A quick morning walk around Jacobsburg State Park this morning to check out what was blooming and spot some butterflies. At the start of the trail which is just off the side of a busy road, I immediately saw a fluttering of tiny wings. This, I’m pretty sure was the Summer Azure butterfly. I could, of course, be totally wrong here, as there’s also a Spring Azure which looks almost identical. (At least to me as a novice citizen scientist and long-time butterfly enthusiast.) I crouched in the bushes along side of the road to get my photos as cars drove by either not noticing me at all or if they did, they probably thought I was just some crazy person. But I managed to get some pretty decent shots of the tiny little beauty at the very beginning of my walk. As I continued along the trail, I saw quite an abundance of wildflowers in bloom including: dames rocket, solomon’s plume, wild rose, buttercups, golden alexander, fleabane and forget-me-nots just to name a few (Thanks iNaturalist!). Along my route I spotted some interesting mushrooms which I later ID’d as Petticoat Mottlegill. Quite a dainty little name for a mushroom that is noted to mostly grow on poop. I guess this would make sense since I was on a horse trail. It was a lovely morning and I enjoyed the walk and fresh air to start my day.
I took an early morning walk around Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary this morning to see what wildflowers I could find. Right at the entrance to the Main Trail, showy dame’s rocket was bursting with with its soft, lavender and white flowers. As I walked along, I spotted jack-in-the-pulpit blooming inconspicuously long the woodsy trail. I noted wild geranium, fleabane, golden ragweed, dwarf dandelion, star of Bethlehem, ox eye daisy, and anise root. (All of this was ID’s through my iNaturalist app.) I’m still learning the east coast flora and I’m sure I will be learning for a long time. But the highlight of my walk today was the blooming Mayapple. I’ve seen these attractive umbrella like plants in many different locations in the area, and as I was hiking today, I caught a large patch of them in bloom. Mayapple is a native woodland plant that grows in colonies in deciduous forests, shady fields and along riverbanks. The plant is highly toxic except for fruit, but I personally am not that brave to try it. Another favorite of mine are the tulip trees. This time of year you can find the flowers that have dropped from the trees above along the forest floor. The flowers are a delicate shade of pale yellow outlined in bright orange. They’re usually high above in the trees and are easily missed until they fall from the trees.
Click “Read More” below for more photos from the day.
Wildflower walk at Jacobsburg State Park. I use the iNaturalist app to ID and it’s been really helpful in learning the east coast flora. Today’s finds included the following: Common Blue Violet, Dandelion, Spanish Bluebell, Jack in the Pulpit (one of my favorites), Virginia Spring Beauty, Wood Anemone, Red Deadnettle, Trout Lily (which were past bloom), Buttercups, Mayapple, Poison Hemlock, Garlic Mustard, Golden Alexanders, and Garden Yellow Rocket. Everything is suddenly turning green and the days are starting to warm. Everything smells so new and fresh. Spring is a lovely time of year.
Quick walk at Lake Towhee this evening. This is a 50-acre lake in Bucks Count Pennsylvania. I was here one time last summer for a short visit. Next time I’ll be sure to bring my binoculars because it seems to be a great place for birdwatching. I saw lots of waterfowl and plenty of red-winged black birds. There are some very short trails in the surrounding woods and we walked the short paths searching for spring wildflowers. First to be spotted was Blood root (Sanguinaria canadensis). Native to Pennsylvania, its name refers to the red-orange sap that comes from its broken stem and root. Native Americans used this plant as a dye and an insect repellent. (I really should try the latter, as the east coast is full of bugs.) Blood root is a spring ephemeral and grows in woodlands throughout the Northeast. It blooms in April and its flowers open in full sun and close at night. I've been seeing a lot of these on the trails.
Next up I saw Rue Anemone, (Thalictrum thalictroides). Another native to Northeastern Pennsylvania. The flowers are found in spring woodlands and I observed some with white petals while others were a light pink to lavender color. These little flowers bloom for a short time from April to May.
