Thursday, September 6, 2012
Many of these flowers might seem like tough characters, but each has its own side of the story.
We adore the wildflowers that pop up along the Potomac in early spring―so pretty, so shy, so delicate. Now it’s late summer, and a completely different gang has moved into the neighborhood. These are the tough guys of the plant world. Some are real bruisers, forming thickets 10 feet tall that make the going tough, even with a machete. Others are aggressive, stinging exposed skin or sending forth clouds of nasty pollen. At least one can even kill you. Each has its story. I learned some of these stories on a recent hike along the Billy Goat Trail, downstream from Carderock. The trail begins in the shadowy coolness of the forest. I crossed a footbridge over a rocky stream, and walked along the shoreline. It’s a pretty stretch of the river, …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
It’s a Potomac for people seeking a different dose of reality
There’s another Potomac River out there. Like our own Potomac, this place is well worth knowing. It’s full of life and beauty, and it has a sly way of challenging our ideas and assumptions about nature. It’s also very different from our own Potomac. In fact, I’d argue that it’s not even a river at all. One of the tributaries to this other Potomac is Mattawoman Creek, in Charles County. You reach it by following Indian Head Highway to the very end, where you can launch your kayak or canoe at a peaceful little county park. I paddled upstream, pushed along by the current and undeterred by a series of explosions coming from the Naval Surface Warfare Station. Then, rounding a bend ahead of me, I spotted “Joe.” Joe -- I don’t know his real name…
Monday, August 27, 2012
Do you have YOUR new lunch box? Everything you may have missed in these 500 square miles.
It's the first day of classes Monday for Montgomery County schools. Even if you don't have kids in school, beware! Traffic will be a bear as school buses, parents and carpools hit the streets. And, if you're late and you think driving around that school bus is justified, think again. Starting today, a number of school buses will have cameras attached that can catch you in the act. The fine: $250. Unless a police officer witnesses it. Then, you can get a $1,000 ticket and three points on your driver's license. Patch editors will be scouring the county and may show up at your local school to document the first-day jitters and joys. Leave it to parents to sum up the gravity of the situation. A Greenbelt mom told her kindergartener when …
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Potomac River rescue teams train to save lives.
When Montgomery County Fire and Rescue services make a Potomac River water rescue, it's usually to help someone on land. Signs near the C&O Canal park entrance at Angler’s Inn mark the Billy Goat trail as one of the most strenuous in the area, but each year warnings are ignored by visitors making it the most prevalent reason Montgomery County’s firefighters are called for water rescues. According to the National Park Service, the first section of the trail “marked with blue colored blazes on trees and rocks, is a 1.7-mile trail over extremely difficult and dangerous terrain.” Inexperienced or unfit hikers are urged to chose a different trail. Still, not everyone heeds these warnings. “We’ve seen everything from 80-year-old grandmothers to …
Thursday, August 16, 2012
The victim is being sent to the Virginia side of the river for assessment and recovery.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service was dispatched Thursday afternoon to a water rescue near the Virginia side of the Potomac River. One person, who did not appear to be injured, was in the water around the observation deck below Great Falls, according to Captain Oscar Garcia, spokesperson for MCFRS. Garcia was unable to confirm gender or age of the victim. The individual was being transported to Virginia where MCFRS would do a physical assessment of the victim's condition and transport him or her to a hospital if needed, Garcia said. Authorities believe the victim slipped and fell into the water. According to Garcia, MCFRS response to Virginia-side Potomac River rescues are common due to the geography of the area. 9-1-1 calls are …
Thursday, August 9, 2012
History teaches that roads can destroy rivers. It also teaches that citizens can do something about it.
I was keeping one eye on the road and the other on a river that looked much like our Potomac. Then the river disappeared behind a squat brown building with a pink sign advertising “Adult Entertainment,” followed by an aging motel and a boarded up gas station. The river reappeared. It was the Susquehanna, big sister to the Potomac. I was driving south on Route 15 in central Pennsylvania. Although it’s three times bigger than the Potomac, the Susquehanna has the same familiar rock ledges and the dense mats of smartweed on the gravel bars. Here too, the smallmouth bass is king. A tractor trailer cut in front of me and let loose a blast of oily smoke. Yes, just like the Potomac. Only very different. The difference is roads. While the Potomac’s…
Thursday, July 26, 2012
According to one researcher, this virtually ignored species might be a key to the river’s vibrant life.
Viewing the bottom of the Potomac River through a facemask is a little like peering through a microscope. It’s a different world down there, and you never know what you might find. I was hoping to find sponges. Last August they were right at the head of Watkins Island, near Pennyfield Lock. It was apparently the first sighting of sponges in the river’s main stem. What happened to them? Would they reappear? I examined the bottom, admiring the shimmering pebbles and the green patina of the mussel shells, poking at anything that looked even the slightest bit spongy. Then I saw something that made me stop. Wedged among the pebbles was a pair of tiny white tubes, then another, and another. I had come upon a colony of freshwater clams. This …
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
The evidence leads out of the bay and up the rivers, including the Potomac.
Back home, the Potomac River was pulsing with life. Minnows were darting through the stargrass while mussels serenely filtered water down below. Insect nymphs shucked their shells to emerge at the surface as gossamer mayflies. But here in the waters off Annapolis, we were about to make acquaintance with a dead zone. Capt. Paul Bayne plugged one end of a long, black cable into his hand-held dissolved oxygen meter. “Who wants to read out the numbers?” he asked. A woman stepped forward and took her position. Bayne lowered the probe on the other end of the cable into the surface water. “What does it say?” he called out. The rest of us edged a little closer. “10.8,” the woman replied. This was 10.8 parts of oxygen per million parts of water (…
Friday, June 8, 2012
A U.S. Park Police helicopter was called to Great Falls to assist a stranded kayaker.
Updated Friday, 5:50 p.m.: A man was safely rescued from the Potomac River Friday afternoon after his kayak became stuck on a rock near Great Falls. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue workers were called to assist Fairfax County responders with the rescue shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, said Capt. Oscar Garcia, an MCFRS spokesman. The kayaker was stranded on the Virginia side of the river near the Great Falls observation deck, Garcia added. Garcia could not confirm whether the kayaker was either on the rocks or in the water as responders arrived, but said the man was wearing a personal flotation device. He was rescued with no injuries to report, according to Assistant Chief Scot Graham with MCFRS. The water rescue lasted just over an hour and …
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
In just six easy steps, any parent can be a fishing guide for their very special clients.
People here in Potomac River country excel at what they do – but few do much fishing. Even fewer of our children ask at the breakfast table to spend the day fishing. Does this matter? Fishing can help our children get to know the Potomac River and the C&O Canal. It also gives parents a chance to introduce their children to the world of nature. “But I don’t know the first thing about fishing,” you might say. That’s about to change. Here are six simple steps for teaching a child how to fish: 1. Get a cane rod Start simple. You don’t need or want one of those blister pack fishing sets, with their lollypop colors and pictures of Mickey Mouse. Get a pole – an old-fashioned stick of bamboo, eight feet long. You can cut your own, but I’d …
Julia Craighill
10:37 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Fascinating. I never knew we had such richness around us. And the jimsonweed story is quite alarming. more ›