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♪

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(Rudy) 
How do you

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like this 
weather today?

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(Beryl) 
It's pretty nice.

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I didn't expect it 
to be this warm.

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(Rudy) 
It really is nice

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temperature-wise.

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I'm sorry that we got 
a little bit of rain,

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but this is the time 
of year for the rains

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that really cause 
things to change.

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That's what we're going 
to take a look at today,

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some of those early 
changes, awakenings.

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(Beryl) 
Buddings and things like that.

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(Rudy) 
Yeah.

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(Beryl) 
Hello, I'm Beryl Dakers,

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and with me is Rudy Mancke, 
Natural History Curator

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of the South Carolina 
Museum Commission.

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We're at Poinsett State Park, 
and you're probably wondering

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what we're doing in the 
rain on a day like this,

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which is a good question 
to ask you, Rudy.

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(Rudy) 
Well, one of the things

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we make everyone aware of is 
that we don't set things up,

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and it's very 
obvious today.

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If we'd had our way, it would 
have been a much prettier day,

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but maybe because of 
the show we're doing

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this kind of weather is 
exactly what we should have,

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because it's the warm spring 
rains like the one that has just

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passed through here and is still 
drizzling on us that really

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causes plants and animals 
to begin to crank up again

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in the spring 
of the year.

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We're sort of late wintertime 
now in South Carolina.

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Many times you talk of 
the seasons changing --

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fall, winter, spring, summer, 
and very distinct seasons.

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(Beryl) 
It doesn't really happen

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that way.

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(Rudy) 
It's not really a circle

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of the seasons.

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It's more like a pendulum 
this time of year

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because 
it's swinging.

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The nights will be cold, 
and it feels wintry.

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Then the days will be warm, 
and it feels like the spring,

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then back to winter, 
and back and forth.

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This is confusing to us, but 
the plants and animals out here

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seem to be pretty well 
adjusted to what's going on.

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(Beryl) 
How do they understand that?

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We'll be taking a closer 
look at that later

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in the 
program today.

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(Rudy) 
The temperature seems to be

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important, but you remember 
about the leaves falling

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up in the 
mountains.

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We said day length has 
something to do with some

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of these changes, and day 
length, instead of getting

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shorter, is getting longer, 
and these plants especially

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seem to be very attuned to 
that, and I think we are, too.

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I've felt different feelings 
now that spring is coming.

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Perhaps you feel the same 
kinds of feelings I do,

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and I think we can see how this 
warm spring rain is affecting

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the plants and animals here 
at Poinsett State Park.

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(Beryl) 
Let's see what

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we can find 
out today.

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(Rudy) 
This is a neat park,

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and I hope we 
can prove that.

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There's some stuff right over 
here that's kind of interesting.

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The wall, itself, is sort 
of unique because it's made

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out of a rock 
called coquina.

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It's one of the sedimentary 
rocks made out of fragments

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of seashells, and the ocean is 
not here today, but we do know

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it was once here because of 
rock like this available.

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What kind of fern is 
growing off of it?

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Do you see that 
over there?

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(Beryl) 
I think that's our old friend,

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the resurrection fern.

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(Rudy) 
Marvelous.

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See how green it is 
now and unrolled?

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It has resurrected 
itself.

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This wetness has really 
caused a change to occur.

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(Beryl) 
Moss all over the place, too.

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(Rudy) 
Yeah.

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Notice how quickly these 
plants come on, and notice

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the plants living in that 
rather rough environment

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are some real 
primitive ones:

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the lichens, the ferns, 
and the mosses.

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These are all plants that have 
been around for a long time

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and are used to some 
pretty harsh conditions.

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(Beryl) 
Are you suggesting

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if we had been here, 
say, a month or so ago,

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we wouldn't have found that 
wall as green as it is today?

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(Rudy) 
It wouldn't have been

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quite so green, 
and the ferns there

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would probably have been 
rolled up in a ball

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and probably brownish 
instead of green in color.

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There's a lot of life 
that's been right beneath

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the surface all winter 
that's ready to go,

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and I think we can see 
signs of that pretty easily.

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Matter of fact, look 
across the road.

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I think you can see something 
has sort of unrolled.

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See that yellowish 
material hanging down,

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one of the 
early flowers?

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(Beryl) 
Let's get close enough

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to see 
what it is.

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(Rudy) 
Yeah, let's see

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what that looks 
like up close.

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(Beryl) 
Okay.

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(Rudy) 
Just be careful of the puddle

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with the rain 
dripping on it.

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This is one of the neatest 
plants for a number of reasons,

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and I like it 
especially in the spring

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because it tells me 
spring is coming.

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Hold on to that 
just a minute.

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Let me reach down and 
break off a little piece.

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(Rudy) 
There we go.

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(Beryl) 
It's kind of weird.

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What is it?

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(Rudy) 
Yeah.

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It's one of the shrubs that 
never really gets to be

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a large tree, 
known as an alder.

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This thing always 
grows in wet places,

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and we are down 
near a creek that has

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a little extra water 
added because of the rain.

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Early in the spring is when 
this thing flowers, and there

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are male flowers and separate 
female flowers on this tree.

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These things that hang down 
are masses of male flowers

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which produce 
yellowish stuff.

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What do you call that 
stuff that blows around

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and gets 
in your nose?

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(Beryl) 
Pollen.

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(Rudy) 
Pollen.

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Tremendous amounts of it, 
and these little things here

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that are sort of a burgundy 
color are the female flowers.

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(Beryl) 
They look like

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composite flowers, but 
they're not, are they?

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(Rudy) 
No.

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This form of flower 
production is called a catkin.

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Quite a few 
trees have them.

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They always 
hang down.

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Usually these are 
wind pollinated.

