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Does Your Love Love Nature? 4 Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for the Nature Lover in Your Life!

The last thing most of us need is more "stuff." Gifts of knowledge and/or experiences are so much better. They don't make your jeans fit tighter, they don't take up space in your closet, and, since they aren't "things" you ever have to get rid of, they won't add to our over-flowing landfills. Cornell Lab Bird Academy From beginner identification courses all the way to advanced bird behavior classes, the vast online course catalog of the Cornell Lab's Bird Academy covers every aspect of birding, even nature journaling, mindfulness, and drawing. Park Entry Passes - National Park, Delaware State Park, Div of Fish & Wildlife Access Pass (for Assawoman Wildlife Area) Having annual passes to the national and state parks makes getting outside even that much easier. Enjoy a sunset or a short hike whenever

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Wild & Scenic Loxahatchee – Trip Report

I’d read that the Loxahatchee River was best suited for intermediate paddlers in nine to fourteen foot kayaks because of the narrow, twisty nature of the river. The reports also said that many people, instead of trying to arrange a shuttle for a one-way trip, did out-and-back trips, meaning they’d be paddling against the current for half of the journey. I consider myself intermediate and, even though my kayak is sixteen feet, I felt pretty confident. Mitch had agreed to drop me off and pick me up. I’d be going with the current. It should be an easy trip. But as I flew downstream with the current, muscling around sharp curves, grabbing onto logs and branches to keep from getting pinned against deadfall or wedged between cypress knees, I thought two things: 1) I am

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Don’t Buy that Ratchet Strap!

You’ve just purchased a kayak or paddle board. Congratulations! Now you need a way to get it on your car to get it home. So you go to Home Depot and buy ratchet straps. It seems like a great idea - a strap with a built-in tightening system. Crank it until you can crank it no more, and your new boat should be secure. But wait! While ratchet straps are much better than using bungee cords or twine for securing a kayak or paddle board to the roof of your vehicle, we still cringe when we see them. They work great for big jobs securing rigid, solid items such as lumber or pallets or a vehicle to a flatbed. But kayaks and paddle boards require a more delicate touch. With a ratchet strap you can

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The Greatest Gift Ever

Indigenous People’s Day is coming up, this year on October 9th, sharing the date with Columbus Day. While we have a bounty of historical artifacts and accounts from the first moment Europeans stepped foot on this newly “discovered” continent, not much remains from the thousands of years Indigenous People populated the same land. They were the embodiment of leave-no-trace ethics. However, one of their inventions has not only survived for centuries, today it is one of the most popular activities in the world. While the original design bears little resemblance to the plastic recreational boats most people paddle today, the kayak has existed for 4,000-5,000 years. Believed to have first appeared in Siberia, the Inuit of Greenland perfected the design along with the paddling skills required to turn this small boat into a deadly hunting

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Coastal Kayak’s 2023 Used Equipment Sale!

Coastal Kayak's 2023 Used Kayak, Paddleboard, & Sailboat Sale! Rules of the Sale: ALL SALES ARE FINAL! PRICES ARE FIRM! *Click on the name of the kayak/board you're interested in and it will take you to the product page on our website where you'll find a description, photos, specs, and where you can also purchase it if you'd like! Purchases should be made online or in person. *Please check our operating hours. We don't do any in-person sales 1 hour prior to closing. *All equipment must be picked up by 10/8/2023. Please call to schedule a pick-up time as we are not open 7 days/week in the fall. (And if you don't call ahead to let us know you're coming, your kayak/board may be on the water when you arrive!) *We know you have a

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The Body Builders of Little Assawoman Bay

In our area, oysters get all the glory for cleaning our bays. But they aren’t the only mollusks in the ring. For filtering water and controlling erosion, Atlantic Ribbed Mussels do a lot of heavy lifting. Their name comes from the fact that they have ridges, or ribs, on their shells as opposed to the smooth shells of Blue mussels. Atlantic ribbed mussels can live up to fifteen years. You can determine their age by counting the ribs on their shells. You’ll find thick aggregates of Atlantic ribbed mussels along the muddy banks of the salt marshes in our inland bays. They attached themselves to the roots of the salt marsh grasses (and each other) with strong, silky fibers called byssal threads. Made of collagen, just one of these tiny threads is strong enough to

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World Ocean Day

Years ago, before the internet, smart phones, and GPS, back when we were young and spontaneous, Mitch and I paddled from Chincoteague to Wachapreague, camping for two nights along the wild, lonely Virginia beaches with nothing except a million stars and a surprising number of sun-bleached Whelk shells to keep us company. Easy, relaxing vacations have a way of fading into a foggy-happy-memory corner of my mind. Whereas trips which require a level of discomfort remain fresh. On that trip, because I was too chicken to do a beach landing, we planned a lunch break at the first small inlet past Wallops Island. On the map, it looked to be about six miles from our starting point. We spotted our first gill net shortly after clearing Wallops Island. A gill net is a mesh made

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Where’s the Meat?!

We’re all hypocrites, aren’t we? The outdoor industry uses A LOT of plastics and synthetics for A LOT of its products. And plastics and synthetics require petroleum. In the entire spectrum of industries, I don’t know where ours stands as far as consumption. Kayaks are not one-time-use products. If cared for properly, the quality ones can last a lifetime. So maybe we’re on the lower end of the pile. Is that wishful thinking? But does the fact that we rely on petroleum mean that we should just remain quiet about the consequences of our addiction? Maybe everyone has to answer that question for herself/himself. However, it seems like for any addiction, the first step is to admit you’ve got a problem; then take a hard, honest look at its costs; and finally, work towards eliminating

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Sell Your Used Equipment!

Get Rid of Extra Stuff! It is so easy to accumulate stuff! Especially paddling gear. You love your single kayak so you decided to get a two-person for when the grandkids visit or when your spouse wants to go with you. But the grandkids grew up. Your spouse has his/her own hobbies. Or maybe you bought a surfing paddle board, but only use your flatwater board. Bad knees, moved further from the launch, sold the car with the rack - whatever the reason, you've got paddling/sailing equipment you never use. We'll help! Run a classified ad with us. We'll post it in our once monthly newsletter with nearly 10,000 subscribers. This isn't like running an ad in the newspaper where most readers aren't interested in paddling. Or on Craigslist or Marketplace (who knows who'll you'll

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Welcome Back!

Welcome back, Daylight Savings Time! We have missed you! An extra hour after work to do something outside—it’s the best gift ever! Prep the garden. Clean up the yard. Take your dog for a nice, long walk. Go for a hike, a run, a bike ride. Walk on the beach. Watch the birds as they build nests and prepare for their coming brood. Plant a tree. You no longer have to wait for your next day off. Now you have time today!   I know, I know. This gift might not really be a true gift because it comes with a price. Losing an hour of sleep. It stinks. But maybe we can think of it as traveling to a different time zone. To a better time zone. And then staying in that time zone

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