Nature
Back To Beltzville State Park : A Cloudy And Windy Hike On The Trinity Gorge Trail.
It didn’t take long, I returned to Beltzville State Park last Saturday. I decided to hike here because of lingering showers and snow flurries north of my home in Hazle Township. A cold front brought clouds, winds and colder temperatures to Northeastern Pennsylvania overnight. I was hoping I would find less showers, clouds and wind…
Read MoreA Visit To Middle Creek. But What, No Snow Geese?
For the past 17 years now, around the first week of March, I have experienced the awe inspiring beauty of the massive migratory flocks of snow geese at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area located in Lebanon and Lancaster Counties in southeastern Pennsylvania. I go with my brother and nephew. We leave our home in …
Read MoreA Winter Wonderland In March At The Greater Hazleton Rails To Trails
We had a mild Winter here in Northeastern Pennsylvania this year. There with little snow and very few bitterly cold days. . However, Winter isn’t over and this past week we had a change in weather. It got colder and on Friday a March storm left us with a few inches of snow. It wasn’t…
Read MoreA Quick Hike On A Different Route In The Susquehanna Riverlands And Wetlands
It had been two weeks since I last visited the Susquehanna Wetlands and Riverlands in Salem Township in Luzerne County. This, for me, was a long time. I have been hiking here for about a decade now and have come to know and love this small, private nature preserve and park. I started hiking and…
Read MoreExploring Beltzville State Park Again. This Time Hiking The Christman and Sawmill Trails
On Saturday morning I returned to Beltzville State Park in Carbon County for the third time this past month. Located only 25 miles southeast of my home in Luzerne County, I haven’t visited this park since I was in high school. I am learning that was a mistake. I have heard the reports of the…
Read MoreA Very Wintery Last Day Of Winter At The Wetlands
Winter wasn’t giving up without a fight this year. A howling northwesterly wind was blowing and it was a frigid 17 degrees when I awoke last Sunday morning. It was the last day of Winter. After freezing on my morning walk near my home, I drove to the Susquehanna Wetlands in Salem Township, Luzerne County …
Read MoreIt’s Been A While, A Pleasant Hike Looking For Signs Of Spring At Community Park.
Time seems to pass so quickly for me now in my older years. It is hard to believe it has been six months since my last visit to the Community Park near my home in Hazle Township, Luzerne County. Summer was ending early September when I last hiked here. I enjoy my afternoon hikes at…
Read MoreA Birding Hike At Leaser Lake In Lehigh County
I returned to a new favorite hiking spot, Leaser Lake in Lehigh County, on Sunday. It was a last minute decision. A friend invited me to join a local birding group hike at the lake early Sunday morning. It was sunny and cool when I arrived at the north boat launch parking lot and met…
Read MoreFlorida Day Two: Not Much Luck At A Foggy Lucky Hammock But A Few Birds On Aerojet Road.
On the second day of my birding visit to South Florida I decided to hike to Lucky Hammock. It is a small stand of hardwood trees located just outside the Homestead entrance to the Everglades National Park in the Frog Pond WMA. Although small in size almost 250 species of birds were sighted here. It…
Read MoreFlorida Day Three: Mosquitoes, Birds, Manatees And A Crocodile At Flamingo
On Thursday morning, my third day back in South Florida, I decided to drive to Flamingo, the southernmost point in Everglades National Park. Again I hoped to find the migrating song birds and look for crocodiles and manatees. Once again there was fog as I began of my drive. It is about an hour drive,…
Read MoreFlorida Day Four: My Last Day In The Everglades, And Finally A Migrating Bird At Lucky Hammock!
It was my last day in Florida City and the Everglades. I came down hoping to see the birds migrating from Mexico, South and Central America and the Caribbean Islands to the woodlands near my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania. And, my research directed me to Lucky Hammock as being one of the best places to…
Read MoreFlorida Day Five: Off To Marathon And A Visit To Long Key State Park
After leaving my lodging in Key Largo on my recent visit to South Florida, I headed south on the Overseas Highway to my next destination, Marathon . There are between 800 to 1200 Florida keys, depending on your definition of “key” (the word key comes from the Spanish word ” cayo” which means small island,…
Read MoreFlorida Day Four And Five. Key Largo Not Many Birds Here Either And A Lot More Mosquitoes.
On Friday, during recent my visit to South Florida, after my delicious lunch at Alabama Jack’s , as told in my last blog, I continued my drive on the scenic Card Sound Road. It was about 2o miles to my lodging in Key Largo. I was staying at a small but beautiful resort, the Azul…
Read MoreSpring At The Susquehanna Wetlands: The Turtles, Phoebes, Warblers And Frogs Are Back!
I took my first hike of the Spring in the Susquehanna Wetlands in Salem Township on Saturday. I had just returned from a trip to South Florida where I had hoped to see a lot of song birds migrating north. I was disappointed and only saw few migrating birds. It was still a good trip.…
Read MoreFlorida Day Six. A Morning in Marathon And Off To the Conch Republic, Key West.
