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.