RIGBY'S FOLLY, Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue. 

FRIDAY evening, February 10, 2006.  Arrive at 10:22 P.M.  2 Great Horned
Owls calling from Woods 1, the male low and the female high, just like the
Johnny Cash song:  "Daddy sang bass and Momma sang tenor."  35 degrees F.,
clear yet hazy with the nearly full moon showing nicely overhead, calm.  2
mice in the trapline, both in the downstairs bedroom.  

SATURDAY, February 11.  Tested out the new chestwaders.  Ducks Unlimited
Mad Dog Gear.  High back, boot foot, wader constructed of 3.5 mm Neoprene
with Titanium coating, 1000 gram Thinsulate insulation, Neoprene padded
knees.  They look as if you could walk through Chernobyl in them without
ill effect.    

I was in the 38-degree Bay water continuously from 9:40 A.M.-12:55 P.M.
(3.25 hours) and the feet were completely warm and comfortable the entire
time.  Walked this way for 1.6 miles from the dock all around the shoreline
past Meholic's and out to the blind there, and then back again.  Going the
water was mostly just below the knees, coming back it was considerably over
them.  Had a chemical pack (apparently unnecessary) in the left side but
not in the right.  Good boots but they are SO heavy out of the water. 
Here's the complete "water list" - 28 species:

1 Horned Grebe.  39 Tundra (some courtship goin' on) & 53 Mute swans (both
species co-existing very peacefully).  1,610 Canada Geese.  19 Canvasbacks.
 3 Long-tailed Ducks.  95 Surf Scoters.  12 Common Goldeneye incl. a very
merganser-like imm. male.  50 Buffleheads.  6 Red-breasted Mergansers, 2
males courting 2 females, and also some female on female action in Irish
(Brokeback?) Creek.  3 Turkey Vultures.  3 Bald Eagles (1 imm. & 2 ad., the
immie flying out over the Choptank a long ways only a yard or so above the
surface, thereby spooking the scoters).  1 Sharp-shinned Hawk.  1 imm.
Red-tailed Hawk.  6 Ring-billed, 26 Herring & 2 ad. Great Black-backed
gulls.  2 Red-bellied & 3 Downy woodpeckers.  1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. 
1 Blue Jay.  5 American Crows.  1 Carolina Wren.  7 starlings.  9
Yellow-rumped Warblers.  1 cardinal.  4 White-throated Sparrows.  70
Red-winged Blackbirds.  

Also:  1 Gray Squirrel running over the rip-rap, evidently at home in just
about any substrate, a most enterprising mammal.  4 deer browsing on the
other side of Irish Creek on Springs' property.    

Weather.  Sky:  overcast.  Wind:  NE 5-10.  Temperature in degrees F.:  40
falling to 37.  Tide:  very low & still falling at start, then flooding in
fast and rising 1.5 feet during my Bay walk.  Precipitation:  occasional
light sprinkles with steady but light rain beginning at 11:45.  Ground
condition:  damp but has been drying for a while.  Visibility:  good.

SUNDAY, February 12.  Rigby's Folly.  28 - 36 degrees F.  1 mouse from the
house trapline caught next to the hot water heater in the kitchen.  Winter
in all its splendid beauty except no ice.  5 inches of snow (13 inches in
my yard here in Philadelphia) and a strong, c. 25 m.p.h. NW wind. 
Everything this morning is gray, white, or dull green.  Brown appears later
when the sun breaks through around mid-day.  Hundreds of dripping icicles
under the eaves.  The young Loblolly Pines and Red Cedars tremendously
burdened by heavy, wet snow they took on last night.  Some of the snow
drifts 1-2 feet deep.  Tide very low.  Several 100 Canada Geese hunkered
down on the north side of the cove, in the lee.  

Bellevue.  10 Buffleheads (only 2 of them ad. males) right inside the
marina enclosure (that's what I call "safe harbor").  A few goldeneyes and
Surf Scoters out in the Tred Avon.  20 gulls on the little beach, taking
advantage of the very low tide.  Some of the adult Herring Gulls, looking
very sprucy, are already in good breeding plumage with immaculate white
heads.  4 deer.

A peaceful weekend.  No signs of life at ANY of the neighbors' houses, save
one.  Leave at 11:45 A.M. and was impressed that all of the MD roads I was
on (62 miles worth) had already been ploughed and ploughed well.  

Headin' home.  Horned Larks get a little jumpy after a snow.  After all,
their source of food is buried.  20 just NE of the intersection of Routes
50 X 213.  A group of 13 and another of 4 flying across the road at
Middletown, Delaware.  An imm. Bald Eagle over the Chester River X Route
301.  About 20 cars and pickup trucks were off the road, some 15 feet or
more, some abandoned, many having done 180 or 90 degree skids.  309 Plaza
at Middletown opened today at 1 P.M. instead of the usual 7 A.M.

Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225.  215-248-4120.  Please, any off-list replies to: 
harryarmistead at hotmail dot com  (never, please, to 74077.3176 ....)