Naturally Kiawah Magazine Volume 36 | Page 77

In the Next Issue … W hat does a day on Kiawah Island look like? The easy answer is: pretty much like a day on any other residential/ resort/seaside town anywhere on the globe. Often our days pass at a slow, hazy pace marked only by the rising and setting of the sun. We take a leisurely walk on the beach, ride a bike along one of our many paths, play a round of golf, sweep the porch, water the garden. If we stopped our description of an ordinary day on Kiawah there, we would be missing what is most important. Kiawah itself is far from ordinary. We have what we share with thousands of other places—sand, beach, dunes, marsh. But there is so much more that fills a day on Kiawah. We have come together as a community to make sure the very special habitats in which we live and the extraordinary creatures that live with us are preserved and enhanced. So a day on Kiawah has moments that exceed the every day and we remember them. A leisurely walk on the Atlantic Ocean might be punctuated by the sight of a dolphin swimming by or a shrimp boat on the horizon followed by hopeful birds waiting for fish. Putting on a golf green might be interrupted by a big blue heron winging past with a fish in its mouth or a meandering alligator on its way to the water. A bobcat can move slowly up the path to her den of kittens as we weed our perennials. In our next issue we are going to take a look at how Kiawah Island looks as time drifts by. We feature Morning, Noon and Night: Through the Hours on Kiawah Island. Which of our birds prefer the early light of dawn? Do our habitats change in appearance depending on the light? Does the maritime forest sound different at night? Where can we go to watch a perfect sunrise? Send your suggestions, photos, requests, ideas to editor@ kiawahconservancy.org. See you in the Spring! NK 75