Cedar Falls Park, near Simpsonville, SC

As most of you know by now,  when George and I travel,  we enjoy breaking up long trips by stopping along the way to see some new waterfalls.    WELL--on this day (May 11, 2012),  we left Ocean Isle Beach and headed to Simpsonville, South Carolina where we would spend the night and also check out some area waterfalls...

The first group that we saw ended up being one of my favorites of the entire trip.   Thanks to our book (Waterfall Hikes of Upstate South Carolina by Thomas E. King) --we found a fairly new park (Cedar Falls Park,   part of the Greenville County  Recreation District) which contained some fabulous waterfalls and cascades.

The Reedy River, which flows through the city of Greenville,  reaches southern Greenville County at Cedar Shoals.  A 20 foot high masonry dam stretches across the river there and creates a 50-foot wide shoals that drops 12 feet.

This Cedar Falls area has an industrial history much like other sites along the 65 mile long Reedy River.  The shoals were used as early as the 1820's to power a woolen mill,  a saw mill, and in the early 1920's an electrical power generating plant.  A general store located between the dam and Cedar Falls Road served local residents.  Foundations from some of these structures and area homes remain on the site.

Hope you enjoy seeing some of our photos from this neat little park.  Be sure to click on the photos in order to see them larger.   The picture above is the dam. 

George said that I captured his 'best' side when I took this picture.  He was using his tripod while getting some great shots of the dam.  The shirts that we wore that day came from another favorite place,  Cloudland Canyon in Georgia...  The back of the shirts say:  Hiked It;  Liked It!!!!!

After we left the dam,  we made our way down to Cedar Falls.   Isn't this a beautiful waterfall?

I sat on a rock and just enjoyed hearing all of the powerful water around me.   Can you see why we loved this place so much?

This is what I call the Upper Cedar Shoals... George took this photo and I love it... I may ask him to print out an 8x10 for me to frame...  Pretty,  isn't it?

As we walked on down to see the Lower Shoals,  we spotted a Great Blue Heron.   I got a couple of pictures before he flew away ---but didn't have my long lens with me.  I marked where he is on the photo above so that you can see him... I got SO excited since this is the first Great Blue Heron I've ever captured with my camera.

I did read --when we got home ---that this Cedar Falls area of South Carolina is the  home to the only Great Blue Heron rookery on the Reedy River... There are about 10-12 mated pairs --who raise their young here.   Isn't that neat????  (Makes me want to go back and look for more herons!)

And here is a picture of the Lower Cedar Shoals.   We were so impressed with this entire area ---and needless to say,  it was hard to bring the total picture to you through photos since there was so much water in that entire area...  It was so awesome!

Finally,  I'll close by sharing a picture of George and me taken near the dam.

Hope you enjoyed the Cedar Falls/Shoals area.   Now that I know about the herons,  I definitely hope that we can return next spring.

Have a wonderful day.
Hugs,
Betsy

Our Sempervivum (Hens and Chicks)--and a Surprise!

Most of you (if you have been following my blog for awhile) know that George and I love succulents. Our Autumn Joy Sedum is one of our favorite succulents. BUT--even better than that is our Sempervivum. We have LOTS of Semps in our yard.

The name "Sempervivum" has its origin in the Latin semper ('always') and vivus ('living'). Sempervivum are called "Always Living" because this perennial plant keeps its leaves in winter and is very resistant to difficult conditions of growth.

These little succulents are also called Hens and Chicks. The main plant (hen) creates lots of babies (chicks). Typically, each plant (hen) grows for several years before flowering. After flowering, the plant dies, usually leaving many offsets (chicks) it has produced during its life. I think I read that there are over 40 different species of Semps.

I have done blog posts several times showing our Semps (go to my sidebar and click on SEMPS)---but since there are new people, I decided to show some again to you today. I hope you will enjoy my pictures! These are new pictures which I took recently.   Be sure to click on them for enlargements.   The picture above doesn't show it,  but this group are in a 'pile'----like a big mound, living off of each other.. I have never seen them do this.

This one is different... I love its colors.

Here is one of my favorites... I love the purple edges!!!!

I love the colors in this one also.  See how wonderful these little guys are?  They'll grow most anywhere in your yard... We put them around the edges of our flowerbeds...

This one is gorgeous also --with all of the neat colors.

Here is a colorful group of Semps.  I was able to get some sun and shadows on this one.

There are alot of 'babies' in this group---as there are in most groups.  I love to see the Mamas when they bloom (none are blooming now)---but hate to see them die.  BUT-- that's just life for Supervivum.

Here  is one last picture of some gorgeous Semps.   If you want to see some of them in bloom, click HERE.  I have done several posts showing these beauties...  Hope you don't get tired of seeing them.  They are all a little different from one year to the next...

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Five Bluebird Babies

Here is a surprise for you.  It's not a 'hen and chick' --but it is a picture of five tiny baby Bluebirds just born this week.  I've been watching the 5 eggs in the nest in our backyard for awhile --and am happy to see those precious babies come into the world.  We have a new baffle on the pole --so hopefully,  this group will make it.  I'll keep you posted.  They should grow up and fledge by about the 18th of June (give or take).  Aren't they precious?  

Have a wonderful Monday.

Hugs,

Betsy