Adding to our roster of Spy columnists, we are pleased to welcome Angela Rieck as she begins her weekly column in both the Chestertown Spy and Talbot Spy today.

Dr. Rieck offers our Mid-Shore readers a unique perspective as a native of Caroline County and her professional life the led to her work at the prestigious Bell labs and other high tech companies after receiving her Ph.D. in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland.

Now retired in St. Michaels (and periodically Key West), Angela has reconnected with her Eastern Shore roots as she combines her sense of place, a love of analysis, and an uncommon literary sensibility for a mathematician in her writing. All of which makes her point of view a perfect fit with the Spy’s ongoing quest for thoughtful commentary on our world on the Eastern Shore and beyond.

Angela’s column will be published every Thursday.

In April, warmer nights start to make it easier for sky-watchers to spend more time enjoying the night sky. Several bright planets will add to the sky’s splendor this year, and the year’s first good meteor shower may be seen in the last half of the month. Mars, among the stars of Taurus the Bull, will be seen in our evening skies, but the best and brightest planets will be seen before dawn.

In mid-April, Mars stands high in the western sky, near Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus. Binoculars will show Mars among the stars of the open star cluster called the Hyades. On April 8th, the waning crescent Moon may be seen just below Mars, until they both appear to set in the west around 11:00 pm.

Giant planet Jupiter rises in the southeast sky by 1:30 pm in early April, but by 11:30 pm at the end of the month. Bright at magnitude –2.3, Jupiter dominates against the background stars of constellation Ophiuchus. As we move closer to Jupiter in our orbit, its colored cloud bands (atmosphere) and its four biggest moons come into easy view through telescopes. On the morning of April 23rd, the gibbous Moon will be seen just above Jupiter.

Saturn rises in the southwest at 3:00 am on April 1st; by 1:30 am on April 30th. Any telescope will reveal Saturn’s spectacular rings which make Saturn a constant show-piece for sky-watchers. Both Saturn and Jupiter will be favorably placed in the southwest sky for several hours before dawn (Jupiter brighter and higher).

Venus is even brighter than Jupiter, but it does not rise until 5:30 am, which means it will be coming up in twilight. Even so, Venus can be seen in the gradually brightening sky, close to the eastern horizon.

This month one of the year’s better meteor showers, the Lyrids, will peak on the night of April 22nd/23rd. Normally 20 meteors per hour can be seen from this meteor shower, looking toward the northeast horizon from 9:00 pm to 1:30 pm. However the bright, nearly Full Moon (on the 19th), will make it harder to see the meteors because it rises around 11:00 pm. But if we look northeast starting around 10:00 pm and up to midnight before the Moon gets really high in the sky, we may see 5 to 10 meteors per hour. It is worth trying.

Meteor showers are caused by comet debris dropped from periodic comets passing through our upper atmosphere as we plunge into these debris fields in our orbit around the Sun. They are named by the constellation that occupies the place in the sky from which the comets appear to come. Thus the name, Lyrids, comes from the constellation, Lyra the harp.

If you take no other intentional tour along the Chesapeake Country Scenic Byways, find time for a visit to The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge just south of Cambridge. Less than 30 miles fr

om the center of Easton, the visit offers an experience not easily matched. In fact, the refuge has been referred to as the “Everglades of the North,” and is called one of the “Last Great Places” by the Nature Conservancy.

Before being declared a wildlife refuge, the marshland along the Blackwater River was managed as a fur farm. Then, in 1933, The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge was established as a waterfowl sanctuary for birds migrating along the Atlantic Flyway.

While the area is large, visitors can experience the heart of the Refuge by going to the entrance at Wildlife Drive. Click here for the map.

Here is a scene captured one quiet morning near the entrance to Wildlife Drive….just to provide a feeling for the natural beauty of the area…

Along Wildlife Drive, you will see wildlife…sometimes when you least expect it, so go slow! The drive is a four and a half mile paved road that winds along freshwater ponds, through woods, past fields, and adjacent to marshes. You enjoy it best by pulling off and just watching the wildlife.

