Monday -- January 14, 2007
I walked down to the foot of the island (doing my daily rounds) just in time to see my flock of geese returning to their evening roosting spot. I'm not crazy about the geese, but to watch them glide onto the water in perfect formation was inspiring. I could hear the wind passing through their wings as they bowed them toward the water to land.

I just watched an amazing program on PBS, Swim For The River, a documentary about the Hudson river and pollution. I recommend it for anyone who cares about rivers. I learned that we still have a lot of work to do to enforce the Clean Water Act. Support RIVERKEEPERS!

Friday -- January 25, 2007
The river is green now and I can see the bottom once again. The last two relief caretakers have asked if we had an axe for splitting wood, so this week I made sure I was prepared. I bought a new maul and a wedge to go with it. Now, if someone wants to split wood, we have the tools.

Sunday -- January 27, 2007
My water is running again. Last weekend my pipes froze and I spent all day Sunday trying to get them thawed out. I forgot how important it is to block off the crawl space under my bathroom. I piled up some tarps along the up-river side of the clubhouse to keep the wind from pushing all that cold air into my apartment. Once I did that it was a matter of using the blow dryer to get things flowing again.

Great news! I saw two eagles in the nest yesterday. I'm so relieved. I was afraid we might not have a breeding pair this year after the reports last autumn of a dead or injured eagle near Turkey Run. Happily, we have two birds, but one of them is a newcomer. I know it's not the same bird as last year because this bird still has some of its immature plumage. Now the question is whether the new bird is a male or a female. It would be interesting if it were the female and not the male that was able to stay in her territory and preserve her nest sight. Apparently there are plenty of male suitors to fill the void of one lost adult. Another birding high-light this month, besides all the Buffle Heads, Scaups and Common Mergansers, was spotting five Hooded Mergansers near the shore of the Island. These creatures are so beautiful and delicate-looking that they seem better suited for a china shop window, but here they are in this hostile environment of freezing water and strong winds.

I should knock on wood as I say this, but so far this year I don't have any ground hogs digging under the house, nor do I have any mice to evict from behind the dishwasher.

I'm certified! I just received my Certificate of Accomplishment from the Department of Agriculture for successfully completing the program of Natural History Field Studies.

I just watched another group of Hooded Mergansers as they fed upriver. They are diving ducks, so one minute you see them, and then the next they've all disappeared under the surface of the river. Coincidentally I just found out about a film that was part of last years Banff Mountain Film Festival. Its called "Ride of the Merganser", a short film about this hearty bird that is found only in North America. I ordered a copy of the DVD, maybe I can show it at the next club meeting.

Monday -- January 28, 2007
It’s been like a naturalist's paradise around here lately. Eagles across the river, Hooded Mergansers by the ferry at daybreak, song birds at the feeder all day, and at dusk, the skies fill with a variety of water fowl going who-knows-where. I was hiking along the Virginia shore directly across from the Island yesterday and it was clear that the beavers had been very busy there recently. I counted six big trees that had been freshly cut, as well as a few smaller ones. The beaver have been busy on this side of the river as well, demonstrating their tree-cutting skills down by the pumping station. Thankfully, here on the Island, we've been spared the wrath of their monster teeth, at least for now. Maybe the chicken wire really does help.

I cleaned all the gutters and I spent some time splitting logs with our new wedge and maul. That silver maple logs split nicely without too much effort. I don't understand why more people don't have parties here in the winter. Once you get a fire in that wood stove its really quite warm in the clubhouse.

Wednesday -- January 30, 2007
I never got around to telling the story of how I hiked home to Sycamore Island from Whites Ferry, the “ferry to ferry hike”. It was January 19 and I had spent the day looking for birds-of-prey in the rolling hills of Loudon County with my sister and brother-in-law. It was a planned field trip led by a naturalist/falconer. We saw several species of raptors that day including Bald Eagles, Red-Tailed Hawks, Red-Shouldered Hawks, Northern Harriers and a Barred Owl, but the peak of the day came just before sunset when we parked on the edge of a field to watch the Short-Eared Owls. These owls do not nest in this area and are rare visitors from Canada. It was the first time many of us had ever seen this species and it was funny to listen to the oow’s and ahh’s as four owls dipped and darted around us while we stood in the fading light. Finally it was too dark to see anything, the field trip ended and my adventure on the towpath was about to begin.

Since we were already in Leesburg I asked my sister to drop me at White’s Ferry so I could walk home. I guess I was looking for a low-cost adventure (can’t afford plane tickets) and walking twenty-nine miles in the cold seemed like the perfect challenge.

I was pumped when the gruff ferry operators gave me the go-ahead to jump on board, and I rushed on in between all the cars. I wasn’t so happy when I realized at that moment that I’d forgotten to bring the fuel for my stove (being without a stove in cold weather sometimes means no water). I figured I would be able to start a fire, so I went back to enjoying the ferry ride. Guess how much it costs to be a pedestrian on Whites Ferry, fifty cents. Not bad, but I doubt I could get away with charging that much here.

My plan was to hike the ten miles to Horse Pen Branch campsite that night and get there by about 10:00 pm. I would then walk the other 19 miles on Sunday. After walking for a while I came to the first hiker/biker campsite and to my surprise it wasn’t deserted. There were two dads there with half a dozen teenagers sitting around a roaring fire. I walked over to say hi and to congratulate them for being out there on such a cold night. They invited me to warm myself by the fire, but I decided to press on, 4.4 miles to go. I probably should have stayed and cooked some hot food on their fire, oh well. I ate a cold meal before going to bed that night and slept through most of the night despite a bout with the cold at around three in the morning. I couldn’t get a fire started the next morning and I broke camp while I munched on a chunk of cheese, no coffee. After two miles I came to Seneca creek. I pumped my drinking water from the creek into my camelback, but the water soon turned to slush. I stuffed the water bladder into my coat, hoping to keep it from freezing completely. I found a bunch of newspapers near the parking lot there and I was able to start a fire in one of the grills at the Seneca picnic ground. The wind was gusting pretty strong at this point with white caps on the water, but I managed to heat up enough water for my oatmeal and a much deserved cup of coffee. Now it was just a matter of endurance, five hours of hiking and then I could relax and have a beer. I left Seneca at 10:30. I passed Pennyfield, Swain’s Lock, Great Falls, Angler’s Inn, Carderock, Seven Locks, Cabin John, and finally I reached Sycamore Island at 3:45 p.m.

-- Joe Hage, Sycamore Island Caretaker