liked petting the deer.
The ducks were almost as big as Evan.
The lake at Magnolia Plantations was covered in duckweed and surrounded by Spanish moss draped trees.
Evan slept for about half of our walk around the gardens.
Lots of Spanish moss (neither Spanish nor a moss)
Is there an alligator in there?
panorama looking toward the Ashley River from Magnolia Plantation
We saw several anhingas on the nature cruise.
The man-made platforms give the alligators somewhere to sun other than the levees.
Anhingas dry their wings to keep warm.
Evan sat in the boat and played with a rope during the nature cruise.
another anhinga drying its wings
The guide said this alligator's name is Wally.
The Drayton family tomb overloks the Ashley River.
We went on a nature walk in the Audubon Swamp Garden, which used to be a rice field.
Evan dropped his sippy cup, and it rolled off the edge of the boardwalk right into the swamp! Paul climbed over the side and fished it out using a stick. Yay Daddy!
a great blue heron looking for lunch
They really do look like bumps on a log
walking on the boardwalk
We saw several alligators and lots of birds.
A turtle watches a couple of ducks.
We heard lots of noise, and when we came around a bend, we saw several trees full of egret nests.
Once we saw one, we realized there were a lot of nests in the trees.
The two baby egrets on the bottom left look like they're about to try getting out.
This tree has a great blue heron nest (top left) and several egret nests (bottom right)
We looked in this old cemetery briefly.
Evan got a lot better at walking during the week. Here he's actually walking with Kimberly on the boardwalk.
Swamp water is yucky.
