Wed 3 Jan You all know that announcement made by airline pilots that everyone should stay in their seats until the plane has come to a complete stop. Well, this morning we had just used the ferry rope to pull a canoe across the cracking ice so that the Caretaker's Wife could go to work... again... when the Caretaker stood up, stepped on to the ferry landing, and then reached down to give the canoe a tug to bring it closer to make it easier for her to step off. Unfortunately, he had made no such announcement, and looked back in time to see to his horror that the Caretaker's Wife had had no hint of the extra movement coming and had stood up. The result was that she came crashing down, but because she had the presence of mind to grab at the rope as she fell, managed to crash on the bottom of the canoe instead of through the thin ice adjacent. It was a very frightening... and very dangerous... moment. The Caretaker's Wife put on a brave face, exited the canoe, and turned to walk up the hill before the Caretaker could see her tears... which he pretended not to notice.

Thu 4 Jan It is interesting that as winter barrenness and cold has descended upon the Island our cats have become more active. They are far more adventurous in the daytime, especially our timid Czech kitty, Barney. On one hand one wonders why in the world they are so willing, even eager, to go out when it is so cold, but there really does seem to be a direct relationship between the lessening of vegetative ground cover in late fall and early winter and the frequency of outdoor cat excursions. One possibility is that less vegetation means greater line of sight... after all... when one's eyes are only 8 inches above the ground the world can seem a pretty close-in place in the summer... when any fearful surprise could be lurking behind the next bush or large plant. But in winter they are the Lords-of-all-they-survey, and they can actually survey what must be to them long distances of Island real estate that would otherwise be hidden behind summer foliage. Add to this the fact that to them winter is also a crinkly season, when dried leaves and other detritus announce the sounds of movement of "preymates" at greater distances. Of course this works both ways, as there is less opportunity for feline sneakiness, especially where birds are concerned.

Sat 13 Jan We have received a query from a Member about the reported water temperatures on the Log: Just noticed from your log that the water temperature has been 32 degrees for some weeks now. Is this right or has your source given up on measuring it since there's ice on top?

Each morning the water temperatures and levels are taken from a report on a NOAA web site that usually, but not always, has the data ready by 1030 hrs. A link to this site may be found through the Sycamore Island home page by clicking weather and river conditions and then the river forecast. There are a total of 7 automated river gauges in this report on the Potomac, but only 4 record water temperature. During this time of river icing the temperature at the Little Falls gauge, which being just a few hundred yards down-river is the one we always use, has been given as 32 degrees. The other gauges reporting temperature have reported warmer temperatures... and usually the further up-river... the warmer the temperature. Interestingly, despite this warm snap, the up-river temperatures are now colder than at any time this winter. Other unknown factors may influence this data, as perhaps, because of internal friction, a faster (higher?) river may be a warmer river.

Mon 15 Jan We knew we were in "deep doo doo" when we took the plumbers helper to the backed up toilet and the "doo doo" backed up into the bathtub... quite literally. So much for baths for a while! Previously, we had boiled large kettles of water to pour down the drains to clear them, and that had seemed to work for a couple of weeks... but now we were iced in by ice too thin to walk on with no prospect of immediate help... and suddenly grateful just to be able to walk through the cold to get to the toilet in the men's room... which still worked. Kinda like going to the out-house on a cold winter's night.

Tue 16 Jan In this warm weather the river ice on the Virginia side has finally cleared and there is now a small clear water channel in the ice in the slough on the Maryland side. With the ice breaking up we are truly trapped on the Island, and the small freezer purchased last fall is turning out to be the wisest family purchase of the year. Of course, we still look forward to milk, eggs, and Roto-Rooter.

There is that old adage that "I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man that had no feet." Lest the gentle reader think we are crying instead of reporting, let's make mention of the real pioneers... our predecessors... Peter Jones and Holly Syrrakos. When they moved here twelve years ago the quarters were only half as large because the one nice room that sticks out had not been built and there was not even what one could call a living room... just bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. The only heat was an electric heater in the bathroom and a very small wood stove that needed constant tending. There was no septic then and the winter water situation was such that for Holly to live with Peter that first winter she had to use a porta-potty for three months ... which surely for a woman must qualify as true love.

Thu 18 Jan The Caretaker's Wife turned on the crock-pot and abandoned the Island to overnight with friends. The adventure began when we put a canoe in the water at the Captain's float, as the ice was mainly cleared from the Virginia side of the Island, and paddled up-river towards Ruppert's Island to find a place to cut through the ice to where there was a channel of open water running down the slough on the Maryland side towards the towpath ferry landing. The ferry is still locked tight in the 3 inches of ice near the shore, and there is no telling when Roto-Rooter can get here. It was cold and rainy... but the rain was relatively light and not actually uncomfortable and served mainly to heighten the drama of the morning. Working our way back downriver we arrived near the ferry landing and began to work from the canoe on breaking and clearing the thinner ice there to get close enough to land. We had recently visited Jamestown and imagined ourselves in a unique Disney World ride recreating the settler's hardships. Spirits and adventure were high... especially when the Caretaker's Wife finally stepped to the towpath landing.

A friend later suggested that the Caretaker's Wife had voted herself off of our own version of the Survivor TV program. But in fact, the more compelling reason was her need to return to her professional life. Still... overnighting with friends means that for the first time in six days she will not have to put her coat on and walk out the front door to use the toilet.

Thu 25 Jan The geese are back as this thaw continues. Last evening they came in from the south at dusk... gaggle after gaggle. There must have been at least six gaggles of maybe 25-30 birds each, but most departed the next morning. It looked like a migration, what with so many, but that is hard to credit this early in the season. Surely they are just restless as they probe the northern extent of a warm air mass.

The ducks, however, are here to stay. They showed up last week as soon as there was open water in the ice and their numbers have grown. When we had ice we had gulls scattered about it during the days. Again, the gulls just seem to be hanging out and it was impossible to observe them actually doing anything, like feeding or mating. As the amount of open water increased, so did the numbers of ducks. As the amount of ice diminished, so did the numbers of gulls. When there were only a few pieces of ice, the gulls would gather in small flocks and be communal and one could paddle very close to them and be ignored... unlike the ducks, who have a personal comfort radius of about 50 yards. But then, the shared collective consciousness of gulls does not contain the same dark dream of predator humans and their shotguns.

Wed 31 Jan Loud... it's that time of year again, when it gets cacophonous down here as the sun comes up and the geese start in. This morning they seemed to be arguing with the crows. No more post-dawn snoozing around here... it is like living on a farm or waking up in a house filled with small children. The Romans used to have a festival in which they paraded a garlanded goose to celebrate a famous victory. It seems that while the watchdogs slept on a foggy dawn the sneaky Gauls almost got close enough to carry the gates of Rome, and disaster was averted only because disturbed geese gave the alarm. Thereafter, to commemorate the day, the geese were celebrated and ten dogs were crucified.

Excerpted from the Caretaker's Log at sycamoreisland.org

-- Doc Taliaferro, Sycamore Island Caretaker