“Cocker’s Brawl” – Introducing visitors to cock fighting–the second most popular sport during the 18th century–scenes explore what was involved in setting up a cock fight and why it was important in understanding the social aspect and popularity of sport. (Please note that no real cocks, or roosters, will be a part of these performances.)

This pair of Canada geese and their goslings were spotted in the pond that leads up to the Pawpaw Trail.

The bright rump of a white-tailed deer, the snow white chinstrap of a Canada goose: both are common sites in Piscataway Park, present here year-round. Even when the animals themselves are elusive, the tracks of a deer’s graceful step or a goose’s awkward-on-land waddle can be found in our muddy fields. But as deer over-graze forests and landscaped lawns, as geese damage agricultural crops and overload waterways with their droppings, some have come to consider the creatures a nuisance, and management methods have become hot topics for neighborhoods and natural resource groups alike.

But the white-tailed deer and Canada goose have played significant parts in Maryland’s history. Evidence of deer hunting, for instance, abounds: Indians hunted deer for food, clothing, and tools, turning hide, sinew, and bone into aprons, thread, and needles. European colonists hunted deer for meat and for buckskin, supplying themselves with clothing and Great Britain’s leather industry with imported hides. And African-American slaves in the Chesapeake hunted often, supplementing rations with wild game, raised fowl, and cultivated vegetables.

While habitat loss and over-hunting once contributed to sharp declines in deer and in geese, populations of deer and resident Canada geese—distinct from those migratory flocks that nest in northern Canada—have in recent decades rebounded, becoming perhaps too abundant. In this region, humans have reshaped the landscape, expanding suburbia’s lawns and gardens, golf course ponds, and bans on hunting and, in so doing, creating new homes for deer and geese alike, filled with food, shelter, and an unfortunate dose of human/creature conflict. Our own Conservation Pond is filled with a number of resident geese, and little groups of downy goslings have this month been spotted all over the park, from the livestock pastures to the pond that leads up to the Pawpaw Trail.

Despite their commonness, these animals are no less gratifying to see in the park, foraging for food in forests and fields or raising their next generation of young. On your next visit, take a moment to appreciate the ordinary, whether it is the white-tailed deer, the Canada goose, or something else whose regular appearance on your outdoor walks does nothing to diminish its worth.

Trail Treks is a monthly column that explores the walking trails in Piscataway Park. This year, we will highlight the Pawpaw Trail, which is located at the western end of our grounds and leads through a mature forest. Look for more reflections from the Pawpaw Trail as 2012 progresses.

If you have walked around the National Colonial Farm lately–perhaps during last weekend’s Children’s Day–you may have noticed something a little off. The tobacco barn is looking a little less than colonial lately as it gets a bit of a face lift–or a “sill” lift if you will.

The tobacco barn, like most 18th century buildings I’m sure, has endured its fair share of wear and tear. This is not the first time the barn has had to be repaired and it certainly will not be the last. This time, it seems the old sill has rotted through and the beam that is being taken out–a replacement itself–due to weather over time, needs to be replaced again. The replacement sill is being installed through an intricate process requiring the whole barn to be lifted up off of the old sill while the new one is carefully put in its place. If this was an issue back in the 1770s, barn owners would just have built a new barn rather than replaced a beam. They did not have the tools or technology to lift the whole barn to replace this one piece. Oh, the modern ways of historic preservation.

The repair work is being done by our good friend, Jeff Thompson from Colonial Woodwrights, a preservation consultant company in Aquasco, Maryland. Jeff and his team won a Historic Preservation Award in 2010 for their work on the Mackall Barn at Historic St. Mary’s City. The project is being overseen by our own National Colonial Farm manager, Matt Mattingly, who invites everyone to come by and see this exciting project in action.

This restoration could not come at a better time. Not only is the sill in dire need of replacing, but this gives us a reason to praise the fact that it is Historic Preservation Month! The National Trust for Historic Preservation has dubbed May the month to go out and explore America’s hidden gems. This month we encourage everyone to visit, support, and learn about the historic sites in your area–they are the greatest link to our past and culture as Americans.

Do your part to support historic preservation at the Accokeek Foundation today.

Historic preservation has been a cornerstone of the Accokeek Foundation’s mission since its founding over 50 years ago. Francis Bolton, Robert Ware Strauss, Henry Ferguson, and Charles Wagner saw a need to preserve this land and George Washington’s view. They did so partly by engaging the surrounding community to get involved in learning the importance of preserving history for a better future.

This vision continues here this summer. Not only is the Tobacco Barn being restored, but thanks to a generous grant from the Daughters of the American Revolution our beloved Laurel Branch house will also be getting a midsummer make over. The clapboards on the exterior southside of the house, as well as some surrounding fencing will be replaced. It will be an exciting summer for the Accokeek Foundation and for preserving the history of Southern Maryland.

Discover the hidden gems in your community and Happy Historic Preservation Month!

She likes flowers. She likes good food. She likes pretty things. She likes to be with her children and grandchildren, but we live far away. Instead I’ll try to give her my thoughts and some words, which I hope might bring joy to her heart and let her know that I love her.

My parents were homesteaders and founded communal farms in the ’60s and ’70s, at a time when the world felt, for them, as if it had reached a point of no return. They eventually returned to the “straight” world, seeking to make a difference among the larger society at the expense of some of their high ideals. I was born into this period of transition and witnessed few of those great efforts of their earlier lives. But I learned from them how to work hard, how to care for people, how to be self-reliant, and how to plant a seed.

Mom wants to be proud of what I am doing and how I live my life. I know it has been a challenge, at times, as I have made my way through life. As a boy and now as a man, what my mother thinks has not been at the forefront of my consciousness as I have struggled toward self-definition and sought right work, but I know that her values and passions have shaped who I have become. We both love nature. We both care deeply about the well-being of the people who touch our lives. We both want to make the world a better place, to join our voices in the chorus of humanity, and to sing without restraint or inhibition. For me, sustainable farming is like coming home to my parents’ house.

I am doing much the same as they did, but have decided to contribute my efforts as part of the “straight” world. I believe that with the lessons they have taught me and the things I have learned on my own, I can help to make the world a more sustainable place, one where my children’s children can learn to sing the song of the Earth with joy and love in their hearts.

Mark your calendars and join us for this annual event.

Not a member? Join today to receive your invitation to this highly anticipated event!

Pre-registration is required. For more information, or to schedule a group volunteering activity, contact the volunteer coordinator at volunteers@accokeek.org.

Pre-registration is required. For more information, or to schedule a group volunteering activity, contact the volunteer coordinator at volunteers@accokeek.org.

Questions? For more information, email the stewardship coordinator.

Questions? For more information, email the stewardship coordinator.

Questions? For more information, email the stewardship coordinator.