Connections and Clean-Up

On October 28, 2016October 28, 2016 By trashonthemonocacyIn Current Events and Issues, Environment, Monocacy River1 Comment

The Monocacy River, which is the largest tributary of the more famous Potomac River (it flows by George Washington’s home, Mt. Vernon), has several tributaries of its own. One of these is Israel Creek, which is part of the lower Monocacy watershed. For the most part, Israel Creek winds its way through farms and pastures, collecting runoff on its way to the Monocacy. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, in an effort to combat the erosion that encourages this runoff, has organized a planting of 1,000 trees along the banks of Israel Creek where it passes through a cattle farm in Woodsboro, Maryland. It is calling for volunteers to help with the planting tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. For more information, read the Frederick News-Post article, “Hands Needed to Protect Creek in Woodsboro,” and to sign up, go to: http://www.cbf.org/events/other/md/restoration-events.

Update: SLE (Stream-Link Education) maintains such riparian plantings every fall. See http://www.streamlinkeducation.org for more information.

Love, Up Close

On October 21, 2016October 21, 2016 By trashonthemonocacyIn Monocacy River, Reflections4 Comments

This is the very first image I posted on my blog: my original header.

Initially I hesitated to use it because the Monocacy, the polluted but lovely southern river for which this blog is named, is nowhere to be found. Ultimately, however, that is one of the very reasons that the picture is so appropriate. A river is more than the water that flows into it; it is the land that surrounds it. It is the land that determines its health. It is on the land that I find most of the trash that pollutes its waters.

But this image is really about the heart spray-painted on the trunk of the dead tree. Ostensibly it is vandalism, a sort of trashing of nature, but the symbol and its underlying message imbues it with its own sort of beauty. It also reflects my feeling toward this small part of a much larger ecosystem. This heart on this tree is on a small island on a small river (the Monocacy) that flows into a larger river (the Potomac) that flows into a delicate bay (the Chesapeake) that opens into an ocean (the Atlantic). This space is so much more than it seems. And so is the tree.

Let’s look a little more closely. A heart:

And more closely still. An imperfect heart:

And even closer. A mere smudge:

Or something more. This heart on this dead tree is the marker for an entrance to a whole other world. It hides the holes made by birds looking for insects looking for food looking for a home. If I were a microbiologist, I could say more, but even my limited knowledge allows me to appreciate the complexity of the life provided by this rotting trunk.

And appreciation is what this blog is about. Appreciating the ugly in order to appreciate the beautiful. Appreciating the moments that make a small life big. Appreciating the life around me so easily overlooked. Appreciating how often things are not quite as simple as they seem. Appreciating a world of writers, thinkers and artists who may not think of themselves as any of these things.

Love from the Monocacy.

Civil Wars

On October 18, 2016October 18, 2016 By trashonthemonocacyIn History, Monocacy RiverLeave a comment

Last weekend my father and I attended a ranger-led walking tour of the Thomas Farm on the Monocacy National Battlefield. The weather was a bit cooler than it had been on July 9, 1864, when the Confederate army, led by General Jubal Early, achieved the only Confederate victory on Union territory against the much smaller Union force, led by General Lew Wallace. But the skies were clear, the sun was bright, and the fields, still actively farmed, were full of soybeans ready for harvesting. On the Thomas farm, there are only rare glimpses of the Monocacy River, which played a pivotal role during the battle’s action. Its 2.5 miles of shoreline are much more easily accessed by other trails on the battlefield, such as the loop at the Gambrill Mill and the easy walking paths at the Worthington House. The Monocacy Battlefield’s visitor center, just off of Rte. 355 (historically known as Urbana Pike), is worth visiting if you have any interest in Maryland during the Civil War. The Battle of the Monocacy doesn’t have the fame of nearby Antietam and Gettysburg, but it does of the distinction of having saved Washington, D.C.

Some might call that a dubious distinction, especially these days.

Cooler Reflections

On October 11, 2016October 11, 2016 By trashonthemonocacyIn Monocacy RiverLeave a comment

I’m sitting on the thick branch of a fallen tree, perched just above the waters of the Monocacy and hidden by dangling bunches of ripe pokeberries. The berries are poisonous to us but good food for the birds, who already have consumed about half of the deep purple fruits, leaving the empty magenta stems as simple ornaments.

There is a pair of chickadees in a nearby tree, their voices more obvious than their tiny feathered forms. They hang from the japanese hop vines, eating their ripe seeds. If I sit still long enough, I’ll see more birds, like the downy woodpecker that just stopped to inspect the maple tree on my right.

It’s perfect sit-and-watch weather, cool and clear and mostly free of the annoying flying insects that plague late summer days. Of course. It’s fall now, but early in the season, when most everything is still clothed in green and the crickets sing at night. Butterflies and moths are making their final rounds among the goldenrod, asters and sneezeweed, and wooly caterpillars are appearing on walking paths.

At home I’m harvesting the last of my tomatoes and collecting seeds from my zinnias for next year’s spring planting. I hear people speak of spring as the season of hope, but in some ways fall is even more so. Despite everything.

Art Trash/Trash Art

On October 5, 2016October 5, 2016 By trashonthemonocacyIn Photography, Trash1 Comment

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Kit-Kat in Black and White

When first beginning my blog, I hoped to capture some beauty in the trash I find. Occasionally I entertain myself with close studies that approach (yes, merely approach) the artistic in composition or contrast, but most of the time trash really is just a blight on the natural landscape. An unwelcome interruption. Still, I photograph what I find. Even if I’m not making any artistic contributions to the world, I am at least leaving a sort of sociological record. (Can you see the future dissertation title: “Bud Light and Flavored Cigars: A Study of the American Consumer in the early 21st Century”?)

7-Eleven, Coffee in the Leaves

Annie’s and Minute Maid on the Shore

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What I Like About You: Japanese Hops and Coca Cola

Coffee and a Yogurt

TRASH ON THE MONOCACY

Month: October 2016