hikes
A Hike On The Anhinga, Gumbo-Limbo and Old Ingraham Road Trails
My fourth day of exploration of South Florida continued last Saturday when I drove to Royal Palm in the Everglades to watch the sunrise and hike the Gumbo-Limbo and Anhinga trails. A cold front passed through overnight bringing strong winds and dropping temperatures into the low 60’s. That is as cold as it gets in …
Read MoreFlorida Day Five: Another Hike On The Old Ingraham Highway
On Sunday morning, my last day in the Everglades, I returned to Gate 15 access to the Old Ingraham Highway trail. I wanted to further explore this abandoned highway that cut through the middle of the Everglades. The trail can be accessed on the first right turn off before the Royal Palm Visitor Center. It…
Read MoreFlorida Day Six: Key Largo: Nice To Hike In Dagny Johnson Park Again
I left Florida City and the Everglades on Sunday afternoon and drove the scenic 30 miles south on U.S. Route 1 to Key Largo. After settling in my room at the beautiful Bar Harbor & Coconut Bay Resort I edited some photographs relaxed in their lovely gardens and visited some friends. I was up early…
Read MoreFlorida Day Seven: Birds, Lizards And Insects In Dagny Johnson Park in Key Largo
Early Tuesday morning I returned to the Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park. After a couple of hikes in the same park you start to know where to find the wildlife that lives there. And I enjoy trying to get better photographs of the birds, insects and other animals I had encountered on…
Read MoreFlorida Day Eight: More Birds, Spiders And Butterflies At Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park.
There are not a lot of hiking trails in the Florida Keys so I returned to the Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park for a third day on Wednesday morning to hike in the sub-tropical hardwood hammock forest. It was partly cloudy, humid and a mild 75 degrees when I started my hike…
Read MoreIt Was Cold But It’s Still Nice To Hike In The PPL Wetlands Again
It was nice to hike in the PPL Wetlands again on Sunday. It is hard to believe it has been six weeks since I have been to my favorite hiking spot located in Salem Township Luzerne County. The heavy snow pack and a trip to Florida kept me from enjoying my weekly hike in this…
Read MoreSnow Geese, Tundra Swans And Ducks: The Magic Of Middle Creek.
It is a little late this year, but every late February or early March, it is time for our annual drive to Middle Creek to observe the migration of the snow geese. These birds stop at the man made lakes of Middle Creek to rest and feed on their annual migration to the Arctic tundra of…
Read MoreClouds, Surf And A Sunset , An Afternoon In Key Largo.
On my Wednesday afternoon in Key Largo during my recent visit, after a morning hike, and a long zoom meeting I took a ride to the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Located a few miles north of my resort this is one of the first coral reef underwater parks in the Nation. There are…
Read MoreFlorida Day Nine: An Accidental Morning Hike In Key Largo.
It was Thursday morning on my recent visit to South Florida, I was again off for my morning hike in Key Largo. I once again took the 1o miles and approximately 15 minute drive to the Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park. I enjoy hiking here and hoped to see some more song…
Read MoreThe Ice Is Gone: And Plenty Of Ducks And Geese At The Wetlands
We finally had some real warm weather here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Temperatures neared 70 degrees this past week. I was eager to hike in the PPL Wetlands in Salem Township on Saturday to see how much of the ice melted and whether any of the ducks and geese returned. Arriving at the wetlands under clear…
Read MoreFlorida Day Nine And Ten: Afternoons Exploring The Florida Keys.
It was a week since I arrived in Florida. I spent the first four days exploring the amazing natural beauty of the Everglades. On Monday I headed to the Florida Keys. I stayed on Key Largo, the most northern of, the 1700 islands that make of the Florida Keys. Most of this keys are small…
Read MoreFlorida: Key Largo. My Last Hikes In The Hardwood Hammock And Mangrove Forests
On Friday morning I returned to the Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park to roam the hardwood hammock and mangrove forest in search of birds, spiders, snakes or whatever other critter or wildflower I could find. Once again I began my hike walking through the tall trees of the tropical hardwood hammock and…
Read MoreLooking For Geese And Ducks Along The Lehigh River
After seeing the return of the geese and ducks at the PPL wetlands along the Susquehanna River on Saturday I decided to head to the Lehigh River on Sunday morning and look for more of these migrating birds there. I usually see them on the river or in the nearby ponds and wetlands in the…
Read MoreSunshine And Blue Skies: The First Day Of Spring At The PPL Wetlands.
Saturday was the first day of Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere. The sun crossed north of the Equator at 5:37 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The weather doesn’t allows cooperate with the arrival of Spring here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Many years we have snow and frigid temperatures. However, the weather doesn’t matter to me now…
Read MoreExploring Lake Ontelaunee In Berks County
We had perfect early Spring weather here in Northeastern Pennsylvania on Sunday. I decided to spend it exploring Lake Ontelaunee in Berks County. I have heard it is a good place to observe migrating water fowl . The lake is located about an hour south of my home in Hazle Township Luzerne County. It was…
Read MoreFrogs, Turtles , Geese And Ducks! It’s Spring At The Local Community Park.
