The Oconee Bell

Last week we attended the Upstate Master Naturalist meeting at Devil’s Fork State Park. Kay Wade gave a presentation on “The Oconee Bell and the Fascinating History of the Men who Found It." 

The Oconee Bell:

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Tracheophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Ericales

Family: Diapensiaceae

Genus: Shortia

Shortia grows in Southeast Asia (Japan, China, Vietnam)  and Southeast US (NC and SC). Both areas have  temperate climate, similar elevations and abundant rainfall.

Before 1970, Oconee bells grew throughout Jocassee Valley.

Andre Michaux discovered and collected it but didn’t name it or describe it.

In 1839, Asa Gray visited Paris and found a specimen of the plant in Michaux’s herbarium. Gray seized the opportunity to name the plant for Kentucky botanist Charles W. Short. Gray searched the Southern Appalachians but never found the plant.

It was rediscovered by Mordecai Hyams in 1877. Hyams was the manager of Wallace Brothers’ “botanic depot,” a warehouse in Statesville. Hyams had a group of mountain people who collected herbs in the forests, then traded them to local shopkeepers, who then shipped the plants to Statesville in return for wholesale goods such as salt and kerosene from the Wallace Brothers’ other businesses.  

Asa Gray, John Redfield, and Charles Sargent visited the site of Hyam’s Shortia discovery in 1878. Sargent found it growing the Jocassee Gorges area in 1888.

Shortia Galacifolia was planted on Gray’s grave after he died.

Margaret Mills who lived in Walhalla, transcribed Michaux’s journal into English.

Charlie Williams went to Paris in 2004 to find Michaux’s Shortia specimen.

Amy and Chris Blackwell, and Patrick McMillan are photographing herbarium specimens for the world to study.

This was a great presentation and I really enjoyed learning about the Oconee Bell. Hearing the history of how it was found, lost, rediscovered was very interesting! If you get a chance around March each year, go to Devil’s Fork State Park and look for the Oconee Bell.

Bellfest 2019

This past Saturday was Bellfest at Devil’s Fork State Park. My husband and I was asked to do spinning demos like we did last year, and we agreed. We left home at 5:30am and stopped for breakfast. We made it to the park by 8am in order to set up our stuff. We had a wonderful spot that had a lot of traffic. It lasted until 3pm.

We set up our Clam screen room which was helpful when the wind picked up. We had a  long table that displayed different types of spindles, the different fibers (alpaca, yak, cashmere, camel, and wool) and my husband’s postcard books. The books showed postcards of spinning throughout history and different cultures. I also set up a clothes rack to display the items I made from my handspun yarn. Outside the screen room I set up my spinning wheel and my Turkish spindle. I also had a big white board on an easel that explained that we were doing spinning demos and that I was not selling anything. I saw several families see the sign and come inside when they knew that they weren’t expected to buy anything. As I spun on the wheel or the spindle, people stopped to watch, and I invited them inside to see the different fibers.

Across the walkway from us was the Department of Natural Resources booth that had animal furs, and a live alligator and a live snake. Many families were fascinated by these animals. It was a great way for me to invite the children into our room after they were done with the animals.

There was a great turn out of people who attended the festival. Along with the different vendors and exhibits, there was music, dancers, and food.

The weather was a little chilly but when the sun came out in the afternoon, it warmed up a little. We had a great day at the park, and it was a chance for me to explain this wonderful art form to others. Maybe someday, one of those children will try spinning yarn and remember the time they came to the park and saw our display and demo.

Do you have a craft that you share with others? Please let me know.

Off the Beaten Path

Last week I attended the Upstate Master Naturalist Meeting and our guest speaker was Brenda Wiley. Her topic was about “Off the Beaten Path.” Here website gives “a list of day hikes and associated trip reports, trail descriptions, and pictures.”

She talked about what to bring when you go off the beaten path. You need to bring a topo map, a compass, and a 30 - 50 ft. rope. People go off the beaten path for different reasons such as looking for waterfalls, or rocks, or swimming holes, or for the sake of discovery. Brenda also shared beautiful pictures of what she saw on these hikes. Seeing these made me wish it was spring and summer so we could go hiking more! She recommended Astral water shoes for hiking and going through water. 

Someone suggested the app for your phone – Map My Hike. She said that it didn’t use too much  battery life on your phone. I plan to give it a try.

Carol gave the address for the Oyster Shell Recycling Location: 660 Mauldin Rd. and encouraged others to share this with their communities.

For  more information, she gave these websites:

SCORE

Oyster Recycling and Restoration Program

Original photo by Pat Hensley

All About Bats

Click here for pictures.

At our last UMNA meeting, our speaker was Jennifer Kindel, Wildlife Biologist with the SC Dept. of Natural Resources, who spoke about Bats.

Here are some things I learned about Bats.

1.     There are 14 different species in SC and 47 in the US. 

2.     They are the only mammals that fly.

3.     White Nose Syndrome found in Richland, Oconee, and Pickens.

4.     We shouldn’t fear them but fear handling them.

5.     They can bite you while you sleep and never know it.

6.     There are colonial bat species: Northern long eared Bat, Little Brown Bat, Brazilian Free-tailed Bat, Eastern small footed Bat, Southeastern Bat, Evening Bat, Tricolored Bat, Rafinesque’s Big-eared Bat, Big Brown Bat.

7.     There are tree bat species; Northern Yellow Bat, Seminole Bat, Eastern Red Bat, Silver-haired Bat.

8.     Cave and tree bats hibernate in cold weather.

9.     Sleep time: 4 months for Eastern Small footed Bat and 7 months for the Tricolored Bat

10.  They provide pest control.

11.  House bats – March to August is pup time. They have about 1 or 2 pups a year.

12.  Pups can fly in 4 weeks.

13.  They save the Ag Industry $115 million in SC ad $22.9 billion in the US.

14.  2 N. Long-eared bat found on SC Coastal Plain.

15.  Largest population: Big Brown, Brazilian free tailed bat, Eastern reds, Evening bat

16.  Bat Boxes need to be 14 feet off the ground with 6 hours of sunlight; away from clutter; the Bigger boxes are better with 3 or 4 bichambers.

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