Live the Bay Culture!
Live the Bay Culture!
Live the Bay Culture!
Sightseeing the Chesapeake Bay gets even better when traveling up and checking out the many rivers feeding it fresh water from marshes and thick forests. Nanticoke River leads the way with watersheds from Southern Delaware into Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Wild rice, tearthumb, spatter dock, and cattail decorate the banks with rich bay character, but the lush thicket also gives small creatures hiding spots. Without knowing it, they create a “smorgasbord” for ospreys, bald eagles, and the great blue heron. All three delve into fish delicacies, but search out grasshoppers, insects, field mice and small birds in these thickets. Yes, quite a beautiful landscape, but riffed with scavengers. And, yes, the blue crab joins the fray for an “anything goes” in fight and survival. With a healthy supply of all species, however, Nanticoke’s shorelines replenish and supply healthy wildlife.
History “flows” deep and conservationists have worked to protect 19,300 acres along the river for hiking, boating, and discovering possibilities. Yes, just like the early native Nanticoke Tribe and Captain John Smith as they learned to “tame” the lands, this respect for nature holds true today. Man’s quest for advancement does still cause some rifts or growing pains though. From DuPont’s nylon factories and oyster packing houses situated previously at the aptly named Oyster House Park, an eventual “hands off” approach has led to these healthy acres. The blue crab, those that travel up this tributary, especially the male crabs reap the benefits in healthy nourishment of periwinkles (a fun name for a snail), small fish, insects, and whatever they can get their claws on. Of course, they need to use their armored shells as defense against the flying giants, especially the blue heron who can become quite fierce. In honor of this special “ecosystem,” we pack a Nanticoke Jumbo Dozen with crabs measuring 6”-7” point-to-point and bursting with claw, lump, and jumbo meat. A delicacy only fitting for a robust wildlife, a true abundance from nature. Crack a jumbo dozen and live the bay culture!
