Keeping Things Clean

It always amazes me how some people are just trashy. Take Greenbury Point for example. Go to any spot with a good view of the bay and you'll find empty beer cans and other crap lying all over the place. That's just super. Think about it this way: who would want to go to a spot that littered with garbage, right? Right. Now, obviously, someone does... because it gets worse every time I visit. So, there are some people out there who would prefer to make 'a place' that they enjoy spending time look like crap.

"I love to go down there and fish, enjoy a few brews and just take in nature," said the redneck. "But someone needs to come out here and clean up these damn beer cans that I leave on the ground, in the trees, on the rocks, basically everywhere... because it's starting to look like a dump." Anyone who leaves garbage for someone else to clean is an ass.

Speaking of asses... on to my next tirade: lazy dog walkers who let their adorable dogs shit all over Greenbury Point and refuse to clean it up. Why? I have no idea. Do they think nature will simply take care of their dog's crap before their next visit. Do they think the Navy has a professional dog doo scooper on their staff? Do they think the animals that live there enjoy all this extra excrement? Lazy AND disrespectful.

Don't even get me started on the dogs not being on a leash.

From huge hunks of dog crap (probably from a lab), down to those little cute morsels of pooh... it's everywhere.

And I have a solution.

This week, I am going down to Greenbury with a pooper scooper and a few trash bags. To illustrate a point, I am going to pick up all of the empty beer cans and garbage that lie on the ground in those scenic bay overlooks.

Then I am going to scoop up the hundreds of piles of dog dung all over the trails around the point.

I will put all of the pooh in all of the locations where I found beer cans.

I will put all of the beer cans all over the trails on the point where I scooped the pooh.

That way, the lazy dog walkers wont want to come to a place where they have to navigate around litter while their dogs continue to crap their un-picked-up excrement. And the fishermen and other folks who loiter around the scenic overlooks wont enjoy chuggin' brews and throwing empties on the ground when they are surrounded by large mounds of pooh.

And soon Greenbury Point will be returned to those who respect nature, those who respect others and those who still feel an obligation to leave a place better than the way they found it.And seriously, I will be participating in this event... a legitimate river cleaning. Might you care to join in the fun?

-Dan

Annapolis Has A Housing Boom (at least for TWO FALCONS)

The Severn River PEREGRINE FALCON pair have a new, rather luxurious box to call home tonight. Thanks to Craig Koppie of the US Fish & WIldlife Service, Allison Buckalew of the Severn River Keeper, Tim Fletcher, Steve Sparks, Paul Marley and all of the great folks at the MD State Highway Administration (SHA), our local PEREGRINES will not have to brave the harsh elements under the bridge any longer.Especially tonight, as local forecasters warn of ample amounts of winter precipitation, the falcons will have a safe spot where they may weather the coming snowstorm. Yes, to say it was cold under the bridge this afternoon would be a huge understatement. Windy? Eh, You bet. 'Chilling to the bone' just about describes our installation project this afternoon. Was it worth the numb extremities, time and effort? Without a doubt!Allison and I met at Tim and a few others (who's names are forthcoming) at the SHA offices in order to carpool over to the bridge. Once we arrived, we met up with Craig, off-loaded the supplies for the falcon's new home. Craig spent the last few weeks building, painting and drilling the bottom, top and sides. We hauled all of that, plus many of the extras that are needed for building a scrape (nest box). Bundled up, or so we thought, we headed for the catwalk under the freshly-painted underbelly of the US Route 50 Severn River Bridge.They call this bridge's latest shade 'Williamsburg Blue'. I think the falcons will enjoy the new look. What's more, this next box (possibly the best box ever designed, built and assembled by Craig) will prove to be a most inviting dwelling for our two falcons to raise their chicks. Facing the Southeast, in order to get the most warmth from the morning sun, we filled the box with buckets and bags loose stone and gravel. The female (MADRIGAL?) will scrape around in the next box and find the best possible spot to lay her clutch of eggs. While she renovates the home, the male (MAESTRO?) will be her delivery boy, bringing her meal after meal in the coming weeks.Thats Craig there on the left. Allison and Tim are, of course, working hard on the nest box as well.Everyone involved got to pour some of the fine gravel into the bottom of the scrape. My 'section' was the back left corner. With any luck, that corner is where she will chose to lay her clutch. Oh, and my money is on the female laying THREE eggs. Craig, for the record, predicts FOUR. I will certainly keep you posted on just how many eggs she lays once spring has arrived and she's completed her reproductive tasks.As l mentioned earlier, the male will be devoting his time and energy to hunting and delivering meal after meal for his female companion. Craig informed us that the female will spend her days gorging on these fresh birds (almost to the point of a lethargic food-induced coma-like state) in preparation for the chicks. She and her chicks will need the extra fat provided by those many, many meals Dad will be in charge of delivering.Unfortunately while we were there this afternoon, the falcons were no where to be found. I thoroughly scanned the horizon, examining every bare tree top and open perch where one of the two PEREGRINES might be watching us. No luck. Some of the workers mentioned that they had seen one of the falcons earlier in the morning perched on a nearby pier. They informed me that long before you see the falcons approach, you HEAR them! For fun, one of the workers has imitated the call of a NORTHERN BOBWHITE. This unmistakable whistle impression successfully managed to get both falcons very interested. Why the falcons would believe for even a moment that a Bobwhite would be hanging out with them under their bridge, well... I just can't say.After the box was assembled and fastened to the bridge, gravel was carefully poured into the scrape. Finally, the roof portion was attached to the walls and anchored to the bridge. As an added treat, Craig left the PEREGRINES a fresh meal of COMMON GRACKLE (found nearby, just moments before our work began) placed on the platform at the entrance of their new home.And to think, all I got from my realtor when I bought my home was a gardening book and a bottle of Pinot Noir that my wife Emery drank with her girlfriends while I was out at a GIG!I'll keep you updated throughout the spring and summer with any falcon-related news. I will be watching the pair regularly from Uncle Frank's beach on the Arnold side, as well as from this little speck of shoreline behind my friends Brian and Sarah's home here on the Annapolis side.This has been a very exciting day for BOTH our resident PEREGRINE FALCONS and for all those involved with the installation. SPECIAL THANKS to Craig, Tim, Steve, Allison, the USFWS, MD SHA and everyone of those incredibly durable bridge workers, the housing market in Annapolis is booming again. I just hope these birds can afford the property taxes. ;^)

