Swamp Thang

Here in the lowcountry, born-n-breds pronounce the word "thing" as "thang". It's just the way they roll, and you can't help but be charmed by it, despite your best efforts to the contrary.

Last weekend, I visited a cypress swamp. It is one of those places that is just splendid in every way. 9 years ago, in October, while I was working as a part-time bartender and server for an event planner, I worked a wedding at this swamp.

The bride's first name was Sarcanda. This is me, though, not Sarcanda.


They let us take a canoe out into the swamp to tool around. I love, love, love, the reflection of the trees in the water. To give you an idea of just how peaceful this landscape is, imagine lying under a tree on a warm, yet cloudy, summer day. Little yellow butterflies are floating around sparsely. You are miles away from any civilization. There is no wind blowing. You just had your favorite food for lunch, and maybe a beer. You're sort of sleepy, and you are drifting in and out of consciousness.

So quiet, so peaceful, incredibly beautiful.


Wildlife present: Aligators (pictured below) were swimming around in the swamp, uncomfortably close to where we were rowing. They weren't huge - 4 to 5 feet in length at most - but something about them is just instinctively frightening.



Pea Soup: this is my favorite part of the cyress swamp. The small leaflets of water plants (perhaps of the water lilly genus) that completely cover the water in some areas. Below is a photo of a magnolia tree branch hanging over pea soup. Magnolia blooms, open in June, smell like lemon chiffon. The swamp smells like brackish water and mud.

Notably absent: grizzly bears.

Needless to say, we were all quite pleased about that.