Pecoy Point – A Winter Walk

I love Martha’s Vineyard in the winter. It’s quiet and peaceful. You can move and breathe and listen to nature. Especially on crisp clear days in January and February.

Pecoy Point is a bit of land owned and preserved by the MV Land Bank. It’s little hidden but worth finding. The trail starts with a walk through old farm fields, over some marshland, then through a small pine grove, and down to the banks of the saltwater pond known as Sengekontacket or, to the native Wampanoag, Sanchiacantacket or place where the brook flows into the river.

Brave souls in their dry suits quahogging.

       

The animals seem to love the shore too. On the left is a deer on the right is some type of shore bird. I love the one on the right. Can’t you just picture it waddling along as it leans in on each step?

The ribbed mussel Geukensia demissa. I have heard that they are not very tasty, but good in a pinch. Harvest only at high tide. You don’t want to eat any mussel that has been sitting in it’s own juices sunbathing.

I found out on this walk that it is still duck hunting season. Surprise! I really thought I had a grasp on the hunting seasons, I know all the deer weeks. Guess someone needs to read up on fowling. Needless to say, there aren’t any pictures of our great winter ducks. Maybe next time when nobody is trying to kill them they will cooperate :)