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The wind just blows the 
pollen from this catkin up to

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this material up here or over 
to here as it's blowing now.

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(Beryl) 
It's trying to blow us as well.

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(Rudy) 
Pretty stiff breeze, yeah.

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The interesting thing is that 
once the pollen fertilizes

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the eggs in here, these little 
things develop eventually into

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cone-shaped fruiting bodies, 
and my mother used to take

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these, and other women used to 
take these, and make corsages

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out of them because these 
look like small pinecones,

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and they fit in well 
and nicely on a corsage,

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especially 
around Christmastime.

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When you see the alder 
catkins unrolling,  ah  --

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(Beryl) 
You know that spring is coming.

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(Rudy) 
It seems spring is on the way.

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These have unrolled a 
little earlier this year

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than I had expected, but they're 
a better judge of the situation

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than we are 
sometimes.

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One other thing I noticed when 
I ran down there, do you see

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the little pile of white stuff, 
fluffy stuff, on the branch?

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(Beryl) 
Yeah.

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It looks like 
a dread insect.

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(Rudy) 
It is a group of insects that

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look like they have spent a good 
bit of the wintertime there,

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which is a 
little unusual.

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They're called 
woolly aphids.

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(Beryl) 
I think they're common

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to most gardeners, 
aren't they?

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Are they related to the 
ones that lay on plants?

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(Rudy) 
Related to

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the little green aphids 
that cause problems.

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They're sap-suckers, 
and these are sitting

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on the alder taking sap, 
and not only do they use it

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for food but they also 
produce a substance -- see

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that woolly, white stuff 
that's blowing in the wind

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a little bit -- that 
is protection for them.

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They live in masses, and a 
lot of times when you see them

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on alders or beech trees, 
if you shake the limb,

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they will all begin to 
shake their body together.

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When they're 
moving like that,

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instead of looking like 
a whole lot of individuals,

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it looks like one big 
something stuck to it.

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They also produce a 
substance called honeydew,

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which drops out, very sweet, 
gets on your car windows

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sometimes, and it's a 
very sticky substance.

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(Beryl) 
Sappy.

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(Rudy) 
Yeah, but there are

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a lot of insects that come, 
ants especially, and milk these

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aphids and get that honeydew 
out and use it for food.

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Why don't we 
hurry on.

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There's another thing I want to 
show you, another flower.

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See it way in the distance 
there off of a tree?

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(Beryl) 
Let's move where

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we can get 
a better view.

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(Rudy) 
It is hard to see from here.

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Let me put the alder down 
and grab that umbrella.

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This is one of the trees 
this time of year

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that really brightens up a drive 
when I go down the highway.

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In wet places especially these 
trees are fairly commonly seen

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and with flowers this time of 
the year, and the flowers,

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I think you can see pretty well 
there, are a reddish color,

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and the common name for 
this tree is red maple.

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In almost any season of the year 
there's something red about it.

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The branches are 
reddish in the winter.

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The stem on the leaf is 
red in the summertime --

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the petiole, 
it's called --

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and then in the early spring, 
the flowers are reddish.

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We can go ahead and 
take this umbrella down.

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I think it's stopped 
raining for awhile.

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We better keep it close at hand, 
though, in case we need it.

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Most people don't consider 
those flowers very much.

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You see trees around your yard 
flowering often and don't even

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realize what those things are 
hanging off the oak trees,

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for instance, and that's 
one variety of flower.

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(Beryl) 
We think of flowers

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as having big petals, 
and just big flowers.

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We don't look 
for the variety.

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(Rudy) 
Nature does come up

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with a great number 
of flowers

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like the great number of 
plants that she comes up with.

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Variety is 
extremely important.

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It's the 
spice of life.

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In nature it really is 
important to have that variety,

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and that's why we worry about 
it when large numbers of plants

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or animals die off very quickly 
because that cuts down

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on the amount of variety, and 
that seems to mess things up

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as far as the balance of 
nature is concerned.

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Another name for that 
tree besides red maple

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is swamp maple, 
because look.

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(Beryl) 
It's definitely in a swamp.

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(Rudy) 
It's usually in a wet place.

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It does quite well or 
does best in wet places.

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Red maple, and it will have 
fruit on it pretty soon,

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and this tree comes and 
has flowers and fruit aboard

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before leaves come, kind of 
an interesting twist to things.

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00:09:43,833 --> 00:09:45,833
(Beryl) 
Rudy, let's check out

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some of the other 
varieties here at the park.

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(Rudy) 
Let's just head back down.

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(Beryl) 
Glad it stopped raining.

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(Rudy) 
Oh, man, it's nice.

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Now that we're inside of the 
park, Poinsett State Park,

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I think you can really 
be amazed with the feeling

238
00:10:03,500 --> 00:10:06,333
almost of being 
in the mountains.

239
00:10:06,333 --> 00:10:08,866
I get that feeling, 
especially because of that.

240
00:10:08,866 --> 00:10:10,433
(Beryl) 
The mountain laurel, sure.

241
00:10:10,433 --> 00:10:11,666
(Rudy) 
Yeah, mountain laurel,

242
00:10:11,666 --> 00:10:15,966
and mountain laurel is a plant 
that's found most abundantly

243
00:10:15,966 --> 00:10:19,200
in the mountains and on the 
piedmont of South Carolina,

244
00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:21,800
but this plant's also 
found scattered around

245
00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:25,000
the coastal plain, especially 
in low areas like this that are

246
00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,000
moist and that are cooler 
than the surrounding areas,

247
00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,333
and probably what that tells 
us is that back in time when

248
00:10:31,333 --> 00:10:35,133
the climate in South Carolina 
was colder than it is today,

249
00:10:35,133 --> 00:10:37,500
these plants had 
a much greater range.

