White's Ferry, in Maryland

Once upon a time the best way to cross a river was by ferry.  In the 19th century the C & O Canal Company put out of business more than a few ferry companies that crossed the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia.  Upstream from Washington, DC there were Edwards' Ferry, Spink's Ferry, Noland's Ferry, White's Ferry.  White's Ferry is the only public ferry left. 
Today was spectacularly beautiful out at White's Ferry.  The sun shone as best it can on these wintry days, and the sky was pale and beautifully blue.  A good day for a long walk on the C & O Canal towpath with friends.  There were just 8 of us:  Pat, Barbara, Bill, Linda & Tom, Debra, Laura, and me.  We started at White's Ferry and walked upstream about 3 miles, ate a little something, and turned about and walked back.  The ferry is iced in and not running right now - which must be a real pain for those commuters who cross the state line to drive to work.
Here's a few photos, and a link:


a bit of history

 

The  General Early is iced in and stuck for a while.



Rivers have a bad habit - they flood; note the height of the three most famous floods.

For some history, Wikipedia has a short one, including reference to a few of the recent times the ferry was shut down.  Reading that list, I'd avoid crossing in early December:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White's_Ferry
I drove home via Canal Road to Chain Bridge just to see what the skaters were up to.  And there they were - several hockey games in progress.  Little people and big people all playing together, and more arriving as I stood there.



Skaters and shadows on the C and O Canal at Chain Bridge, DC



Wintertime blahs

I think that when I was much younger, winter didn't get to me as much as it does now.  It's not just the cold, all the time cold.  It's also the short days, waking up in the dark, and darkness returning in late afternoon. 
I spent a week on an island in Southwest Florida, at Sanibel.  I was warm there.  The days weren't much longer - sun rose about 7:15 am and set about 5:35pm. 

But the midday warmth made all the difference.  And the warmth slows things down, including people, who are warmed up and friendly.  The friendliness begins with a joke at the Chamber of Commerce.

There's a beach there.  It's not groomed, ever, except for the guy in the truck who drives on the beach and picks up pig knuckles (crabbers use them for bait and they wash up with the tide).  The beach has no lights, so no one's there at night except stargazers.  The reason is because on summer nights sea turtles crawl up the beach and lay their eggs in the dunes. Then 35-40 days later the baby turtles burst from their shells and scamper back to the sea, at night.   Lights would disorient them and they'd go the wrong way.  But why is the beach not groomed?  I couldn't get an answer to that.  But here's what it looks like.  Some of that stuff is red-brown macroalgae washed up in the storms a week before, but most of it is shells.  Lots and lots of large pen shells, many white scallops and small whelks and others that I cannot name.



Despite what it looks like, this is not man-made trash.  It's mostly large shells and macroalgae washed in by storms.



A funny beach creation has pen shell goatee, scallop shell nose, barnacle-crusted sunglasses, and macroalgae hair.

And there are always shell seekers walking on the sand or in the low tide shallows.  I've joined them, and brought home sacks of shells.  But I don't do anything with them.  They just stay in their sacks.

Ardent sheller at early morning low tide

Also shore birds galore.  Long-legged willetts, three kinds of gulls, and there are terns and little tiny things that scoot along just at the edge of the waves, stitching back and forth so quickly their legs disappear.

And in the wildlife refuge or out on Tarpon Bay, I see great large birds - cormorants and egrets and herons and the wonderful white pelicans.

cormorants and white pelicans share one of the oyster shell bars in the bay

And at the end of the day, the sun goes down behind the palm trees.