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Patowmack the trickster

A search for fact and fable in the Potomac River watershed
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    • The mission statement
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  • Meet the Trickster
    • Tricksters: a world of mischief and mystery
      • One rabbit, two snakes, and a backfied joke
    • How the river became a trickster
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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.
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.
A tranquil pool downstream from the pounding waters of Great Falls.
A tranquil pool downstream from the pounding waters of Great Falls.
An oriole found its final resting place on a Potomac River sandbar.
An oriole found its final resting place on a Potomac River sandbar.
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.
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.
Springtime high water brings out the play boats.
Springtime high water brings out the play boats.
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.
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.
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 piece of Potomac trash art slithers over a moss-covered log.
A piece of Potomac trash art slithers over a moss-covered log.
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 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 pair of asters on a rocky outcrop.
A pair of asters on a rocky outcrop.
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.
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Recent Posts
  • Trump and the trickster
  • The poop bag puzzle
  • Poop bags of the Potomac
  • Poop bag portraiture
  • Stalking the wild amphibolite
  • Meet the Potomac’s own philosopher
  • A Potomac alien gets its green card
  • River spirit agrees: eclipse no big deal
Recent Posts: Patowmack the trickster

Trump and the trickster

Yes, there really is a Trump brand softball. But wait! There’s more. I spotted this particular ball yesterday evening while kayaking on the Potomac River maybe a half mile downstream from Trump National Golf Course. The ball was barely visible on the shoreline in a swampy mix of mud and decaying leaves. My feet made […]

The poop bag puzzle

It was like an Easter egg hunt. Heading down to the Potomac at Old Angler’s Inn, I spotted three “No Parking” signs. At the base of the first lay a little green bag, knotted at the top. The next one yielded a yellow bag. At the third, no bag. Not a bad ratio. It comes […]

Poop bags of the Potomac

I started taking photos of dog poop bags along the trails by the Potomac River after I started to notice something odd: In virtually all cases, the dog poopers had carefully placed their bags by something, on something, in something, or tied to something. This was clearly an aspect of human behavior that needed to […]

Poop bag portraiture

I’m pretty sure that I’ve photographed more dog poop bags than anyone. I’ve learned a lot, some of which I’m offering here as tips to photographers. Develop a relationship with your subject. As in photographing babies or hamsters, get right down with the subject. You must get your knees dirty. Imbue the bag with emotion—joy, […]

Stalking the wild amphibolite

The park ranger set the map on the countertop and traced his finger along a dotted line, first down the edge of Bear Island. and then upstream along the Potomac River’s Mather’s Gorge. Just past a spot marked TM-3 his finger stopped. “Here it is,” he said quietly, almost to himself. “Amphibolite isn’t something you […]

Meet the Potomac’s own philosopher

If the Potomac River has its own trickster (our friend Patowmack), why shouldn’t it have a philosopher as well? My philosopher of choice would be Heraclitus. As his name suggests, he was an ancient Greek, and he had some important things to say about rivers. Member of a distinguished family, Heraclitus lived 2,500 years ago […]

A Potomac alien gets its green card

I went down to the C&O Canal along the Potomac River on New Year’s Eve to pay tribute to a group of immigrants that had achieved an important milestone in 2017. I’m not taking about America’s Muslims, Mexicans, Syrian refugees, or Dreamers, all of them targets over the past year of Donald Trump’s nativist attacks. […]

A search for fact and fable in the Potomac River watershed
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