250
00:10:37,500 --> 00:10:40,566
Now that the climate has warmed 
up, they're most commonly found

251
00:10:40,566 --> 00:10:44,100
where it's still cooler, but 
they're also found in low areas

252
00:10:44,100 --> 00:10:47,533
that are a little cooler than 
the high sand hills around us.

253
00:10:47,533 --> 00:10:51,700
It's got early flowers coming 
out here and last year's fruit

254
00:10:51,700 --> 00:10:54,500
hanging down on it, and 
it's one of the evergreens.

255
00:10:54,500 --> 00:10:57,166
Now, what is this stuff that's 
hanging from it, though?

256
00:10:57,166 --> 00:10:59,800
And this is an amazing 
combination of plants here.

257
00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:01,233
(Beryl) 
Oh, the Spanish moss.

258
00:11:01,233 --> 00:11:02,633
I think it's 
absolutely beautiful.

259
00:11:02,633 --> 00:11:03,633
(Rudy) 
Spanish moss,

260
00:11:03,633 --> 00:11:06,033
and you remember in 
Congaree we looked at it.

261
00:11:06,033 --> 00:11:07,900
We talked about 
it a little bit.

262
00:11:07,900 --> 00:11:10,966
Let me pull off a little 
and talk for a second

263
00:11:10,966 --> 00:11:13,633
about the fact that this, 
instead of being a parasite,

264
00:11:13,633 --> 00:11:16,633
is a green plant and 
makes its own food.

265
00:11:16,633 --> 00:11:18,033
(Beryl) 
It's hard to believe

266
00:11:18,033 --> 00:11:19,166
that's a 
green plant.

267
00:11:19,166 --> 00:11:21,066
(Rudy) 
Yeah, and after a good rain

268
00:11:21,066 --> 00:11:24,400
like we've had today, you can 
see, if you look carefully --

269
00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:25,566
(Beryl) 
It is green.

270
00:11:25,566 --> 00:11:26,800
(Rudy) 
-- it's green.

271
00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,966
The scales will absorb water 
and allow light to pass through

272
00:11:29,966 --> 00:11:32,200
and allow you to see the 
chlorophyll underneath.

273
00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,200
It is covered with 
gray scaly material.

274
00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,166
It is one of our flowering 
plants, too, which is --

275
00:11:37,166 --> 00:11:38,166
(Beryl) 
It flowers?

276
00:11:38,166 --> 00:11:40,033
(Rudy) 
-- yeah, which is a shocker,

277
00:11:40,033 --> 00:11:42,666
and usually you can 
find the flowers on here.

278
00:11:42,666 --> 00:11:44,666
They look like little 
bromeliad flowers.

279
00:11:44,666 --> 00:11:48,233
As a matter of fact, you see 
that thing right on the tip?

280
00:11:48,233 --> 00:11:49,900
(Beryl) 
Oh, this?

281
00:11:49,900 --> 00:11:52,100
(Rudy) 
That one right there, yeah.

282
00:11:52,100 --> 00:11:56,266
That's a developing 
flower on this plant,

283
00:11:56,266 --> 00:11:59,466
and if you know what a 
bromeliad flower looks like,

284
00:11:59,466 --> 00:12:01,833
this will resemble 
that flower

285
00:12:01,833 --> 00:12:05,600
because it's in the bromeliad 
family, or the pineapple family.

286
00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:09,333
It's not a moss at all, and 
yet that's what we call it.

287
00:12:09,333 --> 00:12:12,433
This was used to stuff car 
seats in the Model-T Fords

288
00:12:12,433 --> 00:12:15,466
and during 
World War II.

289
00:12:15,466 --> 00:12:16,833
(Beryl) 
I don't remember those.

290
00:12:16,833 --> 00:12:18,500
(Rudy) 
You don't remember those days,

291
00:12:18,500 --> 00:12:20,066
do you?

292
00:12:20,066 --> 00:12:24,066
I don't, either, but I was told 
that you strip off the scales

293
00:12:24,066 --> 00:12:30,000
around it and actually use the 
inner dark lining of this plant

294
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:34,533
to stuff car seats and other 
things just as a filler.

295
00:12:34,533 --> 00:12:35,766
That's kind 
of interesting.

296
00:12:35,766 --> 00:12:39,533
When you see mountain laurel 
draped with Spanish moss,

297
00:12:39,533 --> 00:12:42,000
it's an unbelievable kind 
of experience because there's

298
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,200
not many places you can go 
in the state and find that

299
00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:49,433
naturally happening, and that 
makes Poinsett State Park --

300
00:12:49,433 --> 00:12:50,733
(Beryl) 
A special place.

301
00:12:50,733 --> 00:12:52,066
(Rudy) 
-- in my mind,

302
00:12:52,066 --> 00:12:53,166
a very 
special place.

303
00:12:53,166 --> 00:12:56,466
Let's see what else we 
can find down the road.

304
00:12:58,066 --> 00:13:02,233
Those were early flowers 
on that Spanish moss.

305
00:13:02,233 --> 00:13:04,100
They really are a 
little more distinctive

306
00:13:04,100 --> 00:13:05,500
later on 
in the season.

307
00:13:05,500 --> 00:13:07,966
Sometimes you actually find 
long, little capsules on there.

308
00:13:07,966 --> 00:13:10,366
That has the fruit 
in it, seed in it.

309
00:13:10,366 --> 00:13:12,666
(Beryl) 
We take Spanish moss for granted

310
00:13:12,666 --> 00:13:15,733
here, and you don't realize 
until you go into another part

311
00:13:15,733 --> 00:13:18,733
of the country that it's 
something special for us.

312
00:13:18,733 --> 00:13:19,833
(Rudy) 
Well, it is.