The yellow flowers posted here are Lesser celandine or pilewort and not native to Pennsylvania. They come from the buttercup family Ranunculaceae and are native to Europe and Western Asia. I believe they are marked as an invasive species to the area.
This is a nice place to stop for a quick walk or a quiet meditation by the water.
It was a beautiful Monday morning and we headed to the Delaware Water Gap to the Dunnfield Creek Natural Area. The trailhead was right off the 80 Freeway, so there was a lot of traffic noise at the beginning of the hike. But as we moved further into the woods, the traffic noise was washed away by the sound of the running creek and birdsong. The trail started off on a wide path following along Dunnfield Creek and crossed over a wooden bridge. I noted wild geranium and other wildflowers in bloom along the way. In less than a mile we crossed another wooden bridge and arrived at Dunnfield Falls, a small waterfall just off the side of the trail. From here the trail became single track and gently made its way up into a forest of emerald green. I noticed fallen blooms of yellow poplar on the ground and more wildflowers amongst the bright green foliage of the abundant fern covering the forest floor. We passed by the Pahaquarry Trail which leads to the top of Mount Tammany, another very popular hike in this area. The trail began to get more rocky the further on we hiked and I saw tiny flower buds starting to form on the mountain laurel. We then reached the Holly Springs connector trail that could take us back in a loop along the AT. We weren’t ready to turn back yet, so we decided to continue on Dunnfield Creek Trail to its termination at Sunfish Pond. The trail crossed the creek several times before making an ascent leading away from the water. Soon we arrived at Sunfish Pond, where we stopped for a snack and listened to the bullfrogs calling back and forth to one another. After our break, we made our way back on the A.T. Along the way we crossed paths with a large Eastern Black Rat Snake who was sprawled out along the trail. We passed by her slowly so as not to disturb her as she made her way back into the woods. We ended the day with about 9 miles. When we arrived back at the trailhead, the parking area was full. I can only imagine how packed it must be on a weekend. Nonetheless, this was a beautiful area and I would love to visit again.
Today we went back for a visit to Columcille Megalith Park in the Appalachian mountains. I was here for the first time last summer, and it truly is a magical place. Even if you’re not particularly spiritual or in tune with the nature spirits, you can’t help but feel their high vibrations here as you walk the sacred grounds.
A little about Columcille as I noted in a previous blog post:
Columcille is a hidden gem located in Bangor, PA. It is the creation of the late William Cohea, Jr. who was inspired by a dream he had after visiting Iona, a small island on the western coast of Scotland. According to ancient history, the early Celts considered Iona a place where the veil is thin and one’s spirit could easily travel between worlds. There were once over 350 standing stones on the isle along with sacred oak groves. Inspired by his vision, Mr. Cohea made his dream reality in 1975 when he created Columcille.
We quietly walked the grounds through the circle of standing stones and followed the path into the forest leading us to enchanted sites and ritual circles. We stepped through the Celtic Eye which led us down to a small stream where the banks were abound with skunk cabbage and wildflowers. We circled the faerie ring path and noticed an orange carnelian crystal charging in the morning sunlight. Lastly, we walked the labyrinth where offerings can be laid upon the stone alter if one so chooses.
I left Columcille feeling inspired and rejuvenated.
