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Subject:

Ferry Neck, October 20-21

From:

Henry Armistead

Reply-To:

Henry Armistead

Date:

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 10:55:07 -0400

Rigby's Folly, Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, West
Ferry Neck Road near Royal Oak but nearer still to Bellevue.  Liz & Harry
Armistead. 

October 13, 2007, Saturday.  Bruce Olszewski and his friend Ernesto count
32 Wild Turkeys, a new property high.

October 20, Saturday.  This is the first full day I've spent here since
September 15.  Fair, 60-74, winds NW-W 10, tide high to low.

Few landbirds.  RAPTORS (not much of a flight):  16 Turkey & 5 Black
vultures, 2 Red-tailed and 4 Sharp-shinned hawks, an adult female Northern
Harrier ("hairy northener" as per Brian Taber's nickname) hunting the
fields, 4 Ospreys (1 immature diving 3 times in the cove w/o success), 2
American Kestrels, and 2 adult & 1 immature Bald Eagle.

Also: 1 Great & 1 Snowy egret, 1 Royal Tern, 15 Chipping Sparrows, a
kingfisher, 2 House Finches and a phoebe.

After a long period of neglect the local feral Mallards have finally
blessed us again, made a mess of our dock.  Aflack!

Non-avian taxa.  Butterflies:  7 Orange Sulphurs, 7 Monarchs, 5 Buckeyes, 1
Mourning Cloak, 2 Cabbage Whites, and a Red Admiral.  A female Eastern Box
Turtle on the driveway, lots of dull orange on her carapace, nice markings.
 2 Gray Squirrels, 1 Eastern Cottontail & 8 deer.  Put out some corn in the
yard for the squirrels.  Lots of the light brown, very leggy, flying
insects I call Mosquito Hawks around this weekend (real name?).  2 live
mice in the house, one runs towards me while I read in the living room
after supper, reconsiders, and retreats.

Chopped down the sizeable Persimmon and its large Poison Ivy vine that had
made threading the small boat launching ramp a challenge for so many years.
 Good to now have it wider.  Trimmed with the triple-extension saw the
hackberry, cherry, and mulberry branches that were impacting the garage.

Still extremely dry.  The 2 small ponds almost dry, the big one O.K. for
the time being and with 5 frogs.  Much of the lawn is surprisingly green. 
The Dogbane, so full of American Ladies last fall, is died back from the
drought, bereft of butterflies this year.

October 21, Sunday.  Fair, calm, winds becoming SW 10+ m.p.h., 68-80.

An Officer Wright, natural resources police, is checking up on things
(specifically: loose dogs, or so he says), pops in unexpectedly, and we
chat for a while.  I have not talked with or met him previously.  Yesterday
he helped guard Dick Cheney during the President's visit to St. Michaels.  

Jimmy Olszewski calls early and reports that his son, Bruce, recently shot
(muzzleloader season) a huge 8-point buck, the largest rack (very wide) the
family has ever acquired here, what Jimmy calls a "wallhanger."

Take a quick boat ride, 10-11 A.M., to Cook's Point and back, not having
run the boat in weeks.  She does fine, cruising at 27 m.p.h.  A 16.2 mile
trip.  Water temperature 66.  The Choptank River mouth is barren.  I only
see:  6 cormorants, 3 Common Loons, 1 Forster's Tern, and 5 Great
Black-backed, 3 Herring & 4 Laughing gulls.  That's the complete, pathetic
list.  NO ducks.  There ought to be some Surf Scoters around by now.

The tall ship, 'Mystic', from Mystic, CT, is out there, headed out to the
NW.  I come in behind her stern on her starboard side, check her out
closely.  Three huge masts.  What a sight!  Have to look hard, then see
only 2 people on deck.  Almost seems deserted, like 'the Flying Dutchman.'

From our dock at 12:10 P.M.:  4 adult and 3 immature Bald Eagles in sight
simultaneously, ties the 4th highest property count.

Michael & Nancy Lytell take us on a boat ride in their 18' Sea Pro with a
90 H.P. Johnson.  Nice craft with more comfortable seating, more spacious,
more power, much sturdier grab rail system, 4 rod holders vs. my 2, and
double the fuel capacity (60 vs. 30 gals.) of my 16'8" 'Mudhen' but I
prefer the 'Mudhen's style Bimini top, which is lower, fastens 6 ways
instead of 4.  Our respective storage areas about the same capacity.  We
cruise to San Domingo Creek and Hambleton Island and back.  

Michael points out Cheney's place.  It is directly next door to where my
cousins, Russell and Florence Tucker, had lived when I was a boy.  In the
distance is Donald Rumsfeld's place.  While at Princeton Rummy had been
active in the wrestling team with one of my brother, Gordon's, closest
friends then, Frank Carlucci.  FC later went on to become CEO of Sears,
head up the Carlysle Group, be acting Secretary of Defense, and serve in 6
or 7 administrations in various capacities, including working at the
embassy in the Congo early in his career, when, for want of a better word,
he was once stabbed in the ass.  My brother and I are certainly on opposite
ends of the politcal spectrum from these, for the time being, Washington
folks.

Be that as it may, let's get back to the birds, O.K.?  Another barren
Choptank River cruise to San Domingo Creek.  The only birds seen offshore: 
an arrival male Bufflehead, 1 imm. Bald Eagle that is fishing, 1 Royal Tern
likewise, and 2 Great Black-backed and 3 Herring gulls.  We see one school
of small Striped Bass actively foraging at the surface.  4 Monarchs. 
Numerous Buckeyes.

At Rigby:  37 Turkey Vultures in sight simultaneously & 1 Red-breasted
Nuthatch.  Today there is a big movement of Buckeyes, headed south, many
out over the water.  7 Monarchs.  9 deer.

'til the next time.

Best to all.-Henry ("Harry") T. 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 ....)