313
00:13:19,833 --> 00:13:22,500
It's only found on the coastal 
plain in South Carolina.

314
00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:24,133
People have tried 
to transplant it,

315
00:13:24,133 --> 00:13:26,166
but it just simply 
doesn't do well.

316
00:13:26,166 --> 00:13:30,066
It's called an epiphyte, which 
when you break that word down,

317
00:13:30,066 --> 00:13:33,900
epi  means upon, 
and  phyte  means plant,

318
00:13:33,900 --> 00:13:36,900
and it's a plant that 
actually grows on another plant.

319
00:13:36,900 --> 00:13:38,766
Lots of orchids 
are epiphytes,

320
00:13:38,766 --> 00:13:42,200
but Spanish moss is the most 
common epiphyte that we've got,

321
00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:47,433
and you see it all over the 
trees here, quite a mass of it.

322
00:13:47,433 --> 00:13:49,166
(Beryl) 
Just beginning to bud, too.

323
00:13:49,166 --> 00:13:50,966
(Rudy) 
Yeah, and it doesn't really

324
00:13:50,966 --> 00:13:53,000
look like a green 
plant from here.

325
00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,966
The gray color is what 
you generally can see.

326
00:13:56,966 --> 00:13:59,266
(Beryl) 
Rudy, that actually looks like

327
00:13:59,266 --> 00:14:00,733
a lizard 
over there.

328
00:14:00,733 --> 00:14:02,500
(Rudy) 
Beryl, you've got good eyes,

329
00:14:02,500 --> 00:14:05,500
because that is one of the 
common lizards around the state.

330
00:14:05,500 --> 00:14:08,433
I didn't expect to see 
him on a day like today.

331
00:14:08,433 --> 00:14:11,100
The rain and the sunshine 
may have brought him out.

332
00:14:11,100 --> 00:14:13,300
He's flattened against 
the dogwood branch there.

333
00:14:13,300 --> 00:14:15,500
This one we call a 
chameleon all the time

334
00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:18,500
because it is capable of 
changing its color from

335
00:14:18,500 --> 00:14:22,466
this brown color you see here 
to more of a green color,

336
00:14:22,466 --> 00:14:24,500
sometimes even 
bright green.

337
00:14:24,500 --> 00:14:26,466
(Beryl) 
Then it's part

338
00:14:26,466 --> 00:14:29,466
of a camouflage because 
now he looks like he has

339
00:14:29,466 --> 00:14:31,466
a piece of moss 
running down his back.

340
00:14:31,466 --> 00:14:33,466
(Rudy) 
It has a lot to do with

341
00:14:33,466 --> 00:14:37,066
the temperature and the 
emotions of the animal as far as

342
00:14:37,066 --> 00:14:39,066
the color is concerned, 
temperature around him.

343
00:14:39,066 --> 00:14:42,366
This is one of the reptiles 
and cannot really control

344
00:14:42,366 --> 00:14:45,500
his body temperature 
internally like we can, and so

345
00:14:45,500 --> 00:14:47,900
in the wintertime these 
things are not very active,

346
00:14:47,900 --> 00:14:51,500
but it's feeling almost 
like spring today, so he's

347
00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:55,000
come out to get a little bit 
of sunshine and get cranked up.

348
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:59,133
The better name for this 
animal really is green anole.

349
00:14:59,133 --> 00:15:02,433
He's not a true chameleon, 
but he is one of the lizards

350
00:15:02,433 --> 00:15:05,100
known as anoles, and they're 
usually greenish in color

351
00:15:05,100 --> 00:15:09,000
in warm weather, 
when you see them out.

352
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,100
This time of year they're 
usually greenish in color.

353
00:15:12,100 --> 00:15:14,266
Fabulous animal, and 
when you look at that,

354
00:15:14,266 --> 00:15:18,266
if you can use your imagination 
a little bit, you can think back

355
00:15:18,266 --> 00:15:21,800
when his relatives, 
millions of years ago,

356
00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:24,500
were dominant animals on 
the face of the earth.

357
00:15:24,500 --> 00:15:27,200
We still have a number of 
reptiles that are interesting,

358
00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:29,633
but they're not the 
dominant animal anymore.

359
00:15:29,633 --> 00:15:34,000
What a 
beautiful animal.

360
00:15:36,866 --> 00:15:39,533
We might keep our eyes 
open for some other reptiles

361
00:15:39,533 --> 00:15:42,300
and other animals that are 
coming out into the warmth.

362
00:15:42,300 --> 00:15:43,400
(Beryl) 
Oh, you're trying

363
00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:44,733
to press your 
luck today.

364
00:15:44,733 --> 00:15:46,066
(Rudy) 
Well, I heard some

365
00:15:46,066 --> 00:15:48,266
spring peepers down 
here, a very small frog,

366
00:15:48,266 --> 00:15:50,933
that are peeping, or calling, 
this time of the year.

367
00:15:50,933 --> 00:15:53,333
Early in the spring 
is when they come out.

368
00:15:53,333 --> 00:15:56,000
We hopefully can 
listen to some of them.

369
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:57,000
Look at that.

370
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:58,900
Isn't that 
unbelievable?

371
00:15:58,900 --> 00:16:01,033
(Beryl) 
It looks like a fuzzy buddy,

372
00:16:01,033 --> 00:16:02,700
but it's a 
mushroom, isn't it?

373
00:16:02,700 --> 00:16:04,633
(Rudy) 
It is one of the mushrooms,

374
00:16:04,633 --> 00:16:08,500
and notice that it's growing 
on a tree that is still alive.

375
00:16:08,500 --> 00:16:12,100
See, that tree is water oak, and 
it's still alive and kicking.