Today we decided to check out more of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. This time our plan was to explore some trails on the New Jersey side. We arrived at the trailhead off Old Mine Road which had recently reopened after being closed during the winter months. We geared up then made our way over to the map at the kiosk to formulate the day’s plan. We decided to hike the Copper Mine Trail up the west side of Kittatinny Mountain to the Appalachian Trail where we would follow it southwest along the ridge before looping back on the Kaiser Trail. We crossed the street and headed out on our adventure. Not far into the trail we reached a fork that took us to the first mine. I saw some stone ruins along the way before the first mine quickly came into view. It was fairly large and would have been easy to access, but it was blocked by a metal grate. I shined my headlamp inside to take a look and wondered how far back it went. The Pahaquarry Copper Mine is said to date back to the 1750s, but it was never successful due to the ore extracted being of too low concentration of copper. After checking out the first mine, we got back on the main trail which began an ascent along the ravine. We spotted the second mine nestled into the hillside up above the trail, and I climbed up to take a closer look. This mine was much smaller than the first, but it too was inaccessible. We then reached a wooden bridge crossing over the creek. Now the path narrowed and became much rockier. We climbed steeply along the ravine enjoying views of waterfalls flowing down the mountain. We came upon a spur trail leading down to the bottom of one of the accessible waterfalls so we decided to explore. Next, we got back on the main trail which moved away from the creek and into a forest of mixed hardwoods. We passed by blooming wildflowers and a vernal pool then crossed over another wooden bridge leading to a parking area. We checked the map, got our bearings and headed onto the Appalachian Trail. We climbed in elevation navigating over large boulders until reaching the top of the ridge where we had views of New Jersey on one side and Pennsylvania on the other. Soon we came to a vista point overlooking Lower Yards Creek Reservoir. Here, we met another hiker who also happened to be from California. We chatted about the mountains and shared stories about our hikes out west before continuing on our way. When we reached the Kaiser trail, it began to rain. We had to stop and put on our rain gear, but the rain didn’t last. The Kaiser Trail has two different spurs to link back to Copper Mine, so we opted to take the longer route to extend our day. We descended steeply enjoying the views of the Delaware River before finally connecting back to Copper Mine. Before heading home, we took a quick walk down to the shores of the river where I saw wildflowers of Trillium and Dutchman’s Breeches. It was a great day of hiking, and I’m looking forward to continuing to explore more of this section of the Delaware Water Gap.
I woke up to a rainy morning. The weather was cooler than it had been all summer and the air felt refreshing. After the rain stopped and only cloudy skies remained, I headed out to Trexler Nature Preserve. The Preserve has been around since the turn of the century when it was established by General Harry Trexler as a way to protect bison, elk and white-tailed deer. The Preserve also hosts the Lehigh Valley Zoo. I’d been to the zoo many times as a kid, but never walked any of the hiking trails along the lands. Today’s overcast skies made it the perfect day to hike these lands since many of the trails meander through open fields that are exposed to the sun. I parked in the lot off Orchard Road and got on the Border Trail heading north. The trail headed upward where there were nice views overlooking the farmlands below. The trail continued in and out of open meadows and through shady hemlock forest alongside Jordan Creek. I climbed up the trail to the top of the hill where I took a detour onto Park Road to have a look at a herd of bison roaming the central range. They looked very content as they lay in the tall grass. One of the cows had a calf who was sprawled out taking a nap. I took a few photos of the bison before backtracking the road and onto Fireman’s trail. This trail took me to Schlicher’s Covered bridge which was built in 1882. There are many historic bridges here in Pennsylvania that have been restored and preserved. I crossed Game Preserve Road and found the Elk View Trail which climbed on a single dirt track up above the creek and then into another meadow. The trail turned east and then south until I eventually reached the ford which you can actually drive through with your car. Above the ford there’s a footbridge that crosses Jordan Creek. I walked across it to snap a few photos before closing the loop by following the Trexler Nature trail back to the parking area. There was a good amount of up and down on this trek. I walked a little over five miles enjoying the diverse habitats of wildflower filled meadows, pasturelands with roaming bison, hemlock forests, ravines and wetlands. I really enjoyed my time here and plan to come back to explore more of the area.
