"Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue.  December 11 & 12, 2004.  Bob & Betsy Lukens, Harry & Liz
Armistead.  Michael & Nancy Lytell and Ben & Frances Weems joined the 4 of
us for dinner Saturday night (local venison, various wines ...).

Sat., Dec. 11.  38 species.  All day.  Overcast to partly cloudy to clear
then overcast again after sunset.  Mostly steady but light rain in the
A.M., then heavier, steadier rain again after sunset.  48 - 60 degrees F. 
Low to higher than nornal tide.  Winds generally west 5-10-5 m.p.h. but
with several periods of near calmness.  A tremendous amount of standing
water in the fields, water flowing in the ditches.  One c. 30 foot boat was
out in the Choptank "hunting" "sea ducks".  Another boat was fishing.  That
was about it for boats. 

8 Common Loons.  2 Horned Grebes.  12 Northern Gannets (some
plunge-diving).  85 Mute Swans.  3 Canvasbacks (finally).  12 Common
Goldeneyes.  250 Buffleheads.  80 Long-tailed Ducks.  150 Surf Scoters.  10
Red-breasted Mergansers.  1 adult Bald Eagle being chased for an extended
period by an adult Great Black-backed Gull.  8 Wild Turkeys.  3
Black-bellied Plovers (fly-bys; first fall record ever after October 28;
21st record overall).  7 Great Black-backed (surprisingly, ties 4th highest
property count), 85 Herring & 1 Bonaparte's Gull.  

Bob and I were walking in mid-afternoon when impressive clouds slowly
approached out of the northwest, trailing virga.  We heard what sounded
like distant rushing waters and were suddenly envelopped in a hail storm,
which lasted less than 10 minutes.  The hailstones were the size of peas
(and I'm not talking about petit pois).  Thousands of them lay on the
ground for a while, like walking on small marbles.  For one who relishes
unique, discrete weather experiences this was an event to savor.  Towards
the end of the hailfall a Spring Peeper called 3 times from The Pond. 
Seemed like a perfect setting for a rainbow about half an hour before
sunset but no luck in that respect.  Clouds later obscured the sunset until
we could just make out 3 brilliant, glowing embers of sky peeping through
the gray cloudscape over the Western Shore horizon.  After sunset there was
a little thunder and lightning and the rains started again.     

Mammals:  15 deer (does).  2 Gray Squirrels.  

Sunday, December 12.  9 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.  41 species.  Mostly overcast
becoming fair.  Winds mostly west 15-20-10 m.p.h. making it hard to see
birds on the choppy waters.  Temperature 45 - 53 degrees F.  Cool.  Tides
low to higher than normal high. 

37 Northern Gannets (some plunge-diving; 3rd highest property count; as
yesterday, these birds were several miles out on the Choptank River mouth;
our first sighting of gannets here was on March 29, 1986, by George A. and
myself).  55 Turkey Vultures (about 35 of these were visible over
Dorchester County woodlands, 4-6 miles distant at 32X ... but ... they were
seen from our turf).  4 Black Vultures.  1 Sharp-shinned Hawk.  3 adult and
2 immature Bald Eagles.   1 Wild Turkey (on the outskirts of Royal Oak). 
16 Mourning Doves.  23 Eastern Bluebirds (in sight at one time in F1;
probably a few more present).  55 Cedar Waxwings.  45 Myrtle Warblers.  1
Chipping Sparrow.  

Mammals:  13 deer (does).  2 Gray Squirrels.

Last toadstool standing (reality TV?).  Still a few standing in protected
areas but most have disappeared or are fragmented and decompsing.  But many
tiny brown ones lined one of the trails mixed in with the hail yesterday. 
We found one flowering aster still in good blossom.  Also in some protected
spots some of the Baccharis halimifolia still is fully-leaved and with a
few whisps of the white, cottony seeds remaining.  Liz pulled some turnips
from one of the unused piles of manure in F4.  The Olszewskis had planted
these for the deer.            

Now available at your local post office:  "Cloudscapes", a package with 15
attractive, c. 1.25 X 1.25 inch , 37-cent stamps featuring photographs of
different cloud formations:  Cumulonimbus mammatus, Altocumulus
castellanus, Altocumulus lenticularis, Cirrus radiatus, Cumulus congestus,
Cirrus radiatus,  Cumulonimbus with tornado, et al.  "Air mail."

Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225.  215-248-4120.  Please, any off-list replies to: 



"There's a certain slant of light
Winter afternoons ...

...When it comes the landscape listens,
Shadows hold their breath.
When it goes 'tis like the distance
On the look of death."
-Emily Dickinson.