DRUIDS PERHAPS?
A few weeks ago Vera was taking her dog for their morning walk around the pond (this is when Daphne, your Pond Queen, gets the chance to send communications to all of you…through Vera) I pointed out something very unusual to her, the rocks you see in the picture. As vigilant as I am I did not see who set those stones up that way…nor do I know how they stay upright. Since those stones have been there we have had some strong winds and pouring rains and those rocks didn’t move a smidgeon.
The one thing I can tell you is we have had more egrets this year then ever before! It’s a good thing we have good grass so I can hide. My school hasn’t been that lucky because they have been downsizing everyday. That’s what happens when you don’t pay attention in school!

Gotta Luv “THE MAN”

I was watching the boats and jet-skis going by so slowing today that I thought, WOW, they must have gotten all the ya yas out yesterday because all of them are obeying the 6-mile rule. Silly me!! I took a better look at the boaters and they were waving to someone. THE MAN (Marine Police) was tucked away in an unused boat-slip, ready to pounce. Since the boaters were traveling slowly all the way from the Fenwick Ditch and the canal I suspect they were warned ahead of time. Cells phone…marine radio some kind of communication warning of a speed trap….how?
Hey, I have an idea! Why don’t I buy a blue light, about the size the marine police use, and attach it to my deck to use when the boat traffic gets crazy? NO?? They use fake cars on the road, don’t they? Better still, the Marine Police could place one on my pier, timed for high traffic times. It’s either that or a radar gun and camera. That would bring in a ton of money in fines.

THAT BUSY FENWICK DITCH

Who Owns Canals???

Did you know that the community of Montego Bay is home to three miles of canals? Did you know that storm drains empty into the canals and the water from the canals moves with the tides back into the Assawoman Bay?
Those pictures are of an oil slick …. A big one in the canal.
Years ago there were little signs on the storm drains reading, “The Bay Starts Here”. I know that the year round residents of this community guard the storm drains with vigor because a drain covered with debris or pine-needles could cause flooding to their property. Who knows what the weekend visitor may pour into those drains? Heck, he’s wanted to change the oil in his car for weeks…big place like this …it won’t make any difference. Oh, yes IT DOES! Pouring that oil into the storm drain was the same as dumping it into the Bay.
I guess the lesson here is to watch the person working on that car to see if the oil is being changed, and if it is offer to dispose of it properly. Do I trust just explaining the problem to this person, NO! I think they already know, so be a good angel and dispose of it for them and save our canals and Bay.
Back to my question: WHO OWNS THE CANALS? We own the water.

WOULD I KID YOU!
Just in case you thought I was kidding here’s a photo of the boat coming by the pier close enough for me to touch them. Good thing no one was fishing or they would have had our lines.

WAVE ACTION

Can you think of a better way to beat the heat? How about being on a jet ski and jumping the wake of the boats in front of you. It was hot today so I bet the spray was refreshing. Only a few times did the boats come close enough for me to touch them.
Those boats have been going by steady since early this morning…evidently gas prices are not an issue.

GOOD NEWS
For over two years I’ve been telling you about Dr. Roman Jesien, Science CoordinatorMaryland Coastal Bays. Now you finally have a chance to meet him and find out everything you ever wanted to know about Walkers Pond.
He has graciously volunteered to explain what the restoration of the pond will accomplish. The people living on the pond understand how they will benefit, but how will it affect all of us?
Dr. Jesian will speak right after Buzzy Bayles makes his presentation on Emergency Evacuation.

MONTEGO BAY CIVIC ASSOCIATION
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
SATURDAY
AUGUST 19, 2006
REGISTRATION BEGINS AT 9:30 AM
MEETING BEGINS 10AM

I hope I’ll see you there
Vera McCullough

EARTH MOVING EQUIPMENT
I did have some photos of the equipment to share with you. This is the small backhoe…notice the propane tank on the top. The quality of the photo of the big earth moving machine didn’t meet my standards so you will have to wait until they comeback. I’ll try to do a better job next time.
What is important is that you understand why a stabilized ramp is needed to allow the equipment into the pond. Once the backhoe is in the pond and they start spreading the sand they have to run over the same spot to pack the new sand down to make the new shoreline compact enough to ride over.

AMAZING!

