73: Cool Woods
M I L T O N, D E
I
arrive at the McCabe
Preserve trailhead forty five minutes before sunrise – a little
earlier than planned. But I’m too
anxious to wait, so I set out into the dimly lit Delaware forest to experience
the transition from night into day. Half
a mile later I regret not bringing an audio recorder when a hawk battle
begins. The calls of at least three are
bellowing - apex predators loudly announcing their rule over this land. After standing a long time taking in this
battle, the sun has risen. Night has
transitioned into day.
The
trail I’m following is covered in pine needles.
Below that, firm sand. Footsteps
upon this padded surface make nearly no sound.
With the hawk battle over, it’s now a quiet walk through a Delmarva
woods.
Up
ahead, a sunny clearing. Temperatures
rise as I approach. A short spur leads
to its edge. This field is checkered
with tree tubes – an attempt to reforest former farmland. The early rays of sun are quickly heating
this open acreage. I snap a few
pictures, look down into a few tubes, and wander back into the cooler
woods.
After
I reconnect with the main trail in the cooler woods, the temperature change
awakens the obvious… if the planet is heating up too quickly, why not just
shade it? By reforestation? Clear cut fields are everywhere. How about reforesting some? Seems simple; probably the exact thought TNC
wants visitors to have after walking this property.
A
little further on, I come upon a small canoe landing along the Broadkill
River. I arrived at McCabe this morning
by car but TNC more strongly encourages arrival by canoe – coming downstream
from nearby Milton. I spot a few herons
foraging in the exposed river’s edge at low tide which affords prime feeding
conditions. One honks and flies off,
chastising me for ignoring proper social distance. The other watches closely but then acclimates
to my presence and starts foraging again.
The
trail ambles past tidal marshes and across small footbridges over low wet
spots. These bridges keep feet dry, but
also greatly amplify the sound of your steps.
To preserve the quiet integrity I’m building on this walk, I avoid the
footbridges; opting for the muddier terrain instead. I pause at a marsh edge and spot a teenaged
oak back a few yards from water’s edge.
Will this young tree make it to the majesty of old age before rising
waters swamp its roots killing it?
The
trail veers slightly away from the water and transitions into a mature forest
where massive oak, pine, and beech have grown into the sentinels of this
property. A perfectly placed bench about
as far from my parked car as this trail leads temps me into taking a
break. Not surprisingly, it’s today’s
quietest spot so I linger here for a long time before turning back.
The
McCabe trail is essentially and out-and-back walk with a few spurs and loops
tacked on. For out-and-backs, I tend to
start out walking very attentively; slowly and hyper-aware of my surroundings
absorbing every nuance I can. So getting
to this turnaround spot took a while.
When I begin the return walk, I’m in a different frame of mind. I march on, stopping only for opportunistic
photos or to jot down thoughts. The walk
back passes many clearly visible and still well-shaped prints in the sand of my
steps taken walking in. The foot prints
soon dissolve; reformed by wind or rain, or perhaps tramped by other visitors
later today. But what won’t dissolve
will be the strong (and quiet) memories found her in this Delmarva woods.
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The Edward H.
McCabe Preserve was donated to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in 1993 and is a
real mixed bag of habitats – river’s edge, tidal marsh, scrub-shrub wetlands
and upland forest. It includes thirty
nine acres that had been actively farmed until 2018 when TNC began a reforestation
project with funds from a nearby poultry operation wanting to offset the
pollution it generates. The plantings
are an attempt to recreate what once was and foster a return to native Delmarva
forest. Adding the spur trail helps
bring awareness to this important project, especially so since McCabe is
Delaware’s most visited TNC property.
I’ve visited now
seventy three TNC properties – some directly managed by TNC and some simply
turned over by them to other entities. A
pattern has been noted and reinforced here at McCabe… if TNC keeps their name
on a property, it’s even more special.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT TNC'S WORK AT MCCABE HERE.
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