It’s hard to believe it’s been four months since I last visited my local Community Park in Hazle Township. My last visit here was on Thanksgiving Day last November. I would often take my afternoon walks here in the warmer months. The snow, ice , mud and cold had me walking on the plowed streets…
Read MoreMore Ducks And March Sunshine At The Wetlands.
The skies were clear when I awoke early Saturday morning. I knew this meant more March sunshine and I decided to head to the PPL Wetlands in Salem Township, Luzerne County and look for wildlife. The temperature was a pleasant Spring-like 48 degrees when I arrived. As I began my hike in the wetlands I…
Read MoreEnjoying Spring In Northeastern Pennsylvania.
For me, there is no place like Spring in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I don’t like the Winters here anymore but Spring brings a magic to this area where I was born and lived all of my life. I have passed retirement age now, but still work at my law practice. However, after 37 years, I am…
Read MoreA Walk In The Susquehanna Wetlands: A Different Name But The Same Natural Beauty
Many of you who have followed my blog the past 6 years have seen posts from the PPL Wetlands and River Lands. Located along the Susquehanna River in Salem Township, Luzerne County this nature preserve was created by the PPL Electric Corporation adjacent to it’s nuclear power plant. It preserved the wetlands created by the…
Read MoreAnother Hike In The Susquehanna Wetlands With Some Old And New Critters
On Easter Morning I decided to take another five mile hike in the Susquehanna Wetlands in Salem Township, Luzerne County. I love trying to capture some of the many critters I know that live here. It was mostly sunny and a seasonably cool 43 degrees when I arrived at the wetlands. Once again I scared…
Read MoreA Weekly Wildlife Report From Community Park In Hazle Township
I continued my afternoon visits to the Community Park near my home in Hazle Township, Luzerne County this past week. On Monday it was sunny and mild with temperatures in the low 60’s when I arrived. I wasn’t the only one enjoying this beautiful afternoon in the park. The shores of the lake in the…
Read MoreFog, Flora And Fauna At The Susquehanna Wetlands.
A thick fog settled in on the mountain where I live in Hazle Township, Luzerne County on Saturday morning. I wasn’t sure at first, but I decided to drive to the Susquehanna Wetlands in Salem Township with my camera despite the fog. I wasn’t expecting to photograph much wildlife because of the fog but I…
Read MoreRoaming In The Mine Reclamation Lands Near My Home
As some of you who follow my blog may know, there is a large mine reclamation area of land near my home in the Green Ridge section of Hazle Township in Luzerne County . For almost a century before I was born there was extensive deep coal mining on these lands. Then, beginning around 1900…
Read MoreBack In Berks County: Another Lake Ontelaunee Hike
On Saturday I returned to Berks County and made my third visit to Lake Ontelaunee. This 1,000 acre lake was formed by the damming of Maiden Creek in 1926 to provide a water supply for the City of Reading. (these are links to blog posts of my two prior visits. https://wp.me/p5GeDV-J2m https://wp.me/p5GeDV-s3K). After a 41…
Read MoreEagles, Herons And A Muskrat: Another Walk In The Susquehanna Wetlands
It was Sunday, and, of course, I decided to take another walk in the Susquehanna Wetlands in Salem Township, Luzerne County. As the Spring progresses I know there is a good chance to see some wildlife here. And the wetlands and river lands are a great place to observe the trees, plants and flowers come…
Read MoreEnjoying The April Sun In The Susquehanna Wetlands
It was a cool 39 degrees when I awoke Saturday morning. However, the skies were clear and I knew the April sun would sun warm it up. And what better place to enjoy the April sun than in the Susquehanna Wetlands and Riverlands in Salem Township, Luzerne County. Nature always has something on display out…
Read MoreNot Many Signs of Spring On The Local Rails- To -Trails
It was raining here in Northeastern Pennsylvania on Sunday morning. And I was still feeling some side effects from my second Covid-19 vaccine shot. So I decided not to travel far and hike on my local Rails -to -Trails which is located a couple of miles from my home in Hazle Township, Luzerne County. Ground…
Read MoreDucks, Geese And A Bald Eagle At Community Park in Hazle Township
I have continued my afternoon hikes in the Community Park near my home in Hazle Township every chance I got these past two weeks. Located on top of a mountain ridge, Spring always arrives later here in Hazle Township than in the surrounding valleys. On my first hikes two weeks ago there were few signs of…
Read MoreThe Month of May Arrives, Along With Some Goslings, At The Susquehanna Wetlands
The month of May has always been one of my favorite months. The first signs of Spring appear in March here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but we still have cold and, sometimes, even blizzard. April is a beautiful month with the appearance of the first wildflowers and the return of the first migratory birds, however, we…
Read MoreMy First Hike In French Creek State Park: It Won’t Be My Last
I have been seeing a lot of posts on the Facebook nature pages about ramps, morel mushrooms and the cicada chimneys or turrets. I have never found any of them here in the woods near my home near Hazleton Northeastern Pennsylvania. I think the weather is too cool up here in the mountains. So I…
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