To Stand at the Edge

“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of year, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”

— Rachel Carson

A salt marsh is one of my favourite places in the world, and last month I visited, for about the 12th time, the marshes around Jekyll Island, GA. Below are some photos of the marsh at Clam Creek, as well as mid-island marshes seen from the biking path, and marshes along the causeway from the mainland to Jekyll, taken in the months of April, June, September, and December between 2005 and 2014, in month-of-the-year order. (Click on any photo to see a larger view.)

One of the best things about a marsh is how its colour changes with the years and with the seasons, spectactularly so.

APRIL

creek and marsh, Clam Creek, April 2012
creek and marsh, Clam Creek, April 2012
bike path, Clam Creek marsh, April 2012
bike path, Clam Creek marsh, April 2012
bike path, Clam Creek marsh, April 2012
bike path, Clam Creek marsh, April 2012
high water in the marsh, Clam Creek marsh, April 2012
high water in the marsh, Clam Creek marsh, April 2012
Mid-Island marsh, April 2012
mid-island marsh, April 2012
Causeway marsh, April 2012
causeway marsh, April 2012
Causeway marsh, April 2012
causeway marsh, April 2012
Whimbrel at Causeway marsh, April 2012
whimbrel at causeway marsh, April 2012

 

JUNE

oxeye daisy at Clam Creek marsh, June 2006
sea oxeye daisy (Borrichia frutescens) at Clam Creek marsh, June 2006
Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
bike path and bridge, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
bike path and bridge, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
bike path and bridge, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
bike path and bridge, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
male painted bunting, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
male painted bunting, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
singing song bird, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
singing song bird, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
pink flowers, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
pink flowers, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
monarch butterfly, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
monarch butterfly, Clam Creek marsh, June 2014
inland marsh with reeds, June 2014
mid-inland marsh with reeds, June 2014

 

SEPTEMBER

grasses, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2005
grasses, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2005
bike path at Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2008
bike path at Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2008
deer along Clam Creek bike path, Sept. 2008
deer along Clam Creek bike path, Sept. 2008
Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
great egret hunting, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
great egret hunting, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013 … look at the purples!
Clitoria Ternatea (Butterfly pea), Clam Creek, Sept. 2013
Clitoria ternatea (butterfly pea), Clam Creek, Sept. 2013
Lippia Nodiflora (Matchstick plant), Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
Lippia nodiflora (matchstick plant), Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
Giant foxtail (wild millet), berries, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
giant foxtail (wild millet), berries, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
marsh colours, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
marsh colours, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
more, and different marsh colours, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
more, and different marsh colours, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
stormy sky over Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
stormy sky over Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013 … I love this
dead trees and stormy sky, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
dead trees and stormy sky, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
raccoon mom, in Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
raccoon mom, in Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
raccoon mom waiting, in Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
raccoon mom, waiting for baby, in Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
raccoon baby in Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
raccoon baby in Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
great egret, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
great egret, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
tri-coloured heron in grasses, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
tri-coloured heron in grasses, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
yellows and greens, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
yellows and greens, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
marsh crab (Sesarma Cinereum) at Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
marsh crab (Sesarma cinereum) at Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
long-needled pine along bike path, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
long-needled pine along bike path, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
golden orb weaver spider, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
golden orb weaver spider eating something, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2013
marsh flea bane with love bugs, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2014
marsh fleabane with love bugs, Clam Creek marsh, Sept. 2014
thundercloud over causeway marsh, Sept 2008
thundercloud over causeway marsh, Sept 2008
3 immature white ibis, causeway marsh, Sept. 2013
3 immature white ibis, causeway marsh, Sept. 2013
lots of immature white ibis, causeway marsh, Sept. 2013
lots of immature white ibis, causeway marsh, Sept. 2013
marsh view from bike path bridge near historic area, Sept 2013
marsh view from new bike path bridge near historic area, Sept 2013

 

DECEMBER

 

marsh grasses and mud, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
marsh grasses and mud, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010 ... look at the colour!
Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010 … look at the colour!
marsh grass, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
marsh grass, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
snowy egrets and little blue heron, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
snowy egrets and little blue heron hunting, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
tri-coloured heron, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
tri-coloured heron, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2010
causeway marsh, Dec. 2010
causeway marsh, Dec. 2010
Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013
Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013
Clam Creek creek and marsh, Dec. 2013
Clam Creek creek and marsh, Dec. 2013
orange grasses, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013
orange grasses, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013
a new channel in Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013
a new channel in Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013
bike path, Clam Creek marsh, Christmas Day  2013
bike path, Clam Creek marsh, Christmas Day 2013
bike trail and bridge, Clam Creek marsh, Christmas Day 2013
bike trail and bridge, Clam Creek marsh, Christmas Day 2013
canal and grasses, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013
canal and grasses, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013
marsh with many dark reeds, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013
marsh with many dark reeds, Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013
view to ocean from Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013
view to ocean from Clam Creek marsh, Dec. 2013

 

These marshes are very near the marshes of Glynn, celebrated in Sidney Lanier’s poem of the same name, from which:

“And what if behind me to westward the wall of the woods stands high?
The world lies east: how ample, the marsh and the sea and the sky!”

white pelicans with babies in the Marshes of Glynn, Sept. 2013
white pelicans with babies in the Marshes of Glynn, Sept. 2013

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