In the Spring 2023 Watermark…

• Nik's Notebook: Discovery
• Apples, How 'Bout Them?
• Smelt Brook Surveyed
• York River Forever Wild
• SWMP Summarized
• Blue Crab Rediscovered

Download the Spring 2023 Watermark (23MB)

Discovery

In 2023, the Wells Reserve at Laudholm is once again “a place to discover.” We’ve stuck with that double-meaning tag line for seven years now; it continues to bear fruit. Into my second decade of work here, I certainly still discover new things. Most recently:

• Freshly-caught rainbow smelt are redolent of cucumber.
• The leaves of storm-downed maples sprout green but then can turn autumnal orange, even in May.
• The word “porcupine” comes from the Latin for “thorn pig,” though their oinking sounds more like a squeaky dog toy.

See? There’s always something new to learn. Perhaps that’s why so many of us keep coming back to Laudholm. Each spring, birds in the bush flit among blooming buds. With the arrival of summer interns, scientists begin budding too. Fresh art exhibits, novel observations from the research lab, shouts of wonder from schoolkids and campers, even a newly paved parking lot—all are signs of renewal, of development, and of your continued investment in this place and its work. Some things, like a Wild & Scenic designation, can take years. Others just seem to appear one day, like a migrating Baltimore oriole.

Thank you for helping to make all of this work, beauty, and tranquility possible. Do come over and enjoy it this season, and let me know what “something new” you discover while you’re here.

Nik Charov
President, Laudholm Trust
Chair, Wells Reserve Management Authority