Mon 3 Apr Congratulations to those of you attending the annual river clean-up, and especially to the Judson/Esch family that organized the details. The great fun that was had and the fact that few seemed inclined to leave the conversations after potluck proves that virtue really is its own reward. Quick notes... Maria Stenzel reported seeing the shad running and being scooped out 5 to the netfull at Chain Bridge. Fern Ingersoll counted 13 different types of wildflowers on the Island... come on down and try to match her. And Alex McCoy suggested a fishing contest be held one Saturday for Members... but Gerry Barton said it would not be any fun because George Malusky would certainly win. Still, an idea with merit??

Tue 11 Apr Flowers... flowers... everywhere !!! The green so fresh... surely this is among the most beautiful of times to be on the Island!! Yesterday we saw two geese just beginning to build their nests... so there are still some who have not even laid their eggs yet. The daily fights continue between the big goose whose mate's nest is on the fallen sycamore tree and the couple trying to build a nest on the canoe shed.

Thu 12 Apr I wish to report an event that happened while attending a funeral in Granbury Texas for an uncle who was a much decorated war hero... shot down twice... and much loved in his community for his leadership and integrity. While driving from the church to the cemetery the funeral procession must have encountered well over a hundred on-coming cars. Without exception... every on-coming car pulled off the side of the road and stopped!!! Now folks... I do not mean they edged over to the side of the road and slowed down... in Texas the road shoulders are wide... and I mean they pulled off of the road and stopped!! Without exception!!! You could have driven all the way using the left hand lane. But what is significant is that these drivers did not know and were not recognizing the character of my uncle. This gesture of respect they would have accorded to even the smallest or meanest of them.... and I ask you to reflect how lucky we are collectively that there are still places in this country where the old ways still hold sway.

Fri 13 Apr If you walk the up Island trails leaving the swimming area you will be struck by the numerous clumps of luminescent phlox. Phlox is coming into its glory all over the island and on cloudy days it seems to glow. Also numerous this year are the Paw Paw blossoms, which are green and have to be looked carefully for, but hang beneath the branches like little bells. Last year there were not very many blossoms, and all year we only observed two fruit on the Island, and few fruit in the entire area of the towpath, so it will be interesting to track their development this year. Anyone with ideas about what affects Paw Paw fruit production and delineates good years from bad... please let us know.

The other night after dark we noticed an odd sound coming a long way from up river, and as it came closer it became distinguishable as the calls of an approaching flock of geese. As the searching flock got closer to Ruppert's Island, the geese staying near Hotel Cormorant there began to call back, and the two different types of calls were quite distinguishable... the one calling ahead and the other welcoming. The Caretaker's Wife commented that the approaching geese were being "called down," and surely the process would be the envy of any human flight controller.

Sat 15 Apr We continue to get questions about the presence of the snow shovel near the Captain's Float. Now, at night there is no more perfect sleeping quarters for geese than moderately sized floating platforms, by definition affording them the security of a moat. What is more, this goose motel comes complete with a cleaning service to remove any of the night's droppings the next morning. Thus the red snow shovel is a multipurpose tool... becoming in March a perfect goose pooper scooper.

Wed 19 Apr Questions have been asked about the purpose of the various chairs scattered about the Island. These are compass rose chairs. You will have seen a compass rose on maps... where the mapmaker has drawn a circle and superimposed from the center of this circle the lines of the map that correspond to true north and the other prime directions. And sometimes these lines extend to the edge of the map... especially in old maps. In a similar sense a clever Japanese garden is set up to emphasize intersecting lines of sight... and sometimes a bench is located to designate a particularly beautiful viewpoint... and in this case the gardener has placed a particular compass rose in the map of his garden. Sometimes it is left to the visitor to wander the garden and try to discover the hidden intersections the gardener has planned... and so take delight in the discovery... and in this case we walk about with our own personal and physical compass rose seeking the right place to set it or "sit" it. Of course, on our Island the Master Gardener and Mother Nature have conspired to set us in a sort of Japanese garden and fill our lives with unseen lines of intersecting beauty. It is a blessing to come to the thought that such hidden treasures are here for us, much less to actually discover them. Thus the chairs... but do not think they are sited at discovered intersections... they are merely places around the Island to rest one's personal compass rose while the search continues. They are also symbols of a terrible secret... that the grass paths known as the beaver trails are actually the result of a selfish attempt at a meditation garden.

