Leslie and I took our usual walk along the Delaware Bay. "Our" beach is in front of Harpoon Henry's. Sometimes we walk, sometimes we bike to the beach. My bike is the funny stretched red recumbent.
We then walk to the ferry jetty and back. It's a decent walk, we run into decent people, and even the portable potties in Douglass Park are in decent shape. (For those less adventurous, the ferry terminal has porcelain you could eat off of--not that I would, of course, but the ferry folks do a spectacular job keeping the bathrooms spic and span. There's a nice bar there, too. One of the McGlade clan 0f omelet fame mans the outdoor bar.)
Today was marked by hundreds of spider crab carcasses. We are used to the horseshoe crab molts--those shells have been abandoned by critters now bigger, now headed for deeper water. The spider crabs, however, seemed to have met a less fortunate end.
The seagulls waddled with bellies full of crab.
***
Some notes:
1) The dolphins are still here. We missed them, but as we were getting back on our bikes, a pair of motorcycle couples wandered over from Harpoon Henry's, and within 15 seconds spotted a pod of dolphins, a few no farther than 20 yards from the water's edge.
One of this same party had just managed to step on a dead squirrel squished on Beach Avenue in front of Henry's.
2) The monarchs are gone. We missed the peak this year. Last year mid-October we say hundreds in a single day. We saw quite a few two weeks ago, but we either missed the peak, or their numbers are down.
We did see a couple of cabbage moths, and a few admirals (I think--they refused to hold still)--but no monarchs.
3) We found a live quahog on our beach. I've been clamming in Richardson Sound. I may take a shot closer to home. Harpoon Henry's is still open weekends. Clamming requires sustenance.
4) Where are the skimmers?
5) Some large live oysters washed up in yesterday's blow. Today is Sunday, so I did not have a bottle of Tabasco in my pocket. Still, I know my oyster bed is out there somewhere--possibly off Roslyn Avenue.
6) I found a plastic dinosaur today. I left it on the bench in front of Harpoon Henry's. Let me know if you see it in town.
7) We saw a one-legged sand piper today. It didn't hop as fast as its two-legged brethren, but it still hopped faster than a scalded dog. It didn't ask for pity.
8) People keep confusing freighters for Delaware. "I see land!" No, you see freighters. That's why it looks like a boat with smoke coming out of its stack.
9) No jellyfish today. Saw two large cabbageheads last week.
10) Red hake are delicious. Really delicious. Fillet them, coat them in a mixture of corn meal, flour, salt, pepper, and a touch of Tabasco, and throw them in hot oil. (Olive oil if you're feeling rich.) Yum!
Some notes:
1) The dolphins are still here. We missed them, but as we were getting back on our bikes, a pair of motorcycle couples wandered over from Harpoon Henry's, and within 15 seconds spotted a pod of dolphins, a few no farther than 20 yards from the water's edge.
One of this same party had just managed to step on a dead squirrel squished on Beach Avenue in front of Henry's.
2) The monarchs are gone. We missed the peak this year. Last year mid-October we say hundreds in a single day. We saw quite a few two weeks ago, but we either missed the peak, or their numbers are down.
We did see a couple of cabbage moths, and a few admirals (I think--they refused to hold still)--but no monarchs.
3) We found a live quahog on our beach. I've been clamming in Richardson Sound. I may take a shot closer to home. Harpoon Henry's is still open weekends. Clamming requires sustenance.
4) Where are the skimmers?
5) Some large live oysters washed up in yesterday's blow. Today is Sunday, so I did not have a bottle of Tabasco in my pocket. Still, I know my oyster bed is out there somewhere--possibly off Roslyn Avenue.
6) I found a plastic dinosaur today. I left it on the bench in front of Harpoon Henry's. Let me know if you see it in town.
7) We saw a one-legged sand piper today. It didn't hop as fast as its two-legged brethren, but it still hopped faster than a scalded dog. It didn't ask for pity.
8) People keep confusing freighters for Delaware. "I see land!" No, you see freighters. That's why it looks like a boat with smoke coming out of its stack.
9) No jellyfish today. Saw two large cabbageheads last week.
10) Red hake are delicious. Really delicious. Fillet them, coat them in a mixture of corn meal, flour, salt, pepper, and a touch of Tabasco, and throw them in hot oil. (Olive oil if you're feeling rich.) Yum!
No comments:
Post a Comment