hikes
Florida Day Five: Farewell To The Everglades. A Final Hike On The Old Ingraham Highway Trail
It was my last day in Florida City, and the Everglades.. I decided to hike The Old Ingraham Highway Trail in the Everglades National Park again. It was my first hike on my trip to Florida this year and it was the hike on which I encountered the most wildlife. I hoped it would be…
Read MoreFlorida Day Six: Key Largo. A Familiar Afternoon Hike At Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park
After spending a couple of hours editing photos, checking in with my office and relaxing at the Bar Harbor Resort in Key Largo I decided to take an afternoon hike at the Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park. I have hiked here many times the past three years and love this charming little…
Read MoreFlorida Day Six: Key Largo: A Hike On The Wrong Side Of The Aerojet Canal
I learned a lot about the Aerojet Canal and the Southern Glades Trail my first few days in Florida this year. As I explained in my previous blogs, this canal was used to transport rocket engines from the the city of Homestead to Cape Canaveral vis the Atlantic Ocean during space race in the 1960’s.…
Read MoreFlorida Day Seven: Key Largo. A Morning Hike On The Southern Glades Trail To Manatee Bay And A Beautiful Sunset
As usual, I was up early Friday morning at my resort in Key Largo. I was excited to hike the last stretch of the Southern Glades Trail and reach it’s end at Manatee Bay. I heard there have been many sighting of manatees and dolphins in the bay. I left my resort and drove the…
Read MoreIt’s Still Winter In Northeastern Pennsylvania. An Icy And Cold Hike At The Susquehanna Wetlands
After my recent visit to South Florida, I was looking forward to my return to Northeastern Pennsylvania and hiking in the Susquehanna Wetlands again on Saturday morning. And, I was hoping, it would have warmed up a bit since my last visit three weeks ago. Well it didn’t, not much anyway. Located in Salem Township.…
Read MoreThe Snow Geese Are Back ! Another Magical Morning At Middle Creek.
It was that time of year again. For those of you who have followed my blog these past few years, you would know it was time for my annual visit to the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area. Located just south of Kleinfeltersville in Lebanon County this 6000 acre tract with a 400 acre lake is a…
Read MoreFlorida Day Eight: Key Largo. An Opossum, A Spider And A Lot Of Birds On My Last Hike In South Florida.
I awoke early on my last day in Key Largo and South Florida this year. I wanted to get in one last hike at the Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park before I headed north to Fort Lauderdale. I was staying near the airport my last night in Florida. I had seen many…
Read MoreMy Second Hike On The Elders Run Trail At The Middle Creek Management Area
After watching the magic of the snow geese flying off the lake at the Middle Creek Management Area, and looking for water fowl on the ponds, I decided to hike on the Elders Run Trail again. I hiked this 3 1/2 mile loop trail once before, two years ago. The trail begins on the right…
Read MoreDuck, Duck, Goose, Eagle: A Cold March Afternoon At The Susquehanna Wetlands.
It was a sunny and cold March Friday afternoon here at my home in Hazle Township, Luzerne County. I decided to drive to the Susquehanna Wetlands again for a late afternoon hike. It was 34 degrees when I arrived at the wetlands. This small private nature preserve is located in Salem Township about 20 miles…
Read MoreSnow Geese, Tundra Swans , Hooded Mergansers And More At Middle Creek
Last Saturday I returned to the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster County with my brother Mike and nephew Mikey. We hoped there would still be some snow geese on the lake at Willow Point. It was late in the season and we were worried they may have already migrated north. They didn’t. There…
Read MoreFlorida Day Eight: Farewell To South Florida And A Visit To The Secret Woods Nature Center Near The Fort Lauderdale Airport
After checking out of the Bar Harbor/ Coconut Bay Resort on Saturday morning I decided to leave Key Largo via the Card Sound Road. This more isolated route avoids the traffic on Highway One. It is a nice scenic road that a lot of folks don’t know about. After crossing the toll bridge over Card…
Read MoreTurtles, Wood Ducks, Skunk Cabbage And Blackbirds. More Signs Of Spring At The Susquehanna Wetlands
Last Friday, when I hiked in the Susquehanna Wetlands in Luzerne County, I was pleasantly surprised to see wood ducks had returned to the ice free waters of the wetlands. The previous week the waters were frozen solid. I returned to the wetlands on Friday . I was again pleasantly surprised . This time it…
Read MoreLess Snow And More Ducks: A Hike Along The Walnutport Canal
A late Winter storm dumped over eight inches of snow around my home in Luzerne County in Northeastern Pennsylvania on Saturday. Rather then trudge through the snow on my Sunday hike I decide to drive 30 miles south and hike on the Walnutport Canal Spur Trail in Lehigh County. A brilliant sun was shining in…
Read MoreIt’s Been Three Long, Cold Months Since I Hiked Around Lake Irena At Community Park.
Spring weather has returned here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Temperatures rose into the 60’s this past week. The warmth quickly melted the 8 inches of snow that fell last weekend. I took advantage of the warm temperatures, sunshine and additional daylight and took a couple of hikes around Lake Irena at our local Community Park near…
Read MoreSummer Weather, Birds And Snapping Turtles: March Was A Lamb At The Susquehanna Wetlands.
