A Maryland-based blogger has compiled a wonderful series of posts on the “Beach Birds” public art project in Ocean City and the surrounding areas. I’d seen some of them myself, but nowhere close to all of them.

Here’s part two and part three.

Just a reminder that the WC Humane Society has lots of wonderful pets waiting for a good home. Like lab/terrier mix Ellie:

Or the lovely Cassie and her babies:

The Worcester County shelter is a seriously great place to find a pet. They are a no-kill shelter, and they work hard to take care of their animals. To donate or volunteer, you can visit their site via PetFinder.

Found this really nice poem by Jennings Evans on the Smith Island website while looking for cake recipes. I always really appreciate this kind of artifact of Eastern Maryland culture, even when it isn’t quite technically perfect. An excerpt:
“And then a waterman’s disposition
Is not completely sour
Except, maybe when he has to arise
In the wee, early morning hours.

But he can be downright entertaining
When he spins a yarn for you
And he’s certainly not above
Throwing you a curve or two.

But it would be a sad old day
Should the independent waterman
Be forced to leave the Bay.”

Even though I didn’t grow up on the Eastern Shore, thanks to the Maryland public education system this kind of iconography has always been a conscious part of my background. It’s always going to be tricky to balance conservation efforts with the preservation of Maryland’s culture and traditions, and I think that we owe it to the state to keep both in mind as much as possible.

Okay, okay, the pun was bad. You can stop throwing tomatoes now.

But seriously, those of you who are interested in hunting or birding, or in the uniquely outdoors-driven culture of the Eastern Shore, the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art is totally worth a trip to Salisbury. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of the art of wildfowl carving, which was uplifted from a practical hunting skill into a regional art form largely by the efforts of the Crisfield, MD brothers Steve and Lem Ward. In addition to one of the world’s largest collections of wildfowl art and carving, the museum features replicas of the brothers’ workshops and tons of historical information about the history of this art form.

One thing I’ve noticed in blogging and researching about the Eastern Shore area is that Crisfield seems to be a sort of epicenter of local color. From the Ward brothers’ fowl art to Skorchy Tawes’ stories and photographs to the founders of Crisfield’s seafood restaurant (best bivalves in the state, in my humble opinion), the little town just keeps turning out MD legends. Come to think of it, there might be a book in that… if any of you would be interested in reading more about Crisfield and its impact on Maryland folklore and tradition, let me know in the comments!

DelMarVa Now has the story.

Seems that after deciding against crab limits in the past, the idea has come up again in the state government following a couple of years of really depressing lows in crab populations. We’re talking the worst since 1945 here. So honestly, it’s hard for me to argue with the idea of imposing limits, even if the fishermen quoted in the article make some good points about complications that could hurt their livelihood.

In the long run, I have to wonder how this is going to effect the price of, and market for, crab in MD tourist destinations like Ocean City. I’m not an economist, but I feel like people who come to Maryland specifically for the Eastern Shore experience, including OC tourists, will be willing to pay a higher price for crab dinners — hey, better than coming home and admitting that you missed out on the local delicacy. But it will probably hurt the restaurant industry in places like Baltimore that depend more on locals.

Thoughts, anyone?

Aw who’s a good boy? YOU ARE!

I actually haven’t written about the Ocean City Dog Playground before because pet dogs aren’t, strictly speaking, wildlife, but lately I’ve been blogging so much about stuff that isn’t, strictly speaking, in Ocean City that I thought it would be nice to actually return to the city proper for a post or two.

So, the Dog Playground. It is obvious that some serious thinking went into this thing. You actually have to submit an application for your dog to play in the Dog Playground. Which at first struck me as an even more ridiculous version of three-year-olds having to interview for private nursery schools, but it actually makes a lot of sense — they need documentation that the dogs are licensed and vaccinated, to keep anyone from getting rabies. They also have separate areas for small dogs and large dogs, which I’m sure has kept many chihuahuas from suffering Doberman-encounter-induced heart attacks. Basically, someone clearly went to a lot of time and effort thinking about how to let dogs socialize with each other while preventing injuries and illnesses as much as possible. I’m happy to know that someone like that is on the parks and recreation board.

Ocean City has been called the White Marlin capital of the world. We even have a great big White Marlin Open fishing tournament, which is always lots of fun. But for the past decade, the Marlin has been the subject of a controversy among conservationists (just try saving that five times fast! Heck, I typed “conversationists” like three times before getting it right).

So, the story is that there are a bunch of different levels of endangerment before a species is officially on the Endangered Species List with the pandas and the white rhinos. Ranking slightly lower on the list of things to be worried about, we have Species of Concern. Species of Concern aren’t protected from hunting/fishing, but they are monitored to make sure that their numbers stay stable and that the policies and practices in place don’t hurt the population.

Starting in 2001, the White Marlin has been on and off the Species of Concern list. The National Marine Fisheries Service just can’t decide whether they’re concerned or not! After a few years on the list, in December of 2007 the fish’s status went up for review, and as of this spring they are officially no longer of concern.

Except, you know, to people who just feel like being concerned. Fish need friends too, right?

Mine would have to be from the top of the Assateague Lighthouse. A colleague of mine said that he prefers the view from the private beach at the Harrison Group’s Oceanic Motel. Truth be told, I haven’t actually stayed at the Oceanic yet, so he could be right. But in my mind it’s hard to beat finally coming to the top of the lighthouse and looking out at the whole island, birds soaring by, ponies grazing, tourists snapping pictures — there’s just this sense that everything’s in it’s right place.

What about you? Where do you like to go to just look at things for a while?