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On the marsh

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Sunset at Spanish Hammock, near Tybee Island Georgia by Andrea Badgley on Butterfly Mind
Sunset over Georgia marsh

I am a fan of contrast: of rough against smooth, of blur against sharp, of dark against light. When I saw that this week’s Daily Post photo challenge is to share a shot that captures a contrast, I knew I would want to participate, and I knew I would want to share photos from our trip to my childhood home in Georgia.

When I started looking through my photographs from the marshes, though, I realized the contrasts I was trying to tease out in the photos I selected – land against sea, wet against dry – were forced. Those things are not the true contrast I feel here. The contrast I feel here on the marshes is the wide expanse of flatness that is so different from our mountain home.

Georgia marsh near Tybee Island by Andrea Badgley on Butterfly Mind
Morning light on salt marsh near Tybee Island, Georgia

In our Appalachian home water is surrounded by land, is fresh, and falls from the sky. In my Georgia home land is surrounded by water, the water is salty, and it rises from the sea.

High tide in the marshes near Tybee Island, Georgia by Andrea Badgley on Butterfly mind
High tide at sunset, Spanish Hammock, GA

In our Appalachian home the horizon undulates. The sky shrinks and expands as you move through the mountains. On the coast of Georgia the horizon is flat and the sky is one size: big.

Spanish Hammock Morning Sky
Morning sky

As a person who seeks out a strong sense of place, I thrive on the contrasts between my two homes: the one where we are raising our kids, and the one I was raised in. I am grateful that by growing up in the mountains of Virginia and visiting their grandparents on the coast of Georgia, our children will have the chance to experience both.

Spanish Hammock Moss
Spanish moss and Spartina on the coast of Georgia

9 thoughts on “On the marsh”

  2. Oh, Andrea, you did it again. I identify with your sense of place too. When we visited your childhood home spaces – two years before meeting you—I was captivated by the marshes, the expanse. I wouldn’t trade it for here, but i’m glad I was there! 😉

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  3. Andrea, this is beautiful. Your marsh pictures capture the beauty of the marsh so well. Many people capture a photo of the sunset at that tree but yours is the best I’ve ever seen.

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