November 12, 2019 – ~ wander.essence ~

marshlands & american art in delaware

wanderessence1025 November 12, 2019

My second day in Delaware was book-ended by grasses. I explored marshlands on bicycle and by car, in morning and late afternoon, interspersed with a dip under a flock of birds into the Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover.

Fortified by a spinach & pepper jack omelette (& biscuits!) on the porch of Sharky’s Grill, I ventured to Cape Henlopen State Park. There, I took possession of an orange bicycle, for no fee; the procedure required I turned over my driver’s license as “collateral” for the bike. The guy manning the bike shed talked my ear off about camera lenses, green flies, and which direction I should ride around the loops. He suggested I spray myself with his tea tree oil, derived from an Australian native plant, Melaleuca alternifolia, as insect repellent. The only stipulation was that the bicycle needed to be returned in two hours.

Cape Henlopen State Park

I felt like Sabine Harwood, the character in one of my favorite novels, The White Woman on the Green Bicycle, except my bicycle was orange. I rode from the Seaside Nature Center past the park office and the campground. I branched off on the Walking Dunes Trail and headed south until I came to Herring Point. Then I headed south on the Gordon’s Pond Trail, where I stopped at the lookout; I felt no shame in turning back at this point.

At the lookout, a woman was talking to two fellow tourists about how she lived in Ridgway, Colorado for the last 11 years. I told her I went through there last year on my Four Corners trip. With conviction, she insisted Rehoboth never did anything for her, Bethany Beach was “exquisite,” Dewey Beach was tacky and Lewes was the oldest city and had a beautiful historic district. She was in Delaware visiting her daughter.

my orange bicycle

along the Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

Gordon’s Pond Trail

From the overlook, I backtracked along Gordon’s Pond, then along the road past the Biden Center to the Fort Miles Historic Area, past an observation tower, and then back to the Seaside Nature Center. I didn’t spot the many birds that supposedly populate the park, such as Royal terns, Black-bellied plovers, Great Egrets, Snow gooses or Greater Yellowlegs.

A strong breeze rustled the sea grasses, carrying a warm and humid front into the area, so my cool yesterday dissipated into the air. Still, I adored bicycling around the tidal marshes and ponds. My ride was a little less than 12 miles.

I was curious to see the “beautiful Lewes historic district,” so I drove through the town. It seemed nice, but I had other destinations in mind. I’d have to return another time. I took Routes 9 and 1 to Dover, crossing the Broadkill River, passing Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Broadkill Beach, and the Rookery Golf Club. I saw a sign for Knollac Farms: Miniature Horses; there was DuPont Nature Center and Barratt’s Chapel & Museum. I drove through gold wheat fields, silver silos, praying mantis-like water sprinklers, and a red barn with a tin roof. I saw signs for Kitts Hummock and Little Creek, and then Dover Air Force Base. I was welcomed to Dover by 1:45.

my Delaware route today – Rehoboth > Dover > Wilmington

I dipped into the Biggs Museum of American Art under a flock of birds. Inside, I found a special exhibit called “Spirit Revealed: New Works by Aaron Paskins.” Paskins (b. 1969) is a Dover sculptor who has been building a local and national reputation for “stylized representations of African figures and animals of the continent using unexpected materials and found objects… The artist freely borrows from pan-African languages, symbols and aesthetics to offer a modern interpretation of a more universal spirit of black empowerment.” I found his works to be bold and moving representations of the African spirit.

Biggs Museum of American Art

Spirit Revealed: New Works by Aaron Paskins

Spirit Revealed: New Works by Aaron Paskins

Spirit Revealed: New Works by Aaron Paskins

The Biggs Museum was founded in 1993 by Sewell C. Biggs (1914-2003), a University of Delaware Graduate and world traveler; he collected art from the Delaware Valley. The Biggs permanent collection includes paintings by Albert Bierstadt and Gilbert Stuart.

photograph at the Biggs

accordion style photo

Rob Tuttle: Impressionism and Modernism (2019)

Fawn (1973) by Willem De Looper

Many paintings capture the essence of Delaware and the surrounding region. I love local museums such as these that highlight a specific region. I am used to visiting museums in Washington that contain world-famous art, so I enjoyed the local focus.

