LIVING ON A POND
I often wonder when I'm writing these one sided conversations if I'm talking to myself. I hope not because I want you to know the wonders of living on a pond. People like ponds so much that they build them in their yards, and probably go to great expense to maintain them, even stocking them with fish. You have virtual reality fireplaces for the TV, so you can have the tranquility of a wood burning fire without having the mess. We have screen savers on our computers that make you feel as if you're swimming in an aquarium. I doubt if there will ever be a virtual reality pond because a natural pond can't be duplicated. No one could do justice in describing the colors in of the pond because they are constantly changing. Every morning I wake up to a completely changed place. Early morning is my favorite time. The rising sun sends golden bars across the pond. Not only that, but the houses are reflected in the morning, sometimes all the windows look as if bright orange lights are burning.
This morning I saw the egrets fly in. More egrets than I have ever seen here. They land so synchronized that although there were so many of them they didn't bump into each other. It looked like a ballet. There must have been entire families of birds because there were so many different sizes. I wish you could have seen them.
Public Works was there all day today spreading that sand to make our shoreline. More sand is waiting for them in the park. As soon as I get the "go ahead" I'll order the jut matting to hold the sand in place, then I'll release the order for the plants.
Jasper is arriving this Thursday with the Bay pump. His plans are to remove the fountains this weekend for repairs and storage over the winter.
Can you tell that I love this place?

YOUR UNDULATING SHORELINE

WE REALLY HAVE GOOD PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD

The Hopkins Construction Company out of Bridgeville, Delaware has sent in truckload after truckload of sand in the last few days for our shoreline restoration. Tons of sand is waiting in the park while the rest is in the Street waiting to become the shoreline on Bahia.
Terry McGean, the Town Engineer for Ocean City was responsible for contacting Hopkins and getting us this sand. There is no way to express our heartfelt gratitude for all he has done for us from the very beginning of this restoration. That shoreline is going in thanks to him, now it is our responsibility to do everything in our power to make this THE most beautiful place in Ocean City.
These photos, taken today, will show you the runoff, not only from the park, but the houses directly on the park/pond, just before you get to Oyster. These houses will have to divert their rainspouts so the shoreline won't erode.
The park needs water gardens to soak up the water so it doesn't run into the pond. You people reading this on the Internet, please do some research on the rain gardens and see if you don't agree. Remember that park was a marsh not too many years ago.
Dr. Jesien tells us we will need 2500 feet of jute matting to hold the sand in place. We will be able to plant through the matting. I will order that Monday. I have already placed the order for plants from Environmental Concerns using the money we received from the Maryland Coastal Bays Program. They will release the order as soon as I tell them.
Now the big question is: WHO IS GOING TO DO ALL OF THIS WORK? Will you help? Email me at 1vm.mccullough@verizon.net

A SHORELINE FOR BAHIA

COMING ATTRACTIONS
I have posted the above pictures for you so you don't have to scroll down in the Blog to see how Walkers Pond looked before sand was placed on Bahia. Now don't forget to check back because the pictures you will next see will be of the restoration of the eroded shoreline on Bahia. Come back…ya'll hear!

DON'T FORGET!!!

I hope to see you this Saturday at the
MONTEGO BAY CIVIC ASSOCIATION
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
SATURDAY
AUGUST 19, 2006
REGISTRATION BEGINS AT 9:30 AM
MEETING BEGINS 10AM
Dr. Roman Jesien will be there to answer your questions regarding the restoration of the shoreline of Walkers Pond. The Maryland Coastal Bays Program has been our staunch supporter but more importantly, their scientific knowledge of the environmental issues regarding this pond will make this restoration not only healthy, but also beautiful.
More sand came in today. YAY! Now if we can get the Bay pump running again we can bring in some water from the Bay. If you see Sam, MBCA maintenance man, ask him when the electric will be fixed on that pump.

WE ARE SO PROUD OF OUR NEW SIGN THANKING ALL THE PEOPLE RESPOSIBLE FOR THIS RESTORATION.
COME VISIT US!

SUCH A GREAT DAY

This is such a perfect day! The sign announcing the restoration of the Walkers Pond was completed today. We are grateful to Bill Squicciarini for the frame he made to give it stability. Like everything he does, it is perfect. Charlie Herbert and Bill dug the post-holes; poured cement…that sign is there no matter how hard the wind blows this winter.
Charlie also looked at the pump that brings water into the pond. I'm convinced Charlie can fix anything. He had water coming into the pond, if only for a little while. We will have good bay water coming into the pond just to freshen it up a tad. We really can't put in too much because we need that shoreline exposed to allow big equipment to place the sand around the shoreline.
I had an email from the Maryland Coastal Bays saying that we have met their requirements and we will be receiving a check next week from them for $1,200. for plants. Not only will we have emergent grasses, but also Black Eyed Susans, Marsh Mallows and some other flowering plants. These are going to be little plugs only two inches so we will have to guard them from the geese. That job will belong to everyone!!
And if all that doesn't WOW you…yes, more sand is coming it.

HEART ATTACK PROCEDURE:

"Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. "
HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE:
Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness. However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously.
A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest.
A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.
Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating.
The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.

The point of the project was to restore habitat and restore some of the eroded shoreline. The plan was to do Bahia first, but that is a difficult part to get to. Yes, sand covered some of the rocks; they will become exposed over time; plants will hide others. TIME! It took years for the shoreline to erode. We have only been actually doing restoration work (pushing sand) since July 3, 2006.
When I told our worries to Dr. Jesien today he said, “it’s like making sausage, don't look until it has had time to cure.”
The pictures above are of the work done today. The sand was placed on Harbour Drive, and because of the location it had to be pushed into the pond. The man doing the job was a real artist at his work. Look at that piece of equipment he was using, because of its size it wouldn’t have room to move on Bahia. When I spoke to our Public Works man today he told me we would probably have to put sand it the street to finish Bahia.
Now the big problem: Sand or lack of it. Our Public Works man explained; to complete this project we need to have that sand before September because they are scheduled to begin BIG jobs then. It will cost about $22,000 for sand just for Bahia.
We now have a ramp to run the equipment for Bahia and a month to finish Bahia. Do we buy the sand? If your answer is yes: How do we get the money?

THE POWER OUTAGE

The other night parts of Worcester County, including Montego Bay, experienced a power outage. My laptop is wireless and runs on a battery, the lights went out and the computer stayed on. For a nanosecond I thought someone had just turned off the lights then it dawned of me…. I used the light from the computer to find a flashlight. With light I did all the things necessary. We are so lucky to have a breeze coming from the Assawoman Bay almost always, and that night was no exception.
We have a screened in porch so we spent the dark time sitting there listening to night sounds. Ordinarily, the only sounds you hear at night are the air-conditioning, winter and summer because most people here have heat pumps. We could hear the water gently lapping at the bulkhead, crickets and frogs…night sounds. There was another sound I hadn’t heard in a long time, faintly, I could hear the roar of the ocean. There was no silence, just those wonderful sounds that made me remember why we came to live here in the first place.
Believe me I think air-conditioning is a Godsend in the blistering heat we have had. When the power came back on so did our air conditioning because a storm was coming.
When winter comes and the winds blow so hard we can’t open the doors I will think back to that summer night.
Vera