Thu 20 Apr This is a First Gosling Alert!!! Round up the kiddies and all stale bread and come on down!!! There are at least two groups that have come over from Ruppert's Island, because all of the Sycamore Island geese are still sitting their nests. The first false Solomon's seal blossoms have appeared, and a robin appears to be building a nest in the hickory tree next to the deck, where we may all observe the developing family over the next few weeks.

Fri 21 Apr One begins to notice that the bluebells are finally past their peak. True, it has been a long blooming season for them, and even now small yearlings are still popping up, presaging a spectacular season next year. And while there are so many other shows just getting underway, this first significant fading is a real message: Get down here!! These are the best of days on the Island!!! No one should miss it!!!

When a gentle breeze stirred a strange sound in the trees yesterday we looked up and realized it was the sound of the first maple helicopter seeds, falling through the branches with a sound not unlike little hail or frozen rain. There are so many sounds to harvest down here... sounds not available in the urban congestion... sounds that are part of our primal programming and that our bodies expect to be immersed in as part of our natural environment. The development of electricity and the internal combustion engine has surrounded us with other sounds... but consider how recent these are in generational terms and thus how thin is this artificial veneer of culture. On some level twenty thousand generations of genetic programming yearn for these natural sounds as a form of nourishment. So come on down... catch a few natural sounds... think of it as an aural vitamin supplement for your genes.

Sat 22 Apr It was chilly... it was damp... the river was above 5 feet and rising... but the Workfest went on and an intrepid crew of thirty-three showed up: John Matthews, Gerry Barton, Renee and George Dunham, Ann Kip and Mark Brenneman, Tryon Wells, Tove and Susan and Madelyn Elfstrom, Vicki Judson and Jennifer and Tom Esch, Steve Sarfatti, Trip Reid, George Malusky and friend Mark Flor, Blair Bower, Jim Drew, Jim and Christine Matthews, George and Marcia Loeb, Maria Stenzel, Bob and Michael Henry, John and Diane Noble, Tom and Diane Levy, Mark Strasburg, and John and Joey Thorne, and of course, the Caretaker's Wife. The Clubhouse was cleaned and the swimming floats put in. Gerry Barton and Tom Esch repaired parts of the wooden walkway. Repairs were begun on the screens on the porch. The door from the deck to the warm room was repaired by George Dunham and re-hung. Trip Reid brought down another river birch to plant, and while I did not see him much... days later I would find where large, thorny, obnoxious clumps of weedy shrub rose had been removed from people areas. Perhaps the best adventure was when Maria Stenzel, George Malusky, and Mark Flor took a canoe up-river to bring back a four foot diameter tire, although they paid for their fun by not returning in time for lunch. And the lunch was everything we have come to expect... one person was heard to comment that watching George Loeb at the grill was what kept him going. One result of the high water was that your caretaker did all the ferry work and was not able to bear witness to who was doing what this year, so many of you will have to remain unsung. However, special mention in the dispatches this year goes to Mark Flor, frequent fishing companion to George Malusky, who put in a hard morning's work and is not even on the waiting list. As the river was still rising, the Island was closed in the afternoon after the Workfest participants had left.

Thu 27 Apr Today seems more like a day in November than in April... chilly and damp... the temperature is struggling in the 40s. Mid-morning the Caretaker's Wife called to say that while driving on Highway 355 a State Trooper stopped all eight lanes of traffic to let two geese and their goslings cross. Now... didn't your heart skip a beat when you just read that?

-- Doc Taliaferro, Sycamore Island Caretaker