The Granite Rock, Appledore, 1908 by Childe Hassam

Delaware River in Winter, c 1920 by Walter Elmer Schofield

New Hope Locks, n.d. by Edward Redfield

Untitled (still life), n.d. by Marian D. Harris

Allison Kendall, 1925 by Henryette Stadelman Whiteside

Untitled (Vanishing Point), n.d. by Edward Grant

Old Drawyers Church, 1931 by Brandt Hoffman Alexander

View of the Wissahickon, 1876-1905 by Carl Weber

Far View – Old Beach – Rehoboth Beach Delaware, before 1926 by Ethel Pennewill Brown Leach

The Pines, 1957 by Ethel Pennewill Brown Leach

Untitled (flowers in garden), 1957 by Ethel Pennewill Brown Leach

Detail: Untitled (flowers in garden), 1957 by Ethel Pennewill Brown Leach

Some paintings captured places that were further afield.

Bouquet Valley, Adirondacks, 1866 by William Trost Richards

Horseshoe Falls, Niagara, 1866 by James Hamilton

The museum also exhibited American cabinet makers’ furniture as well as a collection of regional silver.

Early American furniture & wallpaper

Sofa, 1840-60 by John Henry Belter

Considered Delaware’s first “fire proof stair,” this metal architectural feature was first installed in the 1950s. The rich brown color was discovered in an analysis of its earliest paint-decorated layers.

Staircase, c 1850 Probably Philadelphia

I was especially enamored of the paper art, one of which looks a bit like a found poem.

paper art

paper art

Biggs Museum of American Art

As I was leaving the Biggs Museum, the docent suggested I should linger and play tourist at First State Heritage Park, the area surrounding the museum, but I didn’t have time as I had to get to Wilmington. She told me there were paintings of World War I in the Welcome Center & Galleries. She also highly recommended the Old State House and the Johnson Victrola Museum. I wished I’d left things more open-ended, but time was running out; I supposed I’d have to return to Dover with Mike another weekend.

Driving north toward Wilmington, I drove through flat farmland, pirouetting sprinkler systems, bait shops, huge green tractors with one-story tall wheels, marshland and grasses, through Leipsic, and finally into Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. At the visitor center, the ranger showed me a cool computerized system for birdwatchers; they could mark on an interactive map where they spotted different types of birds. They could also look up photos of birds commonly found in the refuge and where they had been spotted by birders. It looked like a great resource to use if I were a birdwatcher.

Apparently the refuge had wading birds such as Green Herons, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, and American Bitterns. Commonly found shore birds included the Black-necked stilt and Greater Yellowlegs. Waterfowl included the Snow Goose, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Green-winged Teal, and many others.

I took the Auto Tour of the 12-mile Wildlife Drive. I planned to get out for a walk at the Raymond Tower Trail and the Boardwalk Trail, but flies were swarming all over the car and I didn’t dare open the car door. At Raymond Pool, I saw some Great Egrets. At Shearness Pool, a black snake slithered across the road in front of me. I looked out over the tidal salt marsh and the tall grasses at Bear Swamp Pool.

Sparklehorse serenaded me with “Shade and Honey” 🎵 (“May your shade be sweet / And float upon the lakes / Where the sun will be / Made of honey”) 🎶 while I drove past a little baby fox by the side of the road. He seemed lost and afraid.

Past Finis Pool, at Warbler Woods, there wasn’t much to see except a number of people wandering around past the barricades. Apparently birdwatchers search here for wood warblers in spring and colorful passerines in summer. Salamanders are also common: the eastern red-backed and the marbled.