Skip to content

Random Connections

A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Photos
  • Resources
  • Other Voices
  • Post Archives
  • Home
  • Local
  • Kites and Herons

Kites and Herons

Posted on April 6, 2016 By Tom No Comments on Kites and Herons
Local, Miscellaneous, Photography

Lake Connestee-011

This past weekend had already been incredibly busy. There was the Morten Lauridsen event, SC Comicon, and I was barely getting started. Seems like everyone had an event planned for this first weekend in April, and I was going to hit as many of them as I could.

Kites

Saturday was the date for the Foothills Equestrian Nature Center (FENCE) Kite Festival, near Tryon. This was actually a postponed date from an earlier one that got rained out. The festival would start at 1:00 pm and take place up on Hawk’s Ridge in the park.

I left SC Comicon and drove straight on up to FENCE, armed with multiple kites. There were quite a few people gathering, and I could see kites attempting to fly up on the ridge.

FENCE Kite Festival

Mostly, these were kids, as it should be. FENCE had given inexpensive kites to the participants, and most of the kids had these. There were a few other more exotic kites that others had brought.

FENCE Kite Festival-001
FENCE Kite Festival-002
FENCE Kite Festival-006
FENCE Kite Festival-007
FENCE Kite Festival-008
FENCE Kite Festival-009

The winds were light and variable, not ideal for flying. The kites would go up with a series of gusts, then come crashing back down. I started with a simple single-line delta kite, but it didn’t want to fly. I pulled out the stunt parafoil, and managed to launch it for a bit, but even that didn’t work.

I was a bit frustrated and disappointed, but I’ve learned that’s the nature of this hobby, particularly in this area. Sadly, some of the participants didn’t have that understanding about kite flying. Worse yet, these were adults, and not children.

Most of the kids and parents were great, and were having fun, but there were one or two near me that just about spoiled things. One mother was trying to force her three year old to fly a kite, when the child clearly didn’t want to. She was resorting to shaming the child for not trying, which galled me. Then there was a father that was more interested in flying a kite than his two boys. The boys were making their own mischief, and the father was constantly screaming at them. I think they forgot that this is supposed to be fun. Even in the absolutely beautiful setting we were in, they found a way to spoil things. Fortunately, there were just one or two.

I called Laura before I left, and she said they had great winds back down in Greenville. When I got home, she said we should take the kites out to Legacy Park. She hopped in the car, and we headed in that direction.

Here’s where different parts of my personality warred with each other. I love taking photos and documenting events. However, I also love participating in events. Some of these, like kite flying, are mutually exclusive. Unless I’ve rigged something special, I can’t fly kites and take photos at the same time. This proved to be a problem on this outing.

The winds were much, much better down here than up at FENCE. I launched the parafoil with no problem, and attracted a bit of attention with the stunts. I was having a blast.

Then I was upstaged. A guy brought out a HUGE parafoil used for kite surfing. It even had a harness. Once he got it launched he could jump and get airborn with a good gust. It looked fun, and also quite dangerous. I’m not sure I’d want to try that in a crowded park. Together we marked up the sky with large kites. He folded up his first and came back to chat with me and Laura. I may not want as a large a sail as he had, but I think I would like to move up to a 5 square meter parafoil instead of the 2.5 I was using. His was a 9 square meter sail.

Herons

Sunday had just as many options, or more, than Saturday. I had already planned to attend the service at First Baptist, but the afternoon was open. I had a two-day pass to Comicon, and thought about heading back that way. It was also Sunrift Adventure’s Demo Day up at Paris Mountain State Park, and I had thought about trying out new kayaks. Ultimately, though, it was Laura’s suggestion that won out. We headed over to Lake Connestee Nature Park to see if the herons were nesting.

It was another spectacularly beautiful day, and there were lots of folks out enjoying the trails.

Lake Connestee-016
Lake Connestee-018
Lake Connestee-019
Lake Connestee Boardwalk
Lake Connestee

At first we set off in the wrong direction, but soon we found the observation platform with the best view out to the heron rookery.

Lake Connestee-020

I’d brought my camera with the 500mm lens so I could get close shots.

Lake Connestee-004
Lake Connestee-005
Lake Connestee-008
Lake Connestee-011

There was other wildlife in the area, too. Turtles were out, and fish (trout?) swam up to the platform. I was beginning to wonder if visitors had fed them.

Lake Connestee-003
Lake Connestee-007
Lake Connestee-009
Lake Connestee-010

We continued on our way, passing a couple of feeding mallards. We walked around to the Swamp Rabbit Trail. This time of year there are even better views of the rookery. However, as the leaves set on the nests will be obscured.

Lake Connestee-013
Lake Connestee-014
Lake Connestee-015

It had been a great day out, but, honestly, I’m getting old, and between kite flying, hiking, Comicon, and everything else, my feet were tired. Laura felt about the same way. Not a bad way to spend a beautiful spring weekend, though.

Lake Connestee-011

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: SC Comicon
Next Post: Newberry Schools and Churches Ramble – Part Two ❯

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Categories

  • EdTech (200)
  • Entertainment (202)
  • Family (121)
  • Gear (115)
  • General Technology (99)
  • Geocaching and Maps (208)
  • History and Genealogy (266)
  • Internet (144)
  • Local (451)
  • Miscellaneous (550)
  • Music (196)
  • Paddling (248)
  • Photography (779)
  • Podcast (6)
  • Rambling (227)
  • Rants (161)
  • Recipes (34)
  • Religion (48)
  • Restaurants (165)
  • Science (48)
  • Things Overheard (29)
  • Travel (411)
  • Uncategorized (129)
  • Washington Sabbatical (113)
  • Weirdness (60)

Recent Posts

  • In Search of the Road Builder
  • The Phoenix Riots and Dr. Benjamin Mays – An MLK Day Ramble
  • An Obsession with Steak Knives
  • An Epiphany on Patriotism
  • Kayaking Bates Old River and Running Creek

Recent Comments

  • Kris Chappell on The Sad Fate of Chappells
  • Joel Nagy on Old Pickens Court House
  • Derek May on The Haunting of Farr’s Bridge
  • Roger Combs on Mystery Cemetery
  • Roger Combs on Mystery Cemetery

Tags

blogging cemetery Christmas Columbia Edisto River edtech Entertainment family Flickr Florida Furman Furman University gear Georgia geotagging Ghost Town Ghost Towns Google Earth Google Maps GPS Greenville Greenville Chorale history Instructional Technology kayaking Lake Jocassee LCU Lowcountry Unfiltered maps Music North Carolina Paddling Photography rambling restaurant Restaurants review singing social networking South Carolina time-lapse Travel video Washington Washington State
January 2023
S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Dec    

Copyright © 2023 Random Connections.

Theme: Oceanly by ScriptsTown