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Wild Times at Skidaway Island and Tour Stop

10/27/2013

25 Comments

 
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BLURB:
Wild Times on Skidaway Island, Georgia's Historic Rain Forest, details life in a unique Audubon-designated, ecologically friendly refuge. There, golfers pitch balls around endangered great blue herons, mama raccoons march their babies across backyard decks where once Guale Indians trapped ancestors of the same raccoons, and residents dodge alligators and rescue snakes.

Even the vegetation is wild. Three hundred-year-old oaks dripping Spanish moss and poison ivy surmount an under-story of wax myrtle and holly. Carolina jasmine, Cherokee roses, and endangered orchids grow wild in the rain forest. The book examines choices residents make when stared down by a bald eagle, when a red-tailed hawk mistakes a golf ball for bird food, when wakened at midnight by deer munching hibiscus. Wild Times on Skidaway Island educates about the species that residents must adapt to on this historic island.

Karen will be awarding a $25 Walmart gift card to FOUR (4) randomly drawn commenters during the tour, and a Grand Prize of an Apple iPad to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Please click on the  book cover to follow the tour and increase your chances of winning.



Exclusive Interview with Karen Dove Barr


WRITER WONDERLAND

What was the hardest thing about creating Wild Times on Skidaway Island?

            The photographs!   The photographs were a real challenge for me.  Many accomplished photographers live on the island.  They are always showing off their work, so I thought it would be a piece of cake to collaborate with one.  But no, they were all doing their own thing.  Some of the best photographers tarted up their photos to be “arty” when I needed realism.  No one wanted to illustrate my book. 

            A few photographers who were really proud of shots of unusual animals agreed to let me use their photos.  Thanks, Daryl Snuggerud and Don Powell.  But not enough to fill the book.  Finally in desperation I went shopping and bought my own camera.  A good camera goes a long way, but learning to use it was a different story.  One teacher told me it was impossible to photograph the big birds in flight.

            At first I thought I would never convince any of the animals to pose.  Finally I learned the great blues, the alligators, and sometimes the raccoons would stand still even when I pointed my oversized lens at them.  But a hundred photos of three species is not nearly enough to fill a book.

            Many of the most interesting and beautiful animals were never caught on film.  The family who owned the bluebird box appropriated by the flying squirrel are particularly good with animals.  Carolyn told me she got many glimpses of the tiny squirrel but the squirrel was way too shy to pose for a photograph.

            Many of the animals are nocturnal.  Deer roam the island in small groups and great herds. Their tracks are visible in my flower beds every morning.  But they mostly show themselves at night.  All my deer photos were taken at dawn or dusk, neither of which are good times to make a photograph come out. 

            I caught the little red fox at dawn with my cell phone.  I’ve seen him several times since, posing just before the sun comes up, but never when I’ve had my camera.  

            I took hundreds of pictures to get the few that are in Wild Times on Skidaway Island. This summer, after the book had gone to publication, I caught a baby owl, an eagle sitting on her eggs, and ospreys frantically trying to keep a nest full of teenagers fed.

            Maybe I’ll have enough for a sequel.

By Karen Dove Barr

Excerpt One:
Thickly needled pine branches intertwined with grapevine and poison ivy shaded the maritime forest on the northwestern prong of Skidaway Island as runners trampled fallen needles, seeking firm footing on soft mud paths, like furtive moonshiners from Modena’s past.          

Skidaway’s isolation by land but accessibility to knowledgeable navigators of the ever-changing marsh made it a perfect hideout for the manufacture of illegal whiskey even before January 16, 1919, when the Volstead Act transformed moonshining from a money-making side line into a get-rich-quick bonanza.  Prohibition began in Savannah in 1908, but by then tax-free alcohol business on Skidaway Island was a long-standing tradition.

Savannah Morning News' July 21, 1925 edition described Skidaway Island as “a veritable nest of moonshine stills.” The newspaper went on to say "agents swooped down on the salt water region Saturday and destroyed three stills in operation of a capacity of 210 gallons and another across the Island of 125 gallon capacity."

I bet the revenuers didn't get them all.