On one recent cold morning, a Blue Heron stood still for more than one photographer…

One of the most remarkable sites involves the American bald eagles. Blackwater is home to the largest breeding population of American bald eagles on the East Coast, north of Florida. And, they are sited frequently while just driving through the Refuge.

Of course, there are numerous areas to hike and get off the road for even better looks at the waterfowl and wildlife. If you visit once, you will most likely come back throughout the year for brand new experiences.

For more information, click here for the Blackwater brochure:

Known for hunting, fishing and crabbing, Taylors Island claims a population of fewer than 200 people who live just 16 miles southwest of Cambridge, Maryland. Turning onto one of the side trips of the Chesapeake Country’s Scenic Byway from Highway 50, state route 16 takes travelers all the way to a bridge over Slaughter Creek and onto the island. Today’s bridge completed in 1999 replaced the wooden bridge from 1856. Prior to that, a ferry connected the island to the mainland.

On the island side of the bridge, you are greeted by an historical marker and a worthy stop to read about the history of The Battle of the Ice Mound, the last battle in the war of 1812 in the Chesapeake Bay. The event occurred on February 7, 1850 and a captured cannon is located on the site.

Reportedly, the island was originally called “Taylor’s Folly” in 1662 when the Taylors took ownership of 400 acres of land on the island. A short (but, perhaps dated) history of the island is found on the Taylors Island Facebook page.

“Taylor’s Island is about six miles long, lying parallel with Chesapeake Bay, on the western border of the county, and separated from the mainland by Slaughter Creek, and from Hooper’s Island by Punch Island Creek.

Colonists from St. Mary’s and Calvert Counties settled on this island ten years before the County of Dorchester was laid out. Thomas Taylor, after whom the island was named, Raymond Staplefort, Francis Armstrong and John Taylor, were among the early settlers, who cleared the land of timber and made fine farms there.

The cultivation of tobacco and corn was the principal employment and the chief products raised for support of the people during the first century of the colony. From the year 1700, timber and lumber trade increased for the next 150 years to the extent of a profitable industry. Soon thereafter catching oysters for sale in city markets rapidly became a paying business and is still a trade of much activity. The revenue derived from oysters has added valuable and attractive improvements to this section of the county.

On the island are three fine churches, large stores, canneries, and fine dwellings, the homes of well-to-do and cultured people.”

Traveling around the island brings beautiful panoramic views of a charming, wooded and quiet place.

There are beautiful churches on the island. Below is the Chapel of Ease Old Trinity Episcopal Church which dates to around 1707.

While there are clearly roads less traveled…

….you can round a point and come upon views of the Bay complete with snow geese!

Finally, either on the way to Taylors Island our on the way out, don’t miss a stop at the Woolford Country Store for a breakfast or lunch. 

Like so many of the miles of Scenic Byway, a trip to Taylors Island connects us all with a bit of the past as these small communities build their future.

Lions Club President Dave Dunham and Rotary Club President John Murray.

Approximately seventy Chestertown Lions and Rotary Clubs’ members, wives, and significant others met for the second consecutive year at the Chester River Yacht & Country Club the day before Valentine’s Day. This is the second time now the two largest service clubs in Kent County have met jointly to share stories of service to the community.

The meeting started with a social hour with background music provided by a string trio from Washington College. After dinner, the trio provided the group with a series of romantic melodies.

Lions Club President Dave Dunham shared the highpoints of the services the Lions Club provides to Kent County followed by a short video highlighting all the Club’s activities over the past year. Rotary President John Murray presented his Club’s highlights followed by a video displaying their Memorial Day Celebration for Kent County veterans.

This annual dinner meeting was an opportunity for Lions members whose motto is “We Serve” and Rotary members whose similar motto is “Service above Self” to exchange their ideas in the bonds of friendship, good fellowship and mutual understanding.

The evening ended with recitations of the Rotary Four-Way Test and the Lions Club Toast and a pledge to meet again next year.