Islands of the Wild Ponies: 2021
Lokigator, Throg, and No Pony Swimming Allowed
(and how my favorite paddling spot became Marvel canon)
signs of the times: T-shirts on Main St. in Chincoteague
Mares and foals were rounded up and trailered to the fairgrounds for an online auction. Some friends and tourists did show up to see the ponies at the fairgrounds, and in the corrals on Beach Road and the North Corral. The crowd was light. But Captain Zack's and Mr. Whippy had immense lines and wait periods for food!
Pony Penning after the Plague; Not precisely AFTER the Plague. The coronavirus epidemic of 2020 isn't over. Most of us are vaccinated, but some (like me, on a medication for IBD that slightly suppresses your immune system) are being super cautious. And new variants are popping up and science has yet to see how that plays out.
But if I didn't get back to my islands, I was gonna have to smite somebody... or bite a hand off, like Lokigator.
Disney+ had just finished its first season of Loki, part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe adapted to what is now "TV", streaming online services. The Norse God of Chaos and Mischief had a change of heart, a new direction, and a variant of Loki appears as an alligator in part of the series.
Oddly applicable to our times: variants. They're part of the story, woven around time and its unravelling. Variants of yourself in alternate universes, either wreaking havoc or heroics.
One of my favorite reviewers of online Marvel fare is New Rockstars on youtube, and an in depth look at episode 3 revealed that Wrightsville PA 1832 was a nexus event, spawning a branch timeline and variants...
I PADDLE THERE ALL THE TIME! WE ARE NOW MARVEL CANON!
Eric Voss had pictures and everything of the bridge that was once the longest wooden covered bridge in the world. !832 saw it destroyed by ice. It was also destroyed by the Union forces in the Civil War, and by a hurricane, and rebuilt a couple times. What remains now is a series of pylons marching across the river, their feet on tiny islands, surrounded by some fairly healthy SAV, submerged aquatic vegetation, home to northern water sneks and various fish and birds.
Recently, in 2021, a small alligator was found there.
LOKI!?!?!
Reports state he'd escaped from his humans, gone for a swim in the Susquehanna, and been recaptured...
Uh, huh... we KNOW the TVA found you LOKI...
If you look at other parts of this site, you will see my "toy photography" of Breyer horses, various action figures, mermaids and others. Lokigator and Frog Thor (Throg) were definitely going to be part of this journey.
Lokigator is from Wild Republic, I made the helmet and Throg's accessories. And almost left the Mighty Mjolnir lying on the beach...
But if I didn't get back to my islands, I was gonna have to smite somebody... or bite a hand off, like Lokigator.
Disney+ had just finished its first season of Loki, part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe adapted to what is now "TV", streaming online services. The Norse God of Chaos and Mischief had a change of heart, a new direction, and a variant of Loki appears as an alligator in part of the series.
Oddly applicable to our times: variants. They're part of the story, woven around time and its unravelling. Variants of yourself in alternate universes, either wreaking havoc or heroics.
One of my favorite reviewers of online Marvel fare is New Rockstars on youtube, and an in depth look at episode 3 revealed that Wrightsville PA 1832 was a nexus event, spawning a branch timeline and variants...
I PADDLE THERE ALL THE TIME! WE ARE NOW MARVEL CANON!
Eric Voss had pictures and everything of the bridge that was once the longest wooden covered bridge in the world. !832 saw it destroyed by ice. It was also destroyed by the Union forces in the Civil War, and by a hurricane, and rebuilt a couple times. What remains now is a series of pylons marching across the river, their feet on tiny islands, surrounded by some fairly healthy SAV, submerged aquatic vegetation, home to northern water sneks and various fish and birds.
Recently, in 2021, a small alligator was found there.
LOKI!?!?!
Reports state he'd escaped from his humans, gone for a swim in the Susquehanna, and been recaptured...
Uh, huh... we KNOW the TVA found you LOKI...
If you look at other parts of this site, you will see my "toy photography" of Breyer horses, various action figures, mermaids and others. Lokigator and Frog Thor (Throg) were definitely going to be part of this journey.
Lokigator is from Wild Republic, I made the helmet and Throg's accessories. And almost left the Mighty Mjolnir lying on the beach...
Lokigator and Throg's Excellent Adventure
a stop along the Sassaafras
My friends and I decided to camp again at Pocomoke State Park MD, Shad Landing. Like all MD state parks it is well appointed, nice bathouses, cheap rates. It also has shady trees, and raccoons. Last year we were raided by the camp pirates; you MUST stow all food, coolers, and trash in your vehicle. And those "trash bag hangers" on the poles are actually lantern hangers. Raccoons climb.