376
00:16:12,100 --> 00:16:15,533
Most of the fungi grow 
on plants that are dead,

377
00:16:15,533 --> 00:16:18,566
but this fungus is doing quite 
well on a tree that's alive,

378
00:16:18,566 --> 00:16:21,500
and it's one of 
the edible mushrooms.

379
00:16:21,500 --> 00:16:23,866
(Beryl) 
Is that what a mushroom is,

380
00:16:23,866 --> 00:16:25,200
a fungus?

381
00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:26,866
(Rudy) 
Yeah, it's a fungus.

382
00:16:26,866 --> 00:16:28,500
It's one of the 
edible mushrooms,

383
00:16:28,500 --> 00:16:31,533
and if you look carefully 
down here, you can see these

384
00:16:31,533 --> 00:16:34,566
little tooth-like projections, 
and these are sometimes

385
00:16:34,566 --> 00:16:38,633
known as the teeth fungi, 
or another common name,

386
00:16:38,633 --> 00:16:42,166
if you know what a hedgehog 
is, as a hedgehog fungus.

387
00:16:42,166 --> 00:16:44,200
(Beryl) 
How do we know it's edible,

388
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:46,166
because that's a real 
question with mushrooms?

389
00:16:46,166 --> 00:16:47,900
(Rudy) 
You mean how somebody walking

390
00:16:47,900 --> 00:16:50,900
in the woods would know whether 
something was edible or not?

391
00:16:50,900 --> 00:16:52,266
(Beryl) 
A mushroom in particular.

392
00:16:52,266 --> 00:16:53,266
(Rudy) 
Yeah.

393
00:16:53,266 --> 00:16:57,000
The easiest way to keep 
from getting in trouble

394
00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,600
is to remember that the one 
thing that tells you a mushroom

395
00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:07,200
is edible is if it comes in 
a tin can or wrapped in plastic

396
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:09,000
on the grocery 
shelf.

397
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,866
It is extremely hard for most 
people to know mushrooms

398
00:17:11,866 --> 00:17:14,933
well enough to identify them 
as either being edible or not.

399
00:17:14,933 --> 00:17:17,833
This happens to be 
one of the easy ones,

400
00:17:17,833 --> 00:17:20,366
one of the very, very 
different mushrooms.

401
00:17:20,366 --> 00:17:22,533
It does not look 
like most mushrooms.

402
00:17:22,533 --> 00:17:25,633
It doesn't have a stalk 
and a little cap on it.

403
00:17:25,633 --> 00:17:28,700
It's quite different from 
the mushrooms that you find

404
00:17:28,700 --> 00:17:32,400
most commonly, and this 
is just the fruiting body.

405
00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:35,133
This is the way 
this thing reproduces.

406
00:17:35,133 --> 00:17:38,400
The main part of the 
body of this mushroom

407
00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:40,600
is inside 
this tree.

408
00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:42,033
(Beryl) 
Inside the tree?

409
00:17:42,033 --> 00:17:43,433
(Rudy) 
Inside, under the bark.

410
00:17:43,433 --> 00:17:46,533
If you really want to see what 
mushrooms look like that

411
00:17:46,533 --> 00:17:49,533
aren't on the surface, and most 
of their action is underground,

412
00:17:49,533 --> 00:17:53,833
peel back some dead wood off of 
a log or pull back some leaves

413
00:17:53,833 --> 00:17:56,833
on the forest floor, and often 
you'll see lots of little

414
00:17:56,833 --> 00:18:00,300
white or yellowish threads 
running through the ground.

415
00:18:00,300 --> 00:18:05,500
Those are called hyphae, and 
those are really mushrooms,

416
00:18:05,500 --> 00:18:06,966
not in the 
reproductive form

417
00:18:06,966 --> 00:18:09,566
but just in the growing 
form on the ground.

418
00:18:09,566 --> 00:18:13,200
Very interesting, and I've seen 
maybe two or three of those

419
00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,000
in my life, so that's 
a nice one to spot.

420
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:17,733
Let's keep on 
down the road.

421
00:18:17,733 --> 00:18:19,500
(Beryl) 
You just destroyed my myth

422
00:18:19,500 --> 00:18:22,266
of mushrooms that looked 
like little umbrella caps.

423
00:18:22,266 --> 00:18:24,066
(Rudy) 
Most that look like that

424
00:18:24,066 --> 00:18:26,866
are called toadstools 
because the toads are

425
00:18:26,866 --> 00:18:31,500
supposedly going to get under 
there to get out of the rain.

426
00:18:31,500 --> 00:18:37,366
This lake was built, I think, 
about 50 years ago or so.

427
00:18:37,366 --> 00:18:41,233
There was a grist mill 
right down the way, and now

428
00:18:41,233 --> 00:18:45,033
it's used by the state park 
people for a swimming lake,

429
00:18:45,033 --> 00:18:49,133
at least part of it, and I 
think you can also fish here.

430
00:18:49,133 --> 00:18:51,733
It's really low because in 
the wintertime often people

431
00:18:51,733 --> 00:18:56,266
will lower lakes to kill off 
vegetation in the shallow water

432
00:18:56,266 --> 00:19:00,366
and also to do repairs on 
the dam or the diving area

433
00:19:00,366 --> 00:19:02,366
or something 
like that.

434
00:19:02,366 --> 00:19:04,000
(Beryl) 
Occasionally we see a turtle

435
00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,066
snapping up out 
of the water.

436
00:19:07,066 --> 00:19:09,066
(Rudy) 
Yeah, it was neat back there.

437
00:19:09,066 --> 00:19:12,066
You noticed the turtle, a couple 
of turtles, floating lazily.

438
00:19:12,066 --> 00:19:15,166
They're reptiles, and when 
it's warm in the spring,

439
00:19:15,166 --> 00:19:18,200
they come out and get 
as much sun as they can.