It took all of the sand you saw in the previous photo to get this part of shoreline for Bahia. People have been asking why are the stones being covered. Public Works is using two pieces of earth moving equipment to move the sand; one has a huge scoop that brings the sand to a smaller backhoe. The smaller backhoe has to be in the pond to place the sand in its proper place, the only way to get into the pond is to build a ramp. Sand is dumped over the stones and the backhoe runs over it to create a stable bottom. We certainly don’t want any mishaps by having any equipment turn over. We will try our best to not only recover the stones, but also use the sand in those ramps for the shoreline. I’m sure at some point there will be only one ramp.

A SHORELINE FOR BAHIA

Haines Construction delivered sand all day last Friday, 10 truckloads in all. Now the people living on Bahia can rest assured that their shoreline will be replaced.
The question that is asked the most is when will the water in the pond be replenished? Answer: As soon as all the restoration is completed and the grass is planted the pipe from the bay will be opened to bring the water level where it should have been all along. If the work takes longer then we expected we might have to bring in some water from the bay to correct the salinity of Walkers Pond.
The phrags are starting to tassel; those seeds are airborne. If you will please cut off those tassels that will be a big help.
Have you noticed all the trash in the pond? We can forgive the plastic bags just a little because they may have blown from the trash truck, but not the plastic bottles and cans floating in the water! One morning every bench had red plastic cups left by some partygoers. It’s nice to party in the park….just take your trash home with you! Yes, you may tell that to the litterbugs.

SAND, SAND, AND MORE SAND!

The Town of Ocean City’s Public Works people arrived early July 3rd and moved nineteen truckloads of sand. This was the start of the restoration project for the shoreline of Walkers Pond. We had planned for the work to begin on the Bahia side of the pond where we had experienced the most erosion. The people doing the work decided it would be best to start on the park-side to get a feel for how the work should proceed. Shoreline restoration was a first for them.
This was no small amount of sand! Try to imagine 19 dump trucks loaded with sand…yep, that’s how much sand has been laid down. Look at the one picture, that my friend is the ramp that had to be built to allow the backhoe to get into the pond. First, a layer of stone had to be laid to give the sand a footing so the backhoe wouldn’t sink in the sand.
Now we have to wait for more sand to be delivered. We had hoped more sand was coming our way last Wednesday….BAAD WEATHER MON!
Be patient. This restoration will be completed.
Here’s something that made me happy, I hope it makes you happy too. Dr. Roman Jesien from Maryland Coastal Bays visited the pond yesterday and said those turtle eggs ,that I thought had been dinner for some hungry critter, had actually hatched successfully. Somewhere in the pond we have little baby turtles swimming. Daphne, the pond queen is so happy!

THE TURTLES TALE
So sad! A very knowledgeable person has told me that after looking at our blog the turtle nest was robbed by some carnivorous creature probably the fox or stray dog. The leathery looking white shards are pieces of eggshell. Something dug up the nest and had a great meal at the expense of the poor innocent turtle embryos, ah the cruelty and inhumanity of nature!!. But then again, what is cruel to one perspective is survival for another day to another. So it goes.

TURTLE TIME

I don’t know if this picture is actually a place where a turtle has laid her eggs, but it certainly looks interesting. We found the hole last week, which would make the timing just about right. The pond has always been full of turtles, big and small. Last year I saw a turtle walking in the road, (Harbour) and let me tell you they can travel FAST. It was too big for me to lift so I trotted along side of it to keep it from being run over by some vehicle. I did this until a nice strong man came by and lifted it on to sidewalk by the pond. That turtle moved so fast, over the rocks and into the water that it didn’t even make a splash.

Females begin nesting in June, leaving the safety of their pond to travel overland as far as a half-mile to find a sunny nesting site in moist, well-drained soil. The turtles are vulnerable during this overland trek as they often cross highways. After choosing the perfect site, the females dig holes and deposit from 6 to 17 elliptical white eggs, each averaging 1.4 inches in length. After covering the nest, females leave.

If the sun-warmed nests are not destroyed by hungry birds or perish the thought, people, turtles hatch in 50 to 75 days from August into October. The temperature during incubation determines the sex of the 1.3-inch-long hatchlings. Eggs incubated at 25°C (77°F) or lower become males, while those exposed to higher temperatures become females.
The young turtles make their own perilous journey back to water, then they seemingly disappear. Very little is known about their young lives until they attain a length of about six inches. Once they are large enough to be safe from predators, we see them basking in the sun.
I gathered this information for you from a turtle website. Interesting!!