Around Crownsville

A Special Time of Year to Look for Special Sightings

This time of year is special for nature lovers because it’s a period of transition.  Not every migratory bird has traveled south nor has every varmint gone into hibernation.   The winter visitors have begun to arrive.

The cormorants are still here.  Almost as soon as you sight one, they disappear beneath the surface.   In Round Bay, one of the first waterfowl to return for the winter is a little female pie-billed grebe.  She’s returned at the same time each year by herself.  She cruises and dives.

The buffleheads returned a couple of weeks ago.  The striking black and white plumage of the male makes them easy to identify.  The female sports predominantly black, but she has a white cheek patch.  They cluster together bobbing and diving like the plastic ducks in carnival games.

A single coot has been swimming in front of my house.  We used to get coots by the hundreds.  I guess, or rather, I hope they’ve just moved on to another spot.

The scene-stealer though is our national symbol.  Crownsville’s eagles are courting right now.  You might see them perched in a tree or flying over Generals Highway.  If you’re really lucky, you’ll hear their mating song.  It’s not going to win a Grammy, but it’s fascinating to hear and see them singing to one another.   This behavior will continue a little while longer until they settle down, have eggs, and sit on the nest.

Still to come: shovelnose, ruddy ducks, redheads, canvas  backs, hooded mergansers, common mergansers, oldsquaw (I can’t remember the new name.) pintails and more.  Send me a message if you see any of these winter visitors.

The Scenic River Land Trust(SRLT) primary mission is the acquisition of conservation easements to help protect open space and the watersheds of our rivers.mLast week, SRLT and Maryland Environmental Trust Boards approved a conservation easement on 630 acres in the South River Greenway in Crownsville! This will become a County park for passive recreational use for the public.

With this wonderful space, the SRLT has an opportunity for a number of activities for the public.   They still need volunteers for the South River Greenway tree-planting on October 25th from 10:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. Here’s your chance to get some exercise in the fresh air and leave your mark as over 1200 trees restore 4 acres along the headwaters of Bacon Ridge Branch. Families with children are welcome with adult supervision. Please wear sturdy shoes and bring gloves and/or shovels (marked with your name) if you have them. Directions follow. Continue reading Scenic River Land Trust Acquires 630 Acre Easement

A good blogger writes original content for readers.  When the content is as important as a really big job fair, I think it’s best to provide the words straight from the organizer.  Below is the press release provided by Mr. Jerome Duncan.  His information is as follows:

One of the many great things for me about living in this area is the juxtaposition of city and nature.  I can still see cows, donkeys, goats, geese, chickens, and sheep on my way to the mall.    Yesterday I got an extra treat.  Driving down Sunrise Beach Road, I saw a half dozen cattle egrets poking their way around a roadside field sans cattle.  They are about the same size as their Snowy cousins, but they are characterized by coppery tan streaks marking their white feathers. When a convenient cow is standing in the field, you might see the cattle egret perched on her back for a meal of bugs.   If you look around, you can have wildlife refuge experience on the way to the grocery store.

Contee's Wharf

Our friends at Scenic Rivers Land Trust have done it again with outdoor activities to showcase our terrific natural features and get us out in the fresh air for some exercise.  On July 25, they’re sponsoring a wetland guided canoe tour of Muddy Creek on the Rhode River. Continue reading SRLT – Paddle for Preservation

Enjoy fireworks from your boat or the shoreline as the sky lights up tomorrow night.  The Sherwood Forest community will light up its annual fireworks display just after dusk on July 3.  The traditional event brings out boats from all over the area so plan accordingly if you want to watch by boat.  A good seat from any of the communities on Round Bay is a great land-lubber option.

The newest diagnosis for what’s wrong with all of us is NDD – Nature Deficiency Disorder. Think about it – in the house, at the computer, in the car, at work, even doing yard work or exercising outside.  Do we really ever just relax and look at what’s happening around us in nature.  The Scenic River Land Trust has a prescription to treat NDD: two weekends in the South River Greenway on the Crownsville Hospital Center grounds with professional guidance! Continue reading SRLT & South River Greenway – Cure for NDD!

Crownsville’s biodiversity is rich by my standards — growing up in an industrial city, I saw a few squirrels and the occasional rabbit. We had robins, sparrows, starlings, blue jays and rare cardinal now and then.

Here, we have so much variety– plants and animals.  I enjoy trying to grow some of that variety in my yard.   I have hostas and all manner of day lilies.  I wait for them to grow and bloom all through the winter and spring.  With the first warm days, I start checking the foliage for developing buds.

In the last few years, my anticipation has been tempered.  I’ve gone from raising beautiful daylilies to raising lucious, or shall I say, deliious day lilies.

The local deer are a persistent if lazy lot.  I see their hoof prints almost daily as the lily blossoms develop.  They don’t munch the leaves.  They don’t even go after the immature buds.  They just check each night.   They wait until the stems are tall and the buds are ready to burst open.  They don’t have to even bend over.  They just chomp — daylily salad.

I know that garden centers have commercial preparations for dissuade the deer, but does anyone out there know of a home brew that will make a nasty salad dressing for the lilies?  If you do, send me your remedies with a comment on this article. I’ll share your wisdom in a future post.  Looking forward to hearing from someone out there with just the cure!

For your summer time Crownsville brunch.

This recipe takes traditional French toast to a tasty new level. If you’re not having a brunch, have this dish for breakfast because the great thing about breakfast is that you can have dessert and call it a meal.

Serve with fresh fruit, bacon or sausage. Not bad with Mimosas or Bloody Marys either!

Ingredients

• 1 stick (1/2 c.) butter
• 1 c. packed dark brown sugar
• 2  Tbsp light corn syrup
• 6 slices of Texas toast bread (slices are 1″ thick)
• 5 large eggs*
• 1-1/2 c half and half*
• 1 tsp vanilla (French vanilla, if possible)
• 1 tsp. orange or citrus flavored liqueur
• ¼ tsp salt

Place butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan or skillet over medium heat.  Stir until the ingredients melt into a syrup.  Pour syrup into a 9 x 13 x2 inch glass baking dish.  Trim the crusts from the bread. Place the six slices of  bread on top of the syrup – squeeze them together if necessary to fit.

The Custard
Whisk the eggs in a bowl.  Add the half and half and vanilla and whisk until completely blended.  Add liqueur.  Mix and pour over bread.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 8 hours or overnight.

Before baking bring the mixture to room temperature.  Preheat the oven to 350F.

Bake uncovered in the middle of the oven for about 35-40 minutes.  The bread will puff and the edges will be golden.

Serve immediately. Cut in wedges and be sure each serving gets some of the caramelly goodness.  Gild the lily by serving it with maple syrup.

*If you think you might like a little more custard, add an extra egg and an extra 2.4 ounces of half and half – that’s 1/8 c. plus 1 tsp .

Get your ticketes now -- boxoffice@indiancreekschool.com

“Anything Goes” when The S.S. American, sets sail from New York to England, a.k.a. Port of Indian Creek School, carrying an unusual group of passengers: Moonface Martin, hardened gangster; wealthy debutante and her mother Hope and Evangeline Harcourt; nightclub singer Reno Sweeny; and  wealthy New York businessman and his stowaway assistant Elisha Whitney and Billy Crocker. You can sail along with them at Indian Creek School’s Upper School musical. Continue reading Anything Goes — Cole Porter comes to Crownsville!