Today was a good day to walk the meadows at Jacobsburg State Park. The sun was shining and it was still early enough that it wasn’t too hot. Jacobsburg is such a great place to observe wildlife. I saw and heard so many different birds as I meandered around the blue blazed Homestead Trail. I spent time watching two Common yellowthroats (male and female) in the meadow, and I heard the songs of the Eastern towhee and Indigo bunting. There were Tufted titmice high up in the tree canopy, Blue jays and so many others. One thing I’m learning as I do more exploring of Pennsylvania’s natural areas is that the trails here are less about reaching the summit of a big mountain and more about taking your time, observing, and enjoying the journey. It reminds me of a quote by John Muir, “I don't like either the word [hike] or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not 'hike!”. Mountains or meadows, I am learning to spend more time “sauntering”.
Today I headed back up to Jacobsburg State Park. It’s nearby and such a wonderful place to take in some nature. I parked in the main parking lot and took the Hazard Trail. I remember hiking this with my dog when I was a kid in the snow and ice. In the summer months, it’s really not much of a hazard. The trail is a single dirt track and it’s well maintained. There’s even a set of steps to take you up one of the steeper sections. The trail climbs easily above Bushkill Creek and there are nice views looking down to the water. At about a half mile I came upon a beautiful meadow filled with Yarrow and Common Milkweed. There were many birds here enjoying the first rays of sunshine. I could hear Eastern Towhee, Brown Thrasher and Gray Catbirds. I turned south and followed the path through the meadow which is part of the Homestead Trail. This trail skirts around the edge of the park on the southeast side. It was partly cloudy today making the walk around the open grassy areas very pleasant. The dewy grass and cool breeze felt so refreshing. In my journey I noted some wildflowers; Coneflower, Common Milkweed, Yarrow, Common St. John’s Wort, Red Clover, Crown Vetch, Wild Bergamont and a few others that I wasn’t able to identify. I closed the loop around the park by heading towards the Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center and exiting the trail there. I took a quick side trip across Belfast Road to visit the Henry’s Forge historic buildings before heading home. I’m really enjoying these relaxing morning hikes and taking the time to explore and learn the flora and fauna of the east coast.
Today I woke up before sunrise and headed out for a walk around Jacobsburg State Park* in Nazareth. Jacobsburg State Park offers a 19 mile network of trails ranging from deciduous forest to open fields and streams. Its diverse habitats host many species of butterflies, birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians.
Today I was interested in photographing the early morning light in Henry’s Woods, an old growth forest consisting of tall stands of hemlock and white oak.
I arrived at the main parking lot off Belfast Road around 6:30 am. There was only one other car in the lot as I began my walk along the wide dirt path leading into Henry’s Woods. The forest was dark but rays of morning sunlight pierced through the trees making for some interesting light. The great Hemlock and White Oak trees towered above my head. The air was humid but cool as I meandered alongside Bushkill Creek taking photos of the lush greenery and the wildflowers. At the end of the Henry’s Woods Trail I reached a fork and followed it northeast to the Jacobsburg Trail which crosses over Belfast Road and onto a wide, grassy path. I followed along the Jacobsburg Trail which runs parallel to highway 33 until it turns southwest and crosses over a bridge above Engler’s Run Creek. I went a little too far and ended up at the parking area on State Park Road. There are a lot of interconnecting trails within the park, and it can get confusing. But if you have a general sense of direction and a map (which you can find at the main parking lot kiosk), you’ll figure out where you are. From here I backtracked and veered off the wide path to explore one of the overgrown use trails that lead down to Engler’s Run Creek. There wasn’t a good spot to ford the creek (unless you were on horseback), so I went back up the path and did a lollipop loop back onto the Jacobsburg Trail and eventually back through Henry’s Woods. By this time it was around 8 am and joggers and dog walkers were making their way onto the trails. It was a lovely morning to spend a few hours enjoying the quiet hours of the park.
*A quick little history about Jacobsburg: In 1792 William Henry II purchased land at Jacobsburg and built a gun manufactory. Henry II acquired the land from the heirs of Jacob Hubler who founded the community which is now called Jacobsburg. The famous Henry rifle was once crafted here, and the Henry family’s small arms industry played an important role in the American Industrial Revolution.