440
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:22,500
They spend their winters 
hibernating in the mud and gunk

441
00:19:22,500 --> 00:19:25,000
on the bottom of 
lakes like this.

442
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:26,900
(Beryl) 
Rudy, it's awfully rocky here.

443
00:19:26,900 --> 00:19:28,233
Why is that?

444
00:19:28,233 --> 00:19:30,033
(Rudy) 
Well, remember the coquina

445
00:19:30,033 --> 00:19:31,900
that we saw 
in the back.

446
00:19:31,900 --> 00:19:34,433
This is coquina that's 
just weathered out here

447
00:19:34,433 --> 00:19:37,833
or been dumped here at one 
point in time or another.

448
00:19:37,833 --> 00:19:41,866
It might be good just to stop 
and get a piece of this and

449
00:19:41,866 --> 00:19:44,700
take a look at it, 
because, remember, we said

450
00:19:44,700 --> 00:19:49,366
coquina was rock that was 
made up of shell fragments.

451
00:19:49,366 --> 00:19:51,466
(Beryl) 
Uh-huh.

452
00:19:51,466 --> 00:19:53,700
Is it a kind of 
fossilized material?

453
00:19:53,700 --> 00:19:54,933
(Rudy) 
Yeah.

454
00:19:54,933 --> 00:19:56,566
The shells really 
are fossils.

455
00:19:56,566 --> 00:19:59,266
They're remains of animals 
that died in the past.

456
00:19:59,266 --> 00:20:04,166
Let me just get 
one piece here.

457
00:20:04,166 --> 00:20:06,833
Come here and take a 
look at this, Beryl.

458
00:20:06,833 --> 00:20:09,166
Look at all the 
shell fragments.

459
00:20:09,166 --> 00:20:11,200
(Beryl) 
Oh, you can see them.

460
00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:12,333
(Rudy) 
They're everywhere!

461
00:20:12,333 --> 00:20:16,000
Some of them -- look at that 
little shell, looks as if

462
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:20,000
it hasn't changed much since 
it was living in the ocean.

463
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,000
This material is very 
interesting because it can be

464
00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,366
worked, and the buildings behind 
us here, the foundations are

465
00:20:27,366 --> 00:20:30,366
made out of this coquina, and 
in Florida where it's common,

466
00:20:30,366 --> 00:20:33,266
they build lots of buildings 
out of it and roads.

467
00:20:33,266 --> 00:20:35,033
(Beryl) 
It looks awfully porous, though.

468
00:20:35,033 --> 00:20:36,366
(Rudy) 
It does weather quickly.

469
00:20:36,366 --> 00:20:38,766
If you cover it, you're 
in pretty good shape,

470
00:20:38,766 --> 00:20:41,966
but if rain continues to 
hit on it and hit on it,

471
00:20:41,966 --> 00:20:44,500
it can dissolve away 
some of this material,

472
00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:46,500
but this is 
fairly solid stuff.

473
00:20:46,500 --> 00:20:47,833
[bird chirping]

474
00:20:47,833 --> 00:20:49,266
(Rudy) 
Listen to that kingfisher.

475
00:20:49,266 --> 00:20:51,400
Did you hear him 
call behind us?

476
00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,266
They're fishing right out 
here in the shallow pond.

477
00:20:54,266 --> 00:20:56,800
There are other animals 
that we might see

478
00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,400
under some of 
this material.

479
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:02,333
Let's just pick 
this piece up carefully

480
00:21:02,333 --> 00:21:04,466
and see if we can 
come across something.

481
00:21:04,466 --> 00:21:06,200
(Beryl) 
Rudy, it looks a little

482
00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,166
like a dead fly 
of some sort.

483
00:21:08,166 --> 00:21:10,166
(Rudy) 
You're in the right category.

484
00:21:10,166 --> 00:21:13,800
It is an insect, and I'm 
afraid it is dead, but at least

485
00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,233
we can get some idea of 
what the animal looked like.

486
00:21:17,233 --> 00:21:20,233
Let me get up a 
little closer to you.

487
00:21:20,233 --> 00:21:22,000
Do you know 
what that is?

488
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:23,166
(Beryl) 
No, not really.

489
00:21:23,166 --> 00:21:25,166
(Rudy) 
That's called a dragonfly nymph.

490
00:21:25,166 --> 00:21:30,300
It's an immature 
form of a flying machine

491
00:21:30,300 --> 00:21:33,500
that we looked at quite a 
bit in the spring and summer,

492
00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:36,466
and I look forward to seeing 
again this spring and summer.

493
00:21:36,466 --> 00:21:39,033
One thing that happens 
when the water is down

494
00:21:39,033 --> 00:21:41,800
is that lots of animals 
that live in the shallows

495
00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,633
lose their lives, because 
they can't migrate down

496
00:21:44,633 --> 00:21:48,200
as the water migrates down, 
and get left high and dry.

497
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:49,500
(Beryl) 
Why didn't he stay

498
00:21:49,500 --> 00:21:51,300
moist enough 
under the rock?

499
00:21:51,300 --> 00:21:52,500
(Rudy) 
One of the problems

500
00:21:52,500 --> 00:21:54,800
is this thing breathes 
with gill-like structures

501
00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:58,166
in the rear end of its abdomen, 
and you have to have a good

502
00:21:58,166 --> 00:22:00,900
amount of water around that 
to keep it alive.

503
00:22:00,900 --> 00:22:03,533
Once they dry up, then 
your life is gone because

504
00:22:03,533 --> 00:22:06,566
you can't get the oxygen 
necessary to survive.

