Exploring Sandy Point

I got off work in time today to spend the last few remaining hours of daylight at Sandy Point State Park. The park is about a mile downstream from us by water, but about 5 miles by road. Just above the Bay Bridge is a stretch of naturally sandy beaches and marshes that was made into a state park in the 1950s. There are a few hiking trails there, but I chose to explore around the edge of the water. The going was easy until I reached the marshy areas where I had to make my own paths and create bridges out of driftwood planks to get across stretches of backwater. If I'd fallen in and got Dianne's camera wet, I would've been in big trouble! There wasn't another soul around today and I enjoyed the solitude. The only wildlife I encountered was ducks - mostly Coots, Mallards, and Buffleheads - and of course Seagulls. I spooked something out of one of the marshes that I was hoping was an otter, but I didn't get a look at it. I was surprised by the number of big cargo ships moving up and down the Bay today. Sandy Point State Park is apparently very busy in warmer weather. There's a marine police and rescue station there along with a huge boat launching area.

Gull Cam

Or maybe the title of this posting should be "Gull Clam." I mentioned in an earlier blog that I swept off the dock periodically because the seagulls would leave clam shells there. Today, I learned how the process works. I've gathered that tides are generally lower when the wind is out of the West like it is today. The resulting shallow water allows this gull to dive for clams around our dock. After he snatches one off the bottom, he flies into the wind, hovering over the dock and dropping it dead center onto the widest part. He usually has to drop it two or three times before the clam's shell breaks enough to allow him to eat it. I was lucky enough to catch the entire process on camera a few minutes ago. I should mention that this is the only gull I've noticed diving for clams and that he (or she) is slightly larger than most gulls I've seen. Maybe a different species? Double click the picture for a closer view. -S

Diving Duck

The first time I visited our house I noticed this little guy. He's usually within site of our dock, but hasn't been close enough to get a good picture. Every time I see him he's hard at work, usually swimming and diving into the wind and staying submerged for 30 seconds or more. Yesterday as I was getting ready for work, I glanced out and noticed him a little closer in than usual. I was surprised to see that he had a friend. I grabbed the camera and got a few pictures. A little research today and I've identified him as a Bufflehead, a type of sea duck. Sure enough, the darker one is a female. I'm not sure if they'll stay here year-round, or leave when the weather breaks. According to the article I read, diving ducks have recently made a comeback in the Bay after years of steady decline. I found a map that showed the Bufflehead's range stretching into Tennessee, but I don't ever remember seeing them on the lake. Here's a link to a site with more information about them. I've nicknamed this little duck "Hiccups" because he reminds me of some words in an 19th century blues tune called "Drunkard's Hiccups." I borrowed a little of the lyric when I wrote this line in, "Corn Mash Whiskey Blues."

If the river was corn whiskey and I was a diving-down duck
If the river was corn whiskey and I was a down-diving duck
I'd dive down to the bottom and drink my way back up

-Shawn

Snow Moon

I hope these pictures translate over the internet as good as they look on my computer screen. There's a bright beautiful full moon tonight. The light reflecting off the snow and the dark water of the Bay brightens up the night like I've never seen. The picture to the left was taken just a few minutes ago. The one below is from last night about this same time. This is our second full moon since moving to the Bay. The tides are not nearly so dramatic this time. I shot some pictures this morning of the illusive little diving duck that hangs out around our dock. I've been trying to catch some shots of him since we arrived. I'll try to post them tomorrow. He had a friend today, maybe a nesting pair? I'll do some research. -Shawn

The Blizzard of 2006....

Really wasn't even a heavy snowfall for us. Here on the Bay we might have 4 inches. But the newscasts are saying there was 8 or more in Washington and at least 10 in Baltimore. Last night we drove around as it was snowing and saw that, even a mile away up on College Parkway, there was several more inches than there is here. I think the water kept the temperatures warmer here, and the wind was so strong last night, it just blew the snow right over us. It's still nice to look out on the snow we have. Temperatures are above freezing so it probably won't last long. My plan today is to stay in, watch the Winter Olympics, and work on income taxes. Here's a few pictures including one I like of the contrast between the white outside and the color of our breakfast room. As usual, click to see them fullsize. -S

View out the window

Dianne mentioned in her blog a while back that she feels like we're living on perpetual vacation. While we're both working our tail's off lately, it is very nice to get up to sunrises like this one. The weather forecast for today is 10-15 inches of snow. If we get our first snow since we moved to the Bay, I'll post pictures! It's just raining now. Here's a couple more shots I took out the window of the guest bedroom. If you click them you can see full-size shots of the Magothy River lighthouse and a tanker ship going by on the main channel. -S

Mmmm, mmmm, seafood!

