Lake Artemesia, Maryland

Lake Artemesia Natural Area did not start out as the bucolic surroundings of a 33-acre lake. The first settlers found several small ponds in the area and used them to raise goldfish. In 1972, Artemesia Dref inherited six acres. She donated it to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. They worked with the Metro rail developers who needed dirt and gravel to build a base for the Green Line train. That train runs along the western edge of the park. They took the resources out and put in the large lake with a mile-and-a-half trail around the lake. They also put in bathrooms, fishing piers, and a lot of landscape to make a nice habitat for the locals, both human and non-human.

Map of Lake Artemesia

We parked just north of the lake. As we walked in, we saw a hawk swooping in from the south. The hawk had a squirrel in its talons. The hawk landed on a branch about thirty feet up. As I thought about whether I should distract my kids from watching the fowl eat his lunch, another hawk flew up to the same branch and made a play for the lunch item. Literally feathers were flying. The new hawk flew off, leaving the first hawk as we see him below...

A stolen lunch?

After the excitement, we walked to the entrance to the park which has a nice gate.

One side of the gate

The other side, photobombed

The lake is pretty but when we visited in February the surface was mostly a coat of ice. Some birds congregated in the middle where the water was in its liquid form.

Our first view of the lake

The children found a couple of flat rocks which looked like good pedestals for statues. They posed.

Many different interpretations

We continued around the lake.

More ice

Trying to see if the birds were frozen in place

Part of the park restoration was putting up some milkweed as a feeding station for migrating monarch butterflies. They even put up a bench for non-monarchs to relax in the area.

Informational sign

Posing for a picture

A silly pose

The bottom part of the lake was also frozen over, though it had its unfrozen bits by the shore.

Icy lake

Different sheets of ice

Some restrooms and fishing spots

Some mallards were on the edge of the lake looking a little chilly.

Not trapped in the ice

More frozen lake

The sun trying to do its job

A nice candid shot

A small bridge gave us a short cut.

Maybe we could have walked across the ice?

Those poor birds again

On the way out, we passed the tree where the hawk landed. It was gone but I noticed the dead squirrel lying on the ground. I thought about pointing it out to the kids and making some joke about not eating food off the ground. They were already ahead of me and ready for the next adventure. And, dear reader, I did not take a picture of the corpse.

Farewell sign

We may come back in warmer weather with bikes to explore the area. Another bridge leads out of the park onto the Indian Creek Trail which goes by the College Park Airport.