This day while out looking for Wood Storks I decided to swap out my long lens for a ‘one size fits all’ and shoot some of the marsh land scenery.  The marsh here is little over 8,000 acres dedicated to wildlife management. In general it was us and the critters.

Water levels are controlled with a wooden trunk system of lifting boards to let it flow between dikes. This (above) is from a big earthen dike.  Trails run on top of the dikes.

Above is where two dikes meet, water on either side as well as forest on the back. All the trails connect this way, you can walk around and through miles of swamp and marsh this way.

Looking down a dike we see water on either side while old tire tracks from the state DNR pickup trucks give a good idea how big they are. There are some we drive on to access the area, others are fenced to allow only the rangers. Some days you meet them, most days you don’t.

We often split up, or keep a distance (before social distancing was a thing) so as not to scare the animals or get too many duplicate shots.

Above the dike borders on a small forest, which of course opens to another marsh. This gives a pretty good perspective on the size of the open space. And, this is only one small area.

As I took the shot of Ellen walking ahead I turned to her right for another on the marsh on the side. As expected in the grass is an Alligator just watching us go by.

Finally above is where a dike meets a dirt road into a forest and swamp. Again we were being watched by the ever present ‘floating head’ of an Alligator which can be seen off in the distant open water.

Getting ‘older and wiser’ I try not to carry any more than I need. This day I packed a spare lens because it was such a nice day I thought I would be a tourist.

All photographs taken at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, in the ACE Basin, South Carolina.