I've become something of a homebody since moving to the Bay. It's partly because I haven't found a bar that suits me. It'll be hard to match a place as comfortable as the Cumberland Avenue Mellow Mushroom, but I'm still hoping. One of the advantages of staying home is that we're eating-in a lot more. We have a great kitchen here, marble counter tops, stainless appliances, a well-lit island with stove and sink, and twin ovens. I just can't walk into it without wanting to cook something! Since I'm usually home from work sooner than Dianne, I've enjoyed taking on most of the culinary responsibilities.

The lack of a good bar is somewhat offset by the wealth of well-stocked seafood shops. While there was only one in Knoxville, there's literally a seafood store on every corner here. My research tells me the Bay has always supported a seafood culture. Unfortunately the local harvest of crabs and oysters is much lower now than before thanks to polution and over-fishing, but it's still seafood heaven to a fomerly land-locked Tennessean. It's currently oyster season and all the shops have local oysters at fifty cents a piece or less depending on how many you buy. Tonight I found a special at the closest seafood store of 3 dozen local oysters for $15.00. They were even cheaper by the half-bushel and bushel. The best part is, they're even nice enough to put out some crackers and hot sauce so you can eat while you shop! I polished off a few bigguns while picking up some crab meat for tonight's soup.

So far, I've tried my hand at crabcakes, which turned out sort of so-so because I used too many crackers, and Margarita Shrimp Scampi, cooked in butter, olive oil, lime and tequilla - my own receipe - it turned out absolutely delicious. Since I'm also downing lots of oysters and clams when we eat out, I'm doing my share to keep the Chesapeake seafood culture alive! Tonight's soup is Maryland Vegetable Crab which I'm making just like Tennessee Vegetable Beef but, well, you know, lump backfin crab meat and Old Bay.

I can't wait until Crab Season when we can catch them off our dock. The seagulls are leaving lots of clam shells out there, so I'm getting up my nerve to wade around and look for some. I'll let you know how that goes! Better check on the soup! -S

The Tides

One of the things I've found most mystifying about the Bay since we've moved here is the tide changes. I've read all I could find about Chesapeake tides, but I'm having a very difficult time making sense of it all. What I'm finding difficult to understand is that the predictions I've found in the tide charts don't seem to match the water levels I see out my windows. This week, we've had the highest water levels I've seen since we moved in. In fact, Friday the water was so high it was in our driveway even covering the road in front of our house. I shot a few pictures for reference including the one above which shows the back of my truck and our driveway, and this one showing the water over Forest Drive. An inch or two more, and we would easily have had the Chesapeake Bay in our back yard.

It's rained all day today, and the water is very high again tonight. Since we're near the mouth of the Magothy river, I'm wondering if rain might have some impact on our water levels here. On the other hand, I can very well see the main channel of the Chesapeake Bay, so shouldn't we always be at Sea Level? Stay tuned, I'll let you know if I figure it out. I'm hoping that, when the weather gets warmer I'll get to meet more of our neighbors and quiz them about what they know.

One more thing. A couple weeks ago I posted pictures of very low tides. I read an article yesterday in a local sailing newspaper that said those were the lowest in several years. In fact, there was some damage to racing sailboats in Annapolis due to being left high and dry and buffeted by the gail force winds. -S

Ground Hog Day

It's Ground Hog Day (not Seagull Day, but read on), and my friend Mike from Tennessee has sent me the same message at least ten times. Hearing from him and my kids this week has me a bit homesick for Tennessee. The house has really come together - we couldn't ask for a more beautiful place - and I know I'll learn to like the area, but things are certainly different in Maryland from what I'm used to in Tennessee.

Last night, I set out on a futile effort to find a bar with a Texas Hold'em game. In Knoxville, I could name 5 well-known bars with Wednesday night poker games, but there are none here. You know why? 'Cause they're illegal. Oh, but you can gamble away your paycheck playing Keno in hundreds of places. I guess that money goes to the state, so they don't complain too much. But a free poker game, that's downright immoral! There are some games in DC and Virginia though, and I'll have to find one soon. I did discover a bar with $1.00 drafts and 15 cent wings last night. They even had NTN trivia and a live sports trivia game going on. It's called the Fireside Inn in Glen Burnie. The wait staff was friendly and the crowd welcoming. I'll go back there!
The Bay has been interesting this week. I went out last weekend and fed the seagulls. All I have to do is walk out onto the dock with a piece of bread or something, and dozens fly around. Some are braver than others and will almost take the food out of your hand. We also saw a couple of white swans that day. They didn't seem to be pets and stayed far away from the shore. The water level has been higher this week than before, after very low tides last weekend. I'm not sure why, maybe a combination of the moon and wind. We've spent all our money lately getting the house fixed up (Do you know how much curtains cost? Whew!) so we haven't made much progress on a boat. I saw a fishing trawler heading out of the river this morning and I wondered what they were catching this time of year. I hope to find out soon!

Oh, and btw. I finally got some pictures up on the web that Dianne took of our New Year's weekend in Dayton, Ohio. You can see them by clicking here. -Shawn