ALIENS HAVE ARRIVED 

When you walk around the pond there is just no end to the things you can learn, especially if you do the rounds with Dr. Jesien, Maryland Coastal Bays Program.  What I learned on a recent visit to Oyster shoreline: This is where we planted the spartina, the aquatic grass that will hold the shoreline in place. Growing up in the middle of the spartina is saltmarsh water hemp (Amaranthus cannabinus). Even though it's species is cannabinus, it does not get you high. The seeds are wind pollinated and are readily eaten by ducks and sparrows. We have been invaded by this alien plant because of the disturbed habitat. The sand. You thought hemp was interesting, read on. The hemp is growing right through the middle of the spartina and has formed a symbiont relationship. Only the spartina with the hemp survived. Now the hemp wants to dominate. Those plants are starting to act like humans! They have to be removed from the spartina surgically. We have to cut those bad boys out.  This must be done before they go to seed or the waterhemp will infest the all the areas. Just what we need.... phrags and waterhemp! Hmmmm! I'm thinking this could be therapeutic for us to work out our frustrations by cutting those suckers out! This could be better than going to a psychiatrist. MAYBE we should charge people to come to the pond and cut the aliens out and  get rid of  yayas . Sounds like a win-win situation to me. 

OK.  the waterhemp isn't really alien and its seeds are good for wildlife. The problem is the spartina has a better root system for holding the soil, we prefer to have more spartina than hemp. It is more of a real estate problem, location, location, location. The hemp is ok but not to much and definitely NOT on top of our spartina which was paid for by money and our labor.

 

Here it is! The plant with the red stem is the hemp. We tried pulling it out, that didn't work because it dislodged the spartina. The hemp growing alone comes out very easy. 

IT'S OUR TURN TO HELP

It goes without saying that had it not been for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program's encouragement, their gentle prodding, their willingness to teach us best practices and yes, funding this pond restoration would have gone nowhere. Now it is our turn to show our appreciation by contributing to their challenge grant.  An anonymous donor has given MCBP $500,000 with the challenge that they will match $2.00 for every $1.00 contributed. The money will be used to start a Foundation so they will not have to be dependent on Federal funds for their programs. This year their funding was severely cut and they are unable to provide grants for needed research in the bays. Also, money will be used to re-start their environmental education program that was canceled due to lack of funds.  You can go to their website for instructions on how to contribute  www.mdcoastalbays.org  If you would prefer you can make a check out to the Maryland Coastal Bays Program and send it to Friends of Walkers Pond @ 701 Harbour Drive - Ocean City, Md. 21842 and we will give it to them to show our gratitude. 

Thank you so much!

Vera  aka Daphne

The first picture is the pipe going into the bay from pond. The next is waiting for that piece to come out on the bay side. The last picture is the 160 ft. of pvc pipe that was  removed. 

Check back and I will have pictures of the connection from the pump to the pipe and then..... ta da! Water running into the pond. 

I must tell you how refreshing it is to find a plumber that came on the job when he said he would, and is doing a fantastic job. I know if I need a plumber I will call;

American Plumbing Eastern Shore LLC  -  Master Plumber  --10541 Shady Drive, Berlin, MD. 21811   Phone 410-629-0535. 

Hot Messy Work

The top picture is the block of cement that was pushed into the old outfall pipe to keep water from going out of the pond. Last night I was told this was going to be even more of a problem than it actually was because they feared the concrete had been poured into the pipe instead of hand shoved. 

The next picture is the men finishing up the section that could be placed from the pond end. They pushed as far as it would go, now they will finish from the bay end. 

Come back for more pictures of the progress. 

AND THE BATTLE RAGED ON

You can see the small boat waving the white flag in the top picture and the bottom you can see the water guns. I wonder who was having more fun, the kids or the crew?

                    The Water Battle

The pirate ship passes my house many times a day and I often wondered why the little boat was following them. Today I found out; they have a water battle from the pirate ship. I hope you can see the water coming from the ship dousing the little boat. I wish they had come in closer so you could have a better look. I bet that felt refreshing on a steamy day like today.

Don't forget to click on the picture to fill you screen. 