I awoke early Sunday morning at my hotel in Marathon in the Florida Keys. Marathon is not a key, as I once believed, but rather a city located on several keys half way between Key Largo and Key West. A large city, too, for the Keys. It has a population of almost 10,00. people. My…
Read MoreTrout Lilies And Thrushes: A Pleasant And Peaceful Easter Morning Walk In Walnutport
While hiking in the Susquehanna Wetlands last Saturday I found trout lilies just beginning to bloom. I love seeing these delicate and ephemeral yellow flowers when they bloom in early April. They only bloom for a few days so I try and enjoy them as much as I can. One of the areas I have…
Read MoreFlorida Days Six And Seven. Key West, Back In Paradise
On Sunday, during my recent visit to South Florida, after my hike on Big Pine Key I drove the 30 miles to Key West. I arrived at my lodging for the next four days, the Havana Cabana, mid-afternoon. And I found it just as wonderful as it was advertised. I had the opportunity to visit…
Read MoreThe Spring Awakening Continues: New Faces And Flowers At The Susquehanna Wetlands
I love Spring here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The woodlands awaken from a long Winter sleep. One of my favorite places to watch the rebirth is the Susquehanna Wetlands in Luzerne County. It was cloudy and mild when I arrived early Saturday morning. We had a heat wave here in Northeastern Pennsylvania last week, with temperatures…
Read MoreFlorida Day Seven. A Seaplane Ride To Dry Tortugas National Park
I was able to cross another item off of my “bucket list” on my recent trip to South Florida. I had wanted to fly in a seaplane since I first saw one land on the ocean in a Flipper or Gentle Ben television episode when I was a child. (Only my old blog followers will…
Read MoreFog, Clouds, A Few Birds And Signs Of Spring On the Greater Hazleton Rails To Trails
I awoke Saturday morning to find a thick fog had formed at my home in Hazle Township in Luzerne County. I was planning to hike somewhere south of my home, either Lesser Lake or French Creek State Park. But I didn’t want to drive through the mountains in the fog so I decided to hike…
Read MoreFlorida Day Eight: Key West. Fort Zachary Taylor State Park And The Botanical Gardens.
On my recent visit to South Florida, and my second day in Key West, I was looking at the maps for a new place to watch the sunrise. I decided Fort Zachary Taylor State Park would be a great place. I could watch the sunrise and walk along the beach. So I was up early…
Read MoreFlowers, Birds, Leaves, And More Spring Colors At The Susquehanna Wetlands And River Lands
Spring is a wonderful and magical time of year here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Everyday new flowers bloom, colorful migratory song birds return and the new leaves slowly turn our woodlands into a tapestry of green. I love Spring. My only complaint it passes so quickly. I observed this in the Susquehanna Wetlands and River Lands…
Read MoreA Leisurely Hike Around Leaser Lake In Lehigh County
I returned to, what is becoming , another favorite hiking trail on Sunday, Leaser Lake in Lehigh County. The five mile trail around the scenic lake takes one through a number of different habitats and provides great opportunities to observe and photograph nature. I drove to the north boat launch parking lot and found there…
Read MoreGoslings, Chipmunks And A Few More Signs Of Spring At Community Park
Now that Spring is here I have started my afternoon walks at our local Community Park in Hazle Township, Luzerne County. As I have often noted in previous blogs, I first visited Community Park and Lake Irena in the Spring as a young child with my dad and siblings. I have many found memories of…
Read MoreFlorida Day Nine. Key West. My Last Day Exploring Key West . I Hope To Return Soon
It was Wednesday, and sadly, my last day in Key Weston on my recent visit to South Florida.. As usual, I was up early looking for another place to watch the sunrise. I decided to drive to Smathers Beach on the south, Atlantic Ocean side of the island. When I arrived there were some ominous…
Read MoreA Cloudy And Wet Hike On The Greater Hazleton Rails To Trails
It was hard to believe this was the last weekend of April. The month passed so quickly for me. April and the May always do. Everyday something new appears on my hikes and walks in the woodlands near my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania during these months. The last few weeks of April were cool and…
Read MoreA Nice Hike But On The Wrong Trail At Tuscarora State Park
On Saturday morning I decided to hike on the Spirit of Tuscarora trail at Tuscarora State Park in Schuylkill County. When I hiked on the trail last Summer and thought the meadows along the Locust Creek would be a good place to see migrating birds in the Spring. Instead of hiking in from the camping and…
Read MoreMore Migratory Birds Return To The Susquehanna Wetlands
May is the month most of the migratory birds are returning from their Winter homes in Florida, the Caribbean Island, Mexico, Central America, and, some, as far away as the jungles of South America. Some will remain to nest here in Northeastern Pennsylvania while others will travel further north, as far as the Arctic tundra…
Read MoreA Late Afternoon Hike Through Now Lush And Green Susquehanna Wetlands
I changed my usual routine last weekend , I had a to attend a graduation ceremony on Saturday, so I decided to hike in the Susquehanna Wetlands in Salem Township , Luzerne County late Friday afternoon. I usually hike here early in the morning on weekends hoping to see, hear and photograph some of the…
Read MoreMy First Spring Hike in the Penrose Swamp Barrens In Carbon County.
My growing passion to find and photograph the many migrating birds that visit Northeastern Pennsylvania in the Spring took me to the Penrose Swamp Barrens in Carbon County early Sunday morning. The more I learn about the migration and breeding habits of the migratory birds that visit our area the more I want to find,…
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