I bought a bigger tent. The last, described as a "3 man tent" had served for years, but was really a one Hobbit tent with barely room for minimal gear. I was over crawling out of it, and having my head stick on one wall while my feet were on the other. I was also over deflating air mattresses, so I got a cot.
With two good sea/touring kayaks on the roof, some friends showing up at my site and the one beside, critter sitters secured, I set out...
I bought a bigger tent. The last, described as a "3 man tent" had served for years, but was really a one Hobbit tent with barely room for minimal gear. I was over crawling out of it, and having my head stick on one wall while my feet were on the other. I was also over deflating air mattresses, so I got a cot.
With two good sea/touring kayaks on the roof, some friends showing up at my site and the one beside, critter sitters secured, I set out...
Pocomoke camp
Sleeping in a tent lets in the night sounds of the woods, a gazillion bugs and toads and frogs and night birds singing, and it lets in the light. It was full moon, and the big moons surrounding full. I woke up at 3:30 or so, and contemplated going back to sleep... and decided it was easier to stay up, drive to Assateague,. be there when the gates opened at 5:30 and catch the sun rising out of the sea.
Each dawn is different. Sometimes you catch the sun literally rising over the edge of the world, appearing to birth itself from the sea. Other times it appears out of a hazy cloud bank, like today...
the Light is always like nowhere else in the world.
Each dawn is different. Sometimes you catch the sun literally rising over the edge of the world, appearing to birth itself from the sea. Other times it appears out of a hazy cloud bank, like today...
the Light is always like nowhere else in the world.
Dawn
All the bird pics were shot from a kayak in fairly choppy water, and though the Nikon Coolpix B500 is excellent, shooting under those conditions is challenging.
Lighthouse Trail
Misty
the pony who put the island on the map
Misty of Chincoteague, the book by Marguerite Henry, brought Chincoteague to the attention of the world. In front of the island theater are the footprints of the pony Marguerite bought from Grandpa Beebe; pony and Beebes were the real life inspirations for the characters in the fictional story. The bronze statue is based on a Wesley Dennis illustration... he illustrated most of Marguerite's books and was a fantastic horse artist. Here I did a walk around of the statue so you can see it from all sides.
Epic Paddle
Birb
brown pelicans
Virginia is the northern most state that sustains a year-round population of the Brown Pelican. The Brown Pelican is the only non-white pelican in the world. Formerly endangered due to pesticides, they've made a comeback. I first saw them on the island somewhere around the 80s.
white ibis
tri-colored heron
great egret
cattle egrets, following and riding on ponies, to pick up bugs stirred up by their grazing
willet on an oyster shoal
little blue heron at the edge of the marsh
oystercatcher
snowy egret
smaller than the great egret, the snowy has a black beak, black legs and "yellow slippers"
the snowy moves like a kid who's eaten too much sugar,
the great egret is more tai chi
smaller than the great egret, the snowy has a black beak, black legs and "yellow slippers"
the snowy moves like a kid who's eaten too much sugar,
the great egret is more tai chi
Sunset: Tom's Cove
Tom's Cove is the shallow bay circled by the Hook, the tail end of Assateague Island's nearly 40 miles of barrier beach and salt marsh. The Cove is mostly about 3 to 6 feet deep with the odd hole, and turns into a massive mudflat at low tide... at least as far as you might want to drag a boat. Because it's flat, the tide when it comes in, COMES IN FAST, inundating beach chairs and bags. In winter, storm waves overwash from beach to cove regularly. A favorite spot in one of the last parking lots sees ocean beach and cove beach a literal stone's throw apart. The cove tends to be warmer and calmer by far, friendly to small kids and adults who don't want to deal with surf, and mermaids.
Epic Paddles, with lighthouse
Epic Paddles: off the west side of Chincoteague, and the east. From Memorial Park on the east side we set out north toward the Assateague Light and the bridge to Assateague. Saw many birds not seen in PA like brown pelicans, white ibis, little blue herons, tri-color herons, oystercatchers... and some familiar ones like snowy egrets and various gulls.
Great views of the lighthouse from here.
Great views of the lighthouse from here.
High Tide
Breyer's Classic series "High Tide" at low tide, incoming, Assateague Beach, just across from Tom's Cove, parking lot at the end of the world. The waves were a bit plungey and steep at this point, so to avoid sending him back to sea for real, I stayed up the beach a bit.
