Marching the Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary

Hi Blog! Today is Thursday, December 11, 2014.  For the past two weeks, we have been slowly recovering from head colds we caught from our grandson over Thanksgiving. Today was the first day that we actually felt like we could accomplish a real hike. Now, since this would be our first day outside all day in weeks, we decided to keep it simple. We opted for a visit to the Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary. They have over five miles of easy to moderate trails. Just what the doctor ordered.

The sanctuary was named after Edgar Merkle (1900-1984), an active conservationist who devoted much of his life to protecting and providing for wildlife. Many knew him as the founder of Merkle Press in Washington, D.C. (1936), and others knew him as the originator of a goose breeding plan to introduce Canada geese to the western shores of Maryland (1932). Starting with a handful of breeding pairs, a great deal of perseverance, and a habitat improvement plan in mind, Mr. Merkle eventually encouraged thousands of geese to visit the 400-acre Merkle farm to feed and rest. In 1970, the Merkles sold their land, including some donated parcels, to the State of Maryland. With the acquisition of adjoining tracts, the wildlife refuge now encompasses 1,670 acres. Here is the view from the Visitor's Center and some of the 10,000 geese that visit the farm.

As we set forth from the Visitor's Center, we passed remnants of the old farming operation. This morning the weather was cold, but sunny. We had sandwiches and thermoses of hot tea in our packs. It felt good to stretch our legs.

After going over the trail guide that we printed out from Trails.com, we decided to follow the PawPaw Trail, taking both side trips - Poplar Spring Trail and the Mounds Trail.

Winter is here, Jon Snow! There are no longer leaves on the trees. However, this actually helped us see farther than usual. As we walked through the woods, we heard, "Tap, tap, tap."  It didn't take long to spot this little guy digging for his lunch.

Since it was lunchtime, we found a bench and proceeded to tuck into our sandwiches and hot tea. About an hour into the hike it started to snow.  The gray clouds made this old tree seem positively menacing.

With so much gray and brown around it was fun to come across a little green and red.

We think this must have been one of the original birdhouses from the 1930's. We knocked, but no one was home.

Remember that barn from the beginning of the hike?  Well, here's what it looks like in the snow!

Since the 1970's, the State of Maryland has been able to acquire several of the surrounding farms, which increased the size of the sanctuary.  The only downside when acquiring old farms is that you get to acquire the old trash heaps, as well.

We followed the PawPaw Trail to the Mounds Trail.  The PawPaw Trail is named after the PawPaw Tree, a relative of the Cherimoya - a wonderful tree that produces fruit that tastes like custard which we had the pleasure of eating when in Peru. The fruit of the PawPaw looks like a short, fat banana. PawPaws have a fragrant aroma, a custardy texture, and a tropical taste. The best ones are rich, creamy and sweet, reminding some people of banana cream pie. We're just sorry that it was well past harvest time.  We would have loved to try one!

We soon found ourselves on the Mounds Trail, which follows Lookout Creek down to the Patuxent River. Here is a view of the marsh lands at the mouth of the creek.

The closer we got to the river, the harder it started snowing.  Here is Kathy sporting a white dusting of snow.  Well, it seemed heavy to us.

The red berries (Dave thinks they were red leaves) in the marsh grasses just seemed to pop with color.

Here is Dave taking shelter from the snowstorm.

These 200-year old mounds were made during the War of 1812. Fearing a British attack on Washington, American troops built mounds along Lookout Creek to keep tabs on, and defend against any invasion by, the British fleet in the Patuxent River. Here is Kathy hiding behind one of the mounds waiting to ambush Dave as he walks by.

The five miles went by quickly. However, we were both glad to climb back inside the warm truck. Tomorrow we head up to Philadelphia for cookie baking weekend!