The old folk saying goes ” If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb”. Well this year we have seen both the lion and lamb side of March here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Last weekend we had over 8 inches of snow followed by high winds with frigid temperatures in…
Read MoreMy First Visit To Scenic And Historic Leaser Lake Park In Lehigh County
Before Saturday morning I never heard of Leaser Lake Park. I had visited my favorite hiking area, the Susquehanna Wetlands in Luzerne County on Friday. I pretty much hike there every week. I have come to love this little nature preserve in Salem Township. When I’m not in the Wetlands I try and explore and …
Read MoreA Tundra Swan At The Susquehanna River Lands! You Never Know What You Will Find Down Here
I returned to the Susquehanna Wetlands in Salem Township, Luzerne County on Sunday. It’s Spring and I hoped to see some wildlife activity. As usual I was hoping to see, and photograph, the bald eagles, wood ducks, river otters and many other critters that live here. On Friday I was surprised to see the snapping…
Read MoreA Dreary March Afternoon At The Susquehanna Wetlands.
Our warm Spring weather left us last week here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It got cooler during the week, but not frigid, yet, that’s coming soon so the forecasters tell us. It was a dreary March afternoon when I returned to the Susquehanna Wetlands for a hike on Friday. Temperatures were seasonably cool in the low…
Read MoreMy First Hike At The Austin T Blakeslee Natural Area in Monroe County.
I am having some remodeling work done on my home, My contractors arrived early Saturday morning. One of the contractors asked me where I was going to hike that morning. ( They knew I hiked somewhere every weekend) I said I hadn’t decided yet. He suggested I should try the Austin T Blakeslee Natural Area…
Read MoreMarch Goes Out Like A Lion, But There Were Still Signs Of Spring At The Susquehanna Wetlands And Northeastern Pennsylvania
The warm March lamb -like weather we had two weeks ago was gone. The weather got cooler last week. On Sunday morning the temperatures had dropped into the low 30’s with a steady cold northwesterly wind. March was a lion again. As usual I decided to again hike at the Susquehanna Wetlands and River Lands…
Read MoreA Cloudy And Cool April Fool’s Day With Some Cool Critters In The Susquehanna Wetlands.
Friday was another cloudy and cool day here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It was the 1st day of April and Nature was playing an April Fool’s joke on us again with the cold weather. Since our local Weis grocery market closed due to a fire, I have been grocery shopping in the Weis Market in Berwick,…
Read MoreA Hike On The Lehigh Canal At Weissport: No Wood Ducks But A Lot Of Fishermen, A Few Birds And Beautiful Scenery
After my visit to the Susquehanna Wetlands on Friday, where I saw so many critters, including some elusive wood ducks, I decided to hike along the Lehigh Canal in Weissport in Carbon County on Saturday. I made this decision because I had seen wood ducks here before. In fact some of my most beautiful photos…
Read MoreSpring Is Slowly Springing At Community Park In Hazle Township.
After some nice Spring-like weather in mid-March it got cold again. We had some record breaking cold temperatures here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Because of the cold weather I didn’t take my afternoon hikes in the Community Park near my home here in Hazle Towsnhip for a couple of weeks. I returned this past Monday. The…
Read MoreTurtles, Cormorants And A Kestrel, But An Otherwise Uneventful Hike In the Susquehanna Wetlands
I’m sorry, but this blog post doesn’t have the wide variety of wildlife I saw at the Susquehanna Wetlands in Luzerne County on my hike last week. It was an amazing hike last Friday.. I saw so many cool critters. Not this week , and, it was partially my fault, I rushed my hike in…
Read MoreAnother Hike On The Scenic And Historic Walnutport Canal Spur Trail
I decided to hike on the Walnutport Canal Spur Trail in Lehigh County again on Sunday. It was cloudy and a cold 32 degrees at my home in Luzerne County. The radar showed some rain was moving in from the northwest. So I headed 35 miles southeast to Walnutport hoping to stay ahead of the…
Read MoreBats, Bees, Horned Grebes, Frog Eggs And Other Cool Stuff At Our Local Community Park.
I have always enjoyed walking and exploring the outdoors. I remember my first hikes in the strip mined woodlands with my dad searching for wild mushrooms. I may have been three years old. My dad developed, and continued to encourage my curiosity in, and love for nature. He would also take me and my siblings …
Read MoreA Lot Of Birds, Some Turtles And A Snake At The Susquehanna Wetlands And River Lands
I returned to the Susquehanna Wetlands and River Lands in Salem Township Luzerne County on Friday. This Friday however, I arrived early, around 8:15 a.m. and met a photographer friend. It was mostly sunny but a chilly 40 degrees when we began our hike. We first walked down to the Susquehanna River hoping to see…
Read MoreAn Easter Morning Hike Through The Scenic And Historic Lehigh Gap.
For most of my life I would spend Easter morning at my parents house. As a child, after attending Mass , we always ate our first meal on Easter Sunday from the Easter basket that was filled with traditional Polish foods and blessed on Holy Saturday. We would then eat chocolate candy the Easter bunny…
Read MoreMy First Visit To Fort Washington State Park In Montgomery County
Fort Washington State Park in Montgomery County wasn’t my first choice for a visit this past weekend. I had originally planned to hike at Codorus State Park in York County. It was rated the third best bird watching spot in Pennsylvania by one of the State birding groups. I was looking forward to staying in…
Read MoreA Crow And Bald Eagle Fight , Palm Warblers And Snow: A Magical Afternoon At Community Park.
It was one of those spur of the moment decisions. It was cloudy and cold when I decided I wasn’t going to hike at the Community Park near my home in Luzerne County that afternoon. A late Spring snow storm had just deposited almost 5 inches of wet snow on our area. Most of the…
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