The fresh water marsh behind the barrier islands that I have been posting about in an earlier post is shown above. This nature preserve is lovely and peaceful and felt somewhat mystical to me as I stood there with my back to the ocean wind. I could still hear the power of the pounding surf not far behind me when I took this photo, but the view in front was quiet like a painting or the entrance to another world.
The wading birds take advantage of this area all year but more so during the migration times of seasonal change. Further in toward the land the water was not so high in the marsh and actually dry in places during the time that I was there. This is a carefully 'managed' marsh with flood gates and water levels closely monitored and changed by man. The natural resource folks want to make sure that this area does not face drought or flooding to the extent that animals or plants would be adversely impacted. (The hubris of mankind...) The gates are hidden by foliage so it all looks perfectly natural and wild.
The grasses flow like green ocean waves against the expanse of the blue sky.
Humans do not know better than nature. Anyway, lovely pics.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a lovely spot.
ReplyDeleteAlas (in a way), catastrophic flooding and drought are both perfectly natural phenomena, and flooding in particular functions to renew the soil. It's a fine line between helping a sensitive area protect itself from human-caused degradation & climate change, and overprotecting it from the normal variation that keeps our planet healthy. (Take the Mississippi - we should _let_ it flood and change its course every decade or so. But that's too terribly inconvenient to the people who live nearby!)
I agree with NanU that it's a fine line, but that is not necessarily to say that the line shouldn't be drawn. At heart, though, I'm on the side of nature - m ostly.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!! It does look like a painting!
ReplyDeleteHugs
SueAnn
oh it is very pretty...an endless ocean of green...
ReplyDelete