505
00:22:06,566 --> 00:22:09,633
It's amazing to think that 
these animals now live

506
00:22:09,633 --> 00:22:15,000
a great deal of their lives 
in the water using gills, and

507
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,900
then they eventually hatch out 
of the water, shed their skin,

508
00:22:18,900 --> 00:22:22,100
grow wings and then invade 
the air, breathing air now --

509
00:22:22,100 --> 00:22:24,933
not oxygen out of water, 
but oxygen out of air.

510
00:22:24,933 --> 00:22:26,266
Totally 
different change.

511
00:22:26,266 --> 00:22:28,266
If the dragonfly, 
as he's changing,

512
00:22:28,266 --> 00:22:31,000
falls back into the 
water -- if he gets wings

513
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,700
and he falls back into 
the water, he drowns.

514
00:22:33,700 --> 00:22:35,066
(Beryl) 
He can't adapt again.

515
00:22:35,066 --> 00:22:36,066
(Rudy) 
No.

516
00:22:36,066 --> 00:22:37,300
It's an 
amazing thing.

517
00:22:37,300 --> 00:22:40,166
Metamorphosis is changing 
forms, is what that word means.

518
00:22:40,166 --> 00:22:42,833
It's unbelievably interesting 
and very intricate,

519
00:22:42,833 --> 00:22:45,133
and the insects 
are good examples

520
00:22:45,133 --> 00:22:47,200
of what metamorphosis 
can do for you.

521
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:49,566
It allows the immature 
one to get food

522
00:22:49,566 --> 00:22:53,100
in a totally different area, in 
this instance, than the adult.

523
00:22:53,100 --> 00:22:54,200
Both are 
animal eaters.

524
00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:57,366
This is, or used to be, 
quite a predator.

525
00:22:57,366 --> 00:22:59,500
Let's go ahead and 
leave the remains behind

526
00:22:59,500 --> 00:23:01,233
because nature 
recycles itself.

527
00:23:01,233 --> 00:23:03,866
There will be something that 
will take advantage of this.

528
00:23:03,866 --> 00:23:06,600
One thing that's important to 
do whenever you turn over

529
00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,000
rocks, or logs, or whatever, 
looking for things --

530
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,066
(Beryl) 
Put them back.

531
00:23:10,066 --> 00:23:11,066
(Rudy) 
Yeah.

532
00:23:11,066 --> 00:23:12,933
That's somebody's home, 
and let's leave it

533
00:23:12,933 --> 00:23:15,733
as much like it was when 
we came as possible.

534
00:23:15,733 --> 00:23:19,000
Let's head out and see 
what we can see on the dam.

535
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,533
This has become a 
beautiful day, hasn't it?

536
00:23:21,533 --> 00:23:23,600
(Beryl) 
It sure has.

537
00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:26,266
It goes to show, 
if you wait long enough,

538
00:23:26,266 --> 00:23:28,933
nature provides you with 
something very special.

539
00:23:28,933 --> 00:23:30,800
(Rudy) 
This is the season when changes

540
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,300
do occur rather rapidly, and 
it's a lot of fun to be here.

541
00:23:34,300 --> 00:23:37,133
We saw a little butterfly 
go by back there,

542
00:23:37,133 --> 00:23:39,700
a spring azure butterfly, 
which says spring to me.

543
00:23:39,700 --> 00:23:41,133
(Beryl) 
It sure does.

544
00:23:41,133 --> 00:23:43,866
(Rudy) 
And look in the shallow water.

545
00:23:43,866 --> 00:23:46,133
(Beryl) 
Oh, Rudy, we've talked

546
00:23:46,133 --> 00:23:48,466
about them as we 
walked along the beach,

547
00:23:48,466 --> 00:23:51,700
but now you can really 
see the turtles.

548
00:23:51,700 --> 00:23:52,866
(Rudy) 
Fabulous animals.

549
00:23:52,866 --> 00:23:55,966
Not much of them from this 
angle because of the glare,

550
00:23:55,966 --> 00:23:58,500
but looks like sticks 
sticking out of the water.

551
00:23:58,500 --> 00:24:00,233
(Beryl) 
They seem to be sunning

552
00:24:00,233 --> 00:24:02,200
themselves, or something, 
sticking their heads up.

553
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:03,400
(Rudy) 
That's exactly right.

554
00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:07,466
They're a real early reptile 
to get out of the mud.

555
00:24:07,466 --> 00:24:10,133
They spend the winter in 
this mud and stuff on

556
00:24:10,133 --> 00:24:13,866
the bottom of the lake, bob up 
to the surface to get some sun,

557
00:24:13,866 --> 00:24:17,066
and if there were logs, they 
would be sitting on the logs

558
00:24:17,066 --> 00:24:19,200
getting all the way 
out of the water,

559
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,066
but there's not 
much in this lake.

560
00:24:21,066 --> 00:24:22,566
(Beryl) 
Do they hibernate all winter?

561
00:24:22,566 --> 00:24:23,833
(Rudy) 
Yeah.

562
00:24:23,833 --> 00:24:26,833
That's very interesting because 
they hibernate under water.

563
00:24:26,833 --> 00:24:29,700
It's a very odd relationship, 
because how do they breathe?

564
00:24:29,700 --> 00:24:30,800
They're air-breathing animals.

565
00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:32,066
(Beryl) 
Next question.

566
00:24:32,066 --> 00:24:34,566
(Rudy) 
They have a large bladder

567
00:24:34,566 --> 00:24:37,800
that can store water and 
move water in and out,

568
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,500
and it acts like a gill 
for the turtle,

569
00:24:40,500 --> 00:24:44,300
so it uses a gill-like structure 
to get through the winter,

570
00:24:44,300 --> 00:24:47,833
and uses lungs to get 
through the rest of his life,

571
00:24:47,833 --> 00:24:50,333
and the reason he's 
bobbing up at the surface

572
00:24:50,333 --> 00:24:52,500
is because he's filling 
his lungs with air.

