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Patowmack the trickster

A search for fact and fable along the Potomac River
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Gallery
Motorists on the I-495 Beltway river crossing have no idea that spray can artists have been hard at work on the concrete bridge supports below.
Motorists on the I-495 Beltway river crossing have no idea that spray can artists have been hard at work on the concrete bridge supports below.
A face mask opens up a new world of fish and other members of the Potomac River underworld.
A face mask opens up a new world of fish and other members of the Potomac River underworld.
Ancient Indian rock art of the serpent deity, remarkably well preserved. Just kidding. It's bird poop.
Ancient Indian rock art of the serpent deity, remarkably well preserved. Just kidding. It’s bird poop.
An oriole found its final resting place on a Potomac River sandbar.
An oriole found its final resting place on a Potomac River sandbar.
Springtime high water brings out the play boats.
Springtime high water brings out the play boats.
An errant golf ball garnished by sprigs of knotweed nestles in a Potomac River pothole.
An errant golf ball garnished by sprigs of knotweed nestles in a Potomac River pothole.
River deity? Potomac trash art? Or good 'ol boys with too much time on their hands? The doll doesn't say.
River deity? Potomac trash art? Or good ‘ol boys with too much time on their hands? The doll doesn’t say.
A cathedral of concrete supports the Washington, D.C., Beltway over Potomac directly upstream from Plummer's Island.
A cathedral of concrete supports the Washington, D.C., Beltway over Potomac directly upstream from Plummer’s Island.
A sunset at Pennyfield Lock turns into an fiery torch with the help of the photo editor's rotate right button.
A sunset at Pennyfield Lock turns into an fiery torch with the help of the photo editor’s rotate right button.
A piece of Potomac trash art slithers over a moss-covered log.
A piece of Potomac trash art slithers over a moss-covered log.
It takes strength and finesse to get your jon boat out of the water and back on your trailer.
It takes strength and finesse to get your jon boat out of the water and back on your trailer.
Icon of the Potomac, the feisty smallmouth bass was originally introduced from the Ohio Valley.
Icon of the Potomac, the feisty smallmouth bass was originally introduced from the Ohio Valley.
A tranquil pool downstream from the pounding waters of Great Falls.
A tranquil pool downstream from the pounding waters of Great Falls.
A pair of asters on a rocky outcrop.
A pair of asters on a rocky outcrop.
Stonefly nymphs and other bottom dwelling macroinvertebrates occupy as critical place in the Potomac River food web.
Stonefly nymphs and other bottom dwelling macroinvertebrates occupy as critical place in the Potomac River food web.
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Recent Posts
  • You’re calling me a . . . WHAT?
  • A name by many other fish
  • Return of the sponges
  • A compass and the distant crack of a rifle
  • Clues that go nowhere and beyond
  • Is the Potomac back?
  • Fishing in the age of pandemics
  • A humble rock’s cryptic message (part II)
Recent Posts: Patowmack the trickster

You’re calling me a . . . WHAT?

In the midst of a pandemic, climate change, and the resurgence of fascism, it wouldn’t seem that a warning about a fish from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) could be that big a deal. According to the DWR, the Alabama bass has invaded some of Virginia’s big impoundments, and it continues to move […]

A name by many other fish

Will the real bass wave your pectoral fin! The fish—scores of them, all vaguely similar in appearance—didn’t move except for the rhythmic opening and closing of their gill covers. They knew what most people don’t know: The term “bass” is an artifice of the human imagination, not a real thing. Except in Germany where it’s […]

Return of the sponges

It was a bad afternoon for a river expedition. A light rain had started to fall, pushed by a gusty breeze. But this was about sponges, and it couldn’t wait. By tomorrow morning, the remnants of Hurricane Ida would sweep into Potomac country. Heavy rains would flood the river, producing swift currents that would scour […]

A compass and the distant crack of a rifle

It was early summer when I returned to the Potomac River bluff where I had found the rock with the carved cross. I removed the piece of rotting tree limb I had placed over it on my last visit and brushed away the fallen leaves. As the image came to view I thought how it […]

Clues that go nowhere and beyond

A good friend of mine prepared for a visit to his doctor by compiling a thorough documentation of his medical history.  His doctor took one look at the spread sheets and the columns of numbers, and said something to the effect of, “I’m not interested in data.” My friend—a doctor himself— was shocked. For him, […]

Is the Potomac back?

“So, what’s new?” I ask the question each spring on my first visit to the Potomac. Maybe a massive silver maple has fallen after many years of leaning farther and farther over the water. Or perhaps the head of an island disappeared, replaced by mountain of logs and smashed docks. Or the river might reveal […]

Fishing in the age of pandemics

During all of last year, I caught maybe four fish on the Potomac River. I would launch my boat in the creek at Pennyfield Lock and paddle through a stone-lined tunnel that runs under the C&O Canal. Nearing the creek’s mouth I would pull myself through the branches of a recently fallen tree, and choose: […]

A search for fact and fable along the Potomac River
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