THE CULPRIT

The pictures you see are parts of an eel removed from the front fountain. It's hard to judge how big it was because only 2 parts were found. Jasper is holding the head, the middle part was about 8 inches long and who knows how long the missing part would be. It must have been large through the middle, though even wizened by death, it was still large. Large enough to first throw the fountain off kilter, then the spray was went askew and had to be turned off. 

The next pictures that I post will be of Jasper and Steve out in the little boat removing the eel so our pond can have its oxygen from the fountain restored. It seems that all you have to do is hint that you will be using that little boat and the mighty wind comes around. Hard work!

WORKING ON THE BAY PUMP

The plumber is scheduled to come look at the pvc pipe today to decide the best way to get the bay water running into the pond again. As I write this water is being pumped into the pond. Japer showed me the ripples in the water indicting the flow of the water. Very interesting because the ripples extend out much further that I would have thought. Not only that but none of them went toward the outfall pipe, only toward the park. That's a good sign! The pond is getting a good drink. 

Jasper checked the amps for the bay pump and they are "good".

We all should be so grateful to Jasper who has given his time and talent to the restoration of the pond. He more than makes up for the  people living on the pond that do nothing. If it were not for our volunteers that give their time and talent so willingly this pond would dead. Cheers to them. 

Have you ever had a day when you had smiled so much the muscles in your face were sore? Today I did, and a nice feeling that is. All the stockpiled sand has been spread on the Bahia shoreline. Then why am I so happy.... because we have been promised enough sand to finish Bahia by Goody Hill, I'm sure you have seen their trucks here in Ocean City. We called Goody Hill to ask for a price on the sand because we were determined Bahia would be finished so the planting could be finished before the end of the planting season. I've never had a conversation with anyone that I enjoyed more. Yes, we did talk sand first, even walked over to see the quality of the sand already down. His educated eye determined how much sand we would need and the rest was pleasant conversation. This man should write a book because his life has been so diversified and interesting. I hated for him to leave but it was starting to rain just a little. At that point I asked him how much the sand would cost and with a soft smile he said he was giving it to us. Yesterday was one of those magic days when everything went well. 

The picture of the pipe with the elbow is the outfall pipe. The was installed by Coastal Bays Science Coordinator, Dr. Roman Jesien. Now the water coming in from the bay will reach a level high enough to give the pond a good flushing. Yes, that pipe from the bay is going to be fixed. 

The pictures of the men are the crew responsible for most of the restoration of the shoreline. You can see for yourself the progress that has been made this week. The heron was keeping a watchful eye on the whole procedure. 

Brittany Kiessling, student from Salisbury State University who is working as a summer intern for the Coastal Bays Program inspects the Spartina that was planted last fall.

Look at how much progress was made since yesterday. Public Works crews were here early this morning. How can we get this shoreline finished?

A RED LETTER DAY

As the Town of Ocean City promised, today they started spreading the sand stockpiled in the park to restore the Bahia shoreline. They have been working nonstop since 7 am and it is now 3:44 pm. Will we have enough sand to complete the job? Perhaps half way. If it isn't finished this year we will keep trying.  We have come this far by teamwork and as long as we all stick together we will get the job done.

What Next?

While on my morning hike around the pond checking to see the status of the phrags something got my attention. I thought this plant looks like it belongs in the jungle. I took some pictures and sent them to Dr. Jesien, Science Coordinator for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program. The following is his reply: "I believe you have a very large specimen of wild lettuce. The stalk is very large and I'm not familiar with one that are so large. If it is a lettuce, you should get a white milky substance when you break of a stem or leaf. The milky substance is called lettuce opium but is not really an opiate although it is used as an herbal medicine.  In fact the plant is used as a sleep tonic, in soaps and teas. The flower structure would provide the final answer and from the looks of the picture, flowers should be pretty soon. "

That plant is over 6 feet tall and the stalk is thicker than a broom stick. The funny thing is just the other day a man asked me just what good is the pond, it doesn't do anything and you can't do anything with, in or on it so what good is it? Maybe this is  our answer to funding.... herbal medicine.