Ossabaw - The Abridged Experience

Yesterday we tried to pack in as much Ossabaw adventure as we could for Clare and Charlie.  They had already been out on the beach at night with us to encounter not one, but two nesting turtles in the same area.  It was late when we went back home and to bed, so we decided to sleep in just a little longer than usual.  Still we we up and about around 6:00 or 6:30.  We started the day off Kate and Steve style, with a big breakfast.  Having just shopped, it was easy to put out a big spread.  After we were fueled up for the day ahead, we packed the turtle gear, and some beach stuff into the truck and headed off.  Kate took the Mule to the south end, and Chuck, Clare and I went North.

On Bradley we encountered a false crawl below the high tide line that I quickly logged, before arriving at the spot where we watched two turtles nest last night.  They were both in poor locations and needed to be relocated.  I showed our visitors what we do out here everyday: locating the eggs, logging the data, collecting the sample, marking and screening off the nest, etc.  It didn't take long for them to catch on and soon they were helping me get the work done quickly.  We found 5 nests on Bradley, with two false crawls.  Most of the nests were easy to work, and we on the north end, headed back south by around 10:00am.  Chuck drove the truck, while I sat on the bench in the back with a pair of binoculars.  I was able to scan most of the nests this way without having to run up to each nest.  It saved a bunch of time, and labor, and I wish we could do it like that all the time.  During our nest checking, we stopped near nest #31 to see a nesting plover.

When we arrived at the tidal creek to North Middle, everyone was a already getting hot.  Kate had radioed from the south saying she was still working, but would be up to meet us soon.  We parked the truck and Chuck and Clare went for a swim while I went across to the bike, to ride North Middle on patrol.  I didn't find a single crawl over there, which is pretty typical.  When I got back, I finished logging all my data/times, and quickly jumped in the water too.

The tide was moving fast out of the tidal creek, and I saw a bunch of mud minnows swimming around.  So we got out the cast nest and threw it around for awhile.  I managed to catch a good number of the bait fish.  Kate showed up and took over and caught a bunch more.  It was noon now, and we were all ready for a break from the sun and some lunch, so we put the minnows in a bucket, and headed home.  Chuck drove the little Mule, and I think he agreed, it has its advantages over the truck.  Along the way home, we stopped at the causeway to check on the two crab traps we had baited on the ride to the beach this morning.  There were already three or four crabs.  I tied the minnow keeper off to the dock, and we went home.

We all had lunch while Kate entered the days data into the computer.  Then we lounged around in the living room for awhile just shooting the breeze.  It really is necessary to take a break and recharge after turtle patrol and I could see our guests were feeling that.  It didn't take us too long though, and soon we were headed back out.  Kate drove while Charlie, Clare and I all sat in the back of the truck on two of the benches Jim uses for his Foundation tours.  It was really great to experience the island this way.  The views are just better, unobstructed by glass, and higher than most of the brush.

Kate drove us to Middle Place where we explored for a couple hours.  We walked through the old stables, converted to dorm rooms and admired all the cool old stuff.  With a little help from our friends, we soon found some places there we hadn't been.  A small house, in really good shape, was uncovered near the creek.  We checked out the sweat lodge for the first time, and discovered that it is an active vulture nesting site.  We even saw two young buzzards waiting around for mom and dad to bring food.  Walking around a little more, we found the kiln that the people from the Genesis Project must have used for pottery, glass, and possibly brick making.  We also came upon their outdoor kitchen, now just a pile of wood laying on a couple ice chests and some ovens.  Nearby was a makeshift chicken coupe that was still intact.

When we were done at Middle Place, Kate drove us to the causeway.  Chuck setup the umbrella and beach chair.  Clare lounged in the chair while Kate tried for crabs.  I tried a bit of fishing and after a while, landed two nice red drum.  Charlie tried his hand at crabbing and pulled us up a few.  Combined with the ones in the trap we had enough for a meal.  We packed it all up around 5:30 or so, and headed back to the house.  Paul Mitchell was there to greet us, and Clare and Charlie got a chance to feed him.  Everyone got fresh showers, while I did most of the cooking.  Soon we had a ton of food on the table, including fresh island fish and crabs.  We had meant to get some midden mussels too, but we just ran out of time.  We really tried, but I guess you can't squeeze all the island's treasures into a single day.  After dinner we all enjoyed cold beers and each other's company.  By 10:30 we were all beat.  A long day of Ossabaw fun had drained us of energy, but filled us with memories.