I had announced it in my last update, Vivalavida discovered the ocean on Christmas Day. The desire to see something a little different after more than three months of Appalachian, so I took the road to South Carolina after a detour through Atlanta to discover a great World Market (in which he was unfortunately forbidden to photograph…) where I bought my Christmas dinner…
 
I left Atlanta late and since this huge city is perpetually congested with dozens of miles of trafic jams, I stopped in a National Forest about 70 miles away to spend the night near an old fire watchtower.
 
 
1. Boondocking…
 

 
 
Having decided to take the back roads to better discover the landscapes of eastern Georgia, I crossed areas where walnuts are grown. Some “walnut fields” stretched out of sight, like the one I squatted to lunch.
 
 
2. Walnuts…
 

 
 
Taking my time, I discovered the ocean only at dusk. Time to find a place to spend the night on Hunting Island, I had a good Christmas diner: Scottish smoked salmon with dill and Moscato d’Asti Nivole..!
 
 
3. Christmas diner
 

 
 
I still made ​​a small walk on the beach and enjoyed photographing the sky. The brightness was curious, with the moon just before moonrise, below the horizon…
 
 
4. Christmas sky…
 

 
 
5. Waked up early to go seeing the ocean before sunrise, I enjoyed right again splendid colors…
 

 
 
6. Almost slack…
 

 
 
The recent hurricanes have claimed more than 100 yards from shore, gnawing the beach and sometimes leaving a standing tree which now seems to have grown in the sea .. Superb for images!
 
 
7. Survivor, well almost…
 

 
 
It is hard to see on the pictures but there was a strong wind and it was 34°F. I had really cold fingers coming back to VLV after 2:30 walk on the beach!
 
Having spotted a pond behind the dunes, I left again a little later to go birdwatching.
 
 
8, 9 et 10 : Willet
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
11 et 12 : Sanderlings
 

 
 

 
 
13. Great egret
 

 
 
14. Heron
 

 
 
15. Another survivor…
 

 
 
I then moved to the salt marshes behind the island that sheltered me for the night.
 
 
16. Sweetness of this flat wet land…
 

 
 
Having spotted an osprey with binoculars on the bridge deck that allows access to the island, I used Vivalavida as approach him when my silhouette would have made him to scamper at 150 yards…
 
 
17. Watchful hunter…
 

 
 
18. Just beforedoing what we do in the bathroom… 😉
 

 
 
19. A last one..! It’s not everyday that I can get so close of such a lord… 😀
 

 
 
I then returned buck to the wet land and I had the chance to see some other species…
 
 
20. Eastern bluebird
 

 
 
21. Great-tailedgrackle. It’s a verry common bird here, not apprehensive. Here is the male
 

 
 
22. … and his female…
 

 
 
23. I end this update with a picture taken from the long bridge that provides access to the island. It allows you to discover the wet land covered with rushes and flooded at each tide…
 
 

 
 
To be continued…
 
And as the days go by and I’m never sure when I can connect properly, I already send you my best wishes for the new year approaching. Can he invite you to fully experience your desires and dreams as I have the chance to do it with Vivalavida..!
A big thank you for your faithfulness to follow this blog… 😀