Good nesting,

Dan

PEREGRINES COURT, DECLAN ROCK OUT and EVERYONE SLEEPS IN

After a hard night of rocking out... Declan decided to sleep in this Monday morning. His parents happily obliged and snored for an hour and half longer than usual.Declan (I mean, just LOOK at him... a TOTAL rock star) enjoyed a few breakfasts and his mother and I, an entire pot of coffee. Now full, the entire Haas family decided it was time to take a trip. First stop, oddly enough, turned out to be lunch. Did I mention that we move slow on holidays? In accordance with our new fitness goals, a turkey sub with no mayo proved to be both healthy and delicious. The family's hunger was now subsiding, so this was the perfect time for me to pop the question:

Can we go watch the falcons?Happily, they responded with a rousing, "Yes!" So off we went to Uncle Frank's beach.Not two minutes after we got out of the Volvo and finished stretching our legs, the Severn River PEREGRINE FALCONS appeared in the sky over the river. Darting between the puffy white and grey clouds, in and out of the blue skies and sunbeams, the male falcon and the visibly larger female falcon were conducting an wildly acrobatic aerial display. I felt like I was watching nature's version of the Blue Angels, the US Navy's best impersonators of the PEREGRINE. The Blue Angels perform here in May every year for the Naval Academy's Commissioning Week.At one point, both falcons streaked into the middle of a passing flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS over the Severn River. PEREGRINE FALCONS (click to view Bill Hubick's deluxe photo) are exceptionally fast fliers, capable of reaching speeds up to 69 mph in direct pursuit of prey. Cool, yes? Well check this out: in a hunting stoop from nearly a half a mile up, a Peregrine can reach speeds of 200 mph as they plummet toward their prey. Needless to say, the Haases were thoroughly impressed with today's show. And Uncle Frank says hello too.While we were there, we met up up with two folks from the bridge painting company named Gary and Paul. Along with their workers, these two guys crisscross the country, painting bridges and other hard-to-reach areas. Gary installed the scrape that helped a pair successfully fledge chicks on the Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia. He told Emery, Declan and I that no one else really had the desire to climb that high with the box, rocks and materials. Lucky for the falcons, Gary and Paul are used to great heights.Hopefully, our local falcons will have their scrape installed and ready for occupancy soon. I shall keep you posted.

Good Courting,

Dan