Sambo's Tavern in Leipsic, Delaware, and Salt Marsh Canal Traffic

It's become traditional for Bruce, Tom and me to eat at Sambo's when we visit Bombay Hook.  The tavern is on the canal that meanders through the salt water marshes along the coast of Delaware.  Sambo's is open from some time in April through mid-October.  We timed it well, only a few days before it closed for the winter.  The day was beautiful so the tavern was full.  This is a place to get really fresh seafood.  Through the windows we could look out on the canal through the salt water marsh.

This year we watched different traffic than we had never seen before...a barge had just delivered a generator component for a new electrical system for a little town south of Leipsic. We learned that from Bruce's friend in the pale green sweatshirt.

Scrap materials were being loaded onto the barge before it started the return trip to the south..

We were torn.  We wanted to watch the activity but we wanted lunch, too.  We were happy  we could see a lot of the activity from our table. 

We ordered our sandwiches.  Tom had another crabcake which he decided was as good as the one at Harris' that he had eaten the day before.

But sometimes our curiosity overcame our hunger so Bruce and I left our meal several times to go outside and get more pictures.

The tugboat which had been along side the barge moved up and nudged itself between the dock and the barge.

After a considerable  amount of nudging, the tug boat moved along side the barge and began pulling  using a rope tied between the two crafts.
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Then with help from the small blue boat, and the tugboat, the barge headed off down stream.

I was impressed with the patient maneuvering required that finally sent the barge off on its way.

Some of the photos are Bruce's, some are mine.  By the time I decided which photos to use I had lost track of who had snapped what.

Bombay Hook, National Wildlife Refuge, near Dover, Delaware

We went to Bombay Hook hoping to see the Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens)  Size..28 inches or 71cm. 

Picture from All the Birds of North America, American Bird Conservancy's Field Guide 

The ranger told us he hadn't seen any yet this year and to let him know if we saw any.  Tom pointed up in the sky as  Bruce and I walked back to the van.  We looked up and there they were, twenty-five snow geese flying in a Vee.  Bruce ran back to tell the ranger.

One year we were here early in the morning and saw thousands flying up  in huge flocks up from the ponds where they had spent the night.  We were a few days too early this year.  The huge flocks had not yet arrived.  

 Tom took a few photos of what we did see...

American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana) 18 inches (46 cm)  in winter plumage...

and Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) 46 inches (117cm)...

 Tom spotted this one up in a tree.

We saw a wide variety of ducks, also.

We didn't see the snow geese on the ponds but the marshes and woods were beautiful.

We went out of the park for lunch and when we returned, all of us attempted a  walk on the trail to Parson Point.  The Green Briar crowding into the trail forced Tom on his scooter to turn back.  Bruce and I pressed on.

Parson Point is a mud flat.  The mud was firm enough to walk on but Tom's scooter would have sunk in it.

And then there was the last part of the trail barely wide enough for person to squeeze through.  This was beyond the Green Briar.

On the return trip, I stopped to see if I could still sit on a tree limb.  Notice the spreading roots.

There was a remnant of World War II along the trail.

The words are decipherable if you click on the photo.