A relaxing summer evening at Anson B. Nixon Park

On a Wednesday evening at Anson B. Nixon Park in a normal, pre-pandemic summer, picnickers would have been gathered in front of the amphitheater, socializing, enjoying their meals and listening to the concert. But even though the summer concerts, like everything else, have been cancelled, the park was still a busy spot this past Wednesday evening. 

We stopped in for an after-dinner stroll and saw skateboarders, a guy perfecting his tennis serve, youths playing basketball, many disc golfers, soccer players, folks walking their dogs, anglers, and two guys practicing a salsa dance routine on the amphitheater stage. A park employee was working hard even as sunset approached, shoveling wood chips into the back of a Gator and then zipping out to spread them on the walking trails.

Lots of big trees had been blown over by the recent storms, and several of the gravel paths had deep ruts in them from the fierce runoff. Debris from the creek was still stuck in bottom of the dog-park fence.

The community garden plots are flourishing. There were tons of tomatoes and hot and sweet peppers, as well as huge zinnias and sunflowers. Some gardeners are already starting their fall crops of carrots and broccoli. Some kind of a vining crop -- possibly loofah gourds? -- had summited the high wire fence that prevents deer from getting into the enclosure, and its fruit was dangling in midair.

The park is spread out enough that social distancing was no problem. If someone was approaching on a bridge, we'd just stop and let him or her pass before we stepped onto the bridge.

As we were walking we noticed that a lot of work had been done to the banks of the creek. I learned from the park's website that it's "a water quality project of the Brandywine Red Clay Alliance and the Kennett Area Park Authority to restore portions of the East Branch of the Red Clay Creek and a tributary. Stream restoration addresses sediment, nitrogen and phosphorous pollution in the creek by stabilizing eroding stream banks, connecting the stream to flood plains, reducing new erosion in the creek channel and improving fish and aquatic habitats."

The Brandywine Red Clay Alliance offers a lot more detail on the project at http://www.brandywineredclay.org/watershed-conservation/red-streams-blue/east-branch/