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Karen Dove Barr, Attorney, was recently recognized by the Georgia State Bar for providing legal assistance to military families and service members.  She has practiced in the field of family law in Savannah for 34 years.

http://www.karendovebarr.com/

https://www.facebook.com/karendovebarr

http://amazon.com/Wild-Times-Skidaway-Island-Karen/dp/1939521041

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wild-times-on-skidaway-island-karen-dove-barr/1115227605?ean=9781939521040

http://strategicmediabooks.com/store/books/wild-times-in-skidaway-island/


25 Comments
Trisha Faye link
10/27/2013 03:55:46 am

Tantalizing post. I want to go there now!
I loved reading about the difficulty in getting photographs. It's something I don't often think about while writing.
Thanks for the post!

Reply
Loraine Leonard
10/27/2013 05:30:52 am

Great article! I could use a view like that and a nice getaway.

Reply
Daniel M
10/27/2013 12:03:23 pm

liked the blurb and interview, thanks for the giveaway!

Reply
Andra Lynn
10/27/2013 07:12:26 pm

An excellent post! If you aren't careful, you are going to have a lot more neighbors in the next few years from all this publicity!

andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com

Reply
Barbara Casey link
10/27/2013 07:41:35 pm

This is a beautiful book and one that will entertain everyone who loves nature.

Reply
Goddess Fish Promotions link
10/27/2013 07:47:04 pm

Thank you for hosting

Reply
Karen Dove Barr link
10/27/2013 10:21:37 pm

Thank you for having me and all the kind words. We'd love to have ya'll come on down.

Reply
Karen H in NC
10/28/2013 01:19:06 am

I'm in agreement with the other posters. Sounds like a wonderful place to visit...and live.

kareninnc at gmail dot com

Reply
Rita Wray
10/28/2013 01:27:07 am

Great interview and excerpt.

Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

Reply
Karen Dove Barr link
10/28/2013 01:30:18 am

Thanks, Rita!

Reply
Angela Adams
10/28/2013 05:19:24 am

That photo is a great advertisement! I, now, want a vacation!!

Reply
momjane
10/28/2013 06:04:30 am

This sounds like a fascinating site. I really enjoyed your comments.

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Chelsea B.
10/28/2013 07:43:54 am

Wow, it sounds like you put your whole self into making this book! I appreciate your hard work :-)

justforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

Reply
Karen Dove Barr link
10/28/2013 08:58:29 am

My neighbors got a little nervous when they heard my title but they didn't have to worry. Nobody ever invited me to those wild parties.

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Catherine
10/28/2013 10:49:07 am

Why is it that nothing ever interesting appears or happens when I have the camera at the ready, but I see the most awesome things when I don't have the camera? LOL.
catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

Reply
bn100
10/28/2013 12:13:57 pm

Nice interview

bn100candg at hotmail dot com

Reply
Mary Preston
10/28/2013 10:20:57 pm

I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Reply
Ranya Elmoursi
10/28/2013 11:24:40 pm

Thanks for sharing!

ranya.elmoursi.klee@gmail.com

Reply
Natasha
10/29/2013 06:56:49 am

Great interview!
Thanks for the chance to win!
Sounds like a really good read!!
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

Reply
Eva Millien
10/29/2013 09:53:04 am

Thanks for sharing the interview and the giveaway. Sounds like a great book. evamillien at gmail dot com

Reply
kimmy lange
10/29/2013 01:26:01 pm

thanks for the post and great giveaway!!!
kac_030 at yahoo dot com

Reply
Theresa Fischer
10/31/2013 11:29:51 pm

I imagine taking all those photographs was a great experience. AFischer48@mail.com

Reply
Bobbye
11/5/2013 08:05:45 pm

Thanks for the excerpt and giveaway, Take me away to the island :) bobbyehopebooth at yahoo dot com

Reply
Sarah
11/6/2013 02:02:09 am

sounds like a thrill.

Reply
Emily Wells link
11/6/2013 01:11:50 pm

I must admit, I didn't think it would be that hard to get photos, but I now have a much deeper appreciation for the photos in the book. I think it's awesome that you took your own, makes the book even more...impressive I guess you could say. Not really sure how to describe it, but just makes me want to read it even more now.

tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com

Reply



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