573
00:24:52,500 --> 00:24:56,333
This is a neat time to look, 
see way at the upper end

574
00:24:56,333 --> 00:25:00,666
of the lake, and you can 
see a little delta formation.

575
00:25:00,666 --> 00:25:04,433
See, the creek that's coming in, 
filling this lake with water,

576
00:25:04,433 --> 00:25:07,866
is also carrying silt, 
organic debris, and eventually

577
00:25:07,866 --> 00:25:12,166
this lake won't be here 
unless we keep cleaning it out,

578
00:25:12,166 --> 00:25:14,633
because nature is 
always changing things.

579
00:25:14,633 --> 00:25:16,833
It comes in here, 
fills the lake,

580
00:25:16,833 --> 00:25:20,033
and then we have land 
here instead of lake.

581
00:25:20,033 --> 00:25:21,733
(Beryl) 
It's moving it on out.

582
00:25:21,733 --> 00:25:23,066
(Rudy) 
Yeah, it's interesting.

583
00:25:23,066 --> 00:25:24,666
Change is significant 
in the spring.

584
00:25:24,666 --> 00:25:28,233
This is a great time of the 
year to be aware of that.

585
00:25:28,233 --> 00:25:30,133
That kingfisher is 
still calling out there.

586
00:25:30,133 --> 00:25:31,633
(Beryl) 
And you are resisting

587
00:25:31,633 --> 00:25:33,233
the urge 
to call back.

588
00:25:33,233 --> 00:25:34,533
(Rudy) 
I can't rattle like

589
00:25:34,533 --> 00:25:38,000
a respectable kingfisher, 
so I better not do that.

590
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:41,600
Let me walk behind you a minute 
and take a look at something.

591
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:43,600
Remember, we've called 
this show "Awakenings."

592
00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:47,100
Buds are about to burst on lots 
of plants that aren't out yet,

593
00:25:47,100 --> 00:25:48,766
and sassafras 
is one.

594
00:25:48,766 --> 00:25:51,466
Look at the size of 
those buds, really large.

595
00:25:51,466 --> 00:25:56,700
Sort of have greenish-yellow 
bark covering on the branches,

596
00:25:56,700 --> 00:26:00,766
and a tree that man has used 
for years and years and years

597
00:26:00,766 --> 00:26:03,166
to make sassafras tea from, 
that many people believe

598
00:26:03,166 --> 00:26:05,900
to be sort of a 
cure-all sort of remedy.

599
00:26:05,900 --> 00:26:07,233
It's real 
good tea.

600
00:26:07,233 --> 00:26:08,400
I've had it.

601
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,133
I don't know whether it 
does anything good for me,

602
00:26:11,133 --> 00:26:12,766
but it is 
nice and spicy.

603
00:26:12,766 --> 00:26:15,766
This is the time of year 
when many things are out.

604
00:26:15,766 --> 00:26:19,433
We've seen red maple, 
which has already flowered,

605
00:26:19,433 --> 00:26:23,266
and, remember, we said would 
have fruit even before leaves.

606
00:26:23,266 --> 00:26:26,566
This one is another one that 
gets flowers before leaves,

607
00:26:26,566 --> 00:26:29,666
and they're yellowish in color, 
kind of a nice, bright yellow.

608
00:26:29,666 --> 00:26:30,733
(Beryl) 
They're nice,

609
00:26:30,733 --> 00:26:33,566
but since it's so early, 
don't we run the risk

610
00:26:33,566 --> 00:26:36,233
of maybe losing some of 
these buds and flowers?

611
00:26:36,233 --> 00:26:38,233
(Rudy) 
Sure, and the bud scales that

612
00:26:38,233 --> 00:26:41,233
overlap on this, protect it 
from cold to some degree,

613
00:26:41,233 --> 00:26:45,100
but once it swells a great 
deal, then if it opens,

614
00:26:45,100 --> 00:26:49,766
yes, it's running a risk, but 
nature is used to running risks.

615
00:26:49,766 --> 00:26:52,933
Lots of things don't make 
it and have become extinct

616
00:26:52,933 --> 00:26:55,766
because they're not good at 
the odds, but the animals

617
00:26:55,766 --> 00:26:58,800
and plants that are used to 
running the risks can solve

618
00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,866
problems like this, survive, 
and sassafras seems to be one.

619
00:27:01,866 --> 00:27:05,333
We found fossils way 
back in time of this tree

620
00:27:05,333 --> 00:27:06,500
in South Carolina.

621
00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:08,400
(Beryl) 
Gosh, we've seen butterflies

622
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:10,100
and turtles, 
all sorts of things.

623
00:27:10,100 --> 00:27:11,200
(Rudy) 
Great day.

624
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:12,866
(Beryl) 
It makes you wish

625
00:27:12,866 --> 00:27:14,533
spring would be 
in full blossom.

626
00:27:14,533 --> 00:27:16,200
(Rudy) 
I hope that next time

627
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:18,866
we see these people, it 
will be in full blossom.

628
00:27:18,866 --> 00:27:20,200
(Beryl) 
I hope so, too.

629
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,400
In the meantime, get 
out in your backyards

630
00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:25,566
and the parks and look 
for the signs of spring.

631
00:27:25,566 --> 00:27:26,766
They're everywhere.

632
00:27:26,766 --> 00:27:28,100
Rudy, let's 
keep looking.

633
00:27:28,100 --> 00:27:29,266
(Rudy) 
Okay.

634
00:27:31,566 --> 00:27:36,566
Program captioned by:   
CompuScripts Captioning, Inc.  
803.988.8438

635
00:27:36,566 --> 00:28:46,566
♪