Van Buskirk Farm Preserve, Toads & Witch's Butter, May 22, 2022

May 22, 2022

Today we went back for a visit to Van Buskirk Farm Preserve. It’s one of those places I doubt many people even know about much less visit. The preserve is hidden in plain sight just off the side of a major road and if you didn’t know where to look for the trailhead, you’d probably drive right past and miss all the beauty it has to offer. Today Cranberry Creek was sparkling with bright tones of emerald green reflected by the moss carpets clinging to the large boulders strewn about the creek. Boughs of the great hemlock trees bent and swayed along with the the breeze and the water cascaded in a rhythmic natural orchestra. As we made our way to the bridge that crosses the creek, I noticed some work was done to the trail to clear the heavy the storm damage I’d seen the last time we were here.

As we hiked the the dirt trail navigating the muddy sections always to be expected this time of year, I noticed an American Toad sitting quietly hoping to blend in with the leaf debris and waiting for us to pass. We continued onward through the forest and came upon two little red efts making their way along the trail. We hiked up to the red rock quarry, passed the vernal pool that is usually filled with the sound of chirping frogs and made our way down to the ruins of the old farm. I spotted an interesting fungi today which I ID’d later as “Witch’s Butter”. Witch’s Butter is an edible fungus also known as yellow brain, golden jelly and yellow trembler. The names seemed appropriate to match its description. This type of fungus is typically found on fallen branches and grows in crevices of bark during rainy weather. It dries up a few days after the rain, but it can revive itself when it gets wet again. Fascinating.

The hike is fairly short, but it was a perfect spring day to drive to the Poconos and simply enjoy the nature. We sat on the bridge for a while before heading back and as we did the sun began to peak through what had started out as on overcast day. It was a perfect morning.

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Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary Mayapple & More Wildflowers, May 20, 2022

May 20, 2022

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.

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Hickory Run State Park, Shades of Death & Beach Trail, May 18, 2022

May 18, 2022

The Shades of Death Trail in Hickory Run State Park is a lovely trail. It’s nice to come here on a weekday when it’s not crowded. It’s one of the more popular trails in the area, and I can see why. The trail is fairly steady most of the way and has plenty of scenery to enjoy as it undulates along Sand Spring Run passing by waterfalls and cascades, through hemlock forest and rhododendron thickets, over bridges and through large boulders. There are sunny meadows, a fishing pond and the ruins of an old logging mill and a dam. This trail is an out and back of just one mile each way. We walked up to the visitor center and then onto the Beach Trail which is just across the street to add a little more time to the hike. We had really great weather today. Here are some photos from the trek.

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Woodland Hills Preserve, Walking with Black Vultures, May 16, 2022

May 16, 2022

Early morning walk around Woodland Hills preserve. Lots of wildflowers blooming here and I worked with my iNaturalist app to ID them. Weather was cloudy and a couple of times the wind kicked up and dark clouds rolled through. I thought it might storm, but there was no thunder and it never did. Half way through my walk on the inner loop, I saw a tree full of over a dozen black vultures. They were perched high over head and soaring back and forth between the tall trees. I walked right under them and took a few photos. They just watched me as though they were just as curious about me as I was with them. It was a really nice surprise seeing these beauties up close.

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Jacobsburg State Park Wildflower Walk, May 10, 2022

May 10, 2022

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.

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Red Rock Trail & Mount Sophia, May 8, 2022

May 08, 2022

Today we hiked the Red Rock Loop and Mt. Sophia. This trail is part of the Mount Airy Trail Network in the Pocono Mountains. We’ve been here a couple of times before and it’s lovely, mellow trail. My favorite part of this hike are the beautiful eastern white pines on top of Mt. Sophia. If you peak through the trees, you can also catch a glimpse of Camelback mountain. But the highlight of my trip today was seeing a barred owl. In Los Angeles, I spent so many nights walking the hills of Griffith Park at dusk listening and watching the families of Great Horned owls hoot and hunt just after sunset. This was the first owl I’ve seen since being in Pennsylvania, and my first barred owl so it was a real treat!.

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Catskill Park, Overlook Mountain Fire Tower & Hotel Ruins, 5.82 Miles RT, 1,640' +/-, April 24, 2022

April 24, 2022

We took a day trip to the Catskills to explore the area and hike. Our first stop was the visitors center where we asked for some recommendations and picked up a few maps. We decided to check out Overlook Mountain which was one of the hikes I’d read about when I was researching before our trip. We got back in the car, drove through Woodstock and found the parking lot at the trailhead off Meads Mountain Road across from a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. It was later in the day, and with this being a popular hike, the lot was at capacity and we ended up parking along side the road.

The hike is on an old carriage road and the views didn’t change much as we made our way up steadily gaining in elevation. In a little over a mile and a half we came upon the ruins of the old Overlook Hotel. The ruins here are the remains of the third building that was built at this location. The first was built in the early 1800s. Over the years, the Overlook Hotel changed hands serval times. It seemed to be a failed endeavor right from its start. It burned down twice before it was rebuilt it in concrete. In the early 1900s, the failed Overlook Hotel closed its doors indefinitely as the trend of luxury resort hotels in the Catskills phased out and the clientele took their money elsewhere. Today, the Overlook’s ruins are one of the only historic resorts left in the Catskills. In the 1970s, the hotel burned yet again, but the concrete structure withstood the fiery blaze.

After exploring the ruins, we continued up the trail until we reached the summit of Overlook Mountain at 3,140 feet. There’s a cabin just before the fire tower and a short spur trail that took us to a rocky outcropping with expansive views of the Hudson River Valley and Ashokan Reservior. After checking out the vista, we continued to the fire tower. We climbed the tower’s stairs, but the door to the actual lookout was closed. We cllimbed up the 60 foot tower as high as we could go and enjoyed the views before heading down to have a snack at one of the convenient picnic tables on the summit.

After our snack, we began to make our way back. We decided to quick check out a side trail to Echo Lake which had much less people, but as we began to give up elevation, we decided to turn around and save it for another day since it was a little late and we’d have to hike it back up and then down again on our original trail.

It was a lovely day and although this was a more populated hike, I did enjoy the climb up the fire tower and it was a nice intro to the Catskills.

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Adirondack Park, Marcy Dam via Van Hovenberg Trail, 5 miles RT, 500' +/-, April 18, 2022

April 18, 2022

After our morning hike up Owl’s Head, we headed over to Adirondak Loj for a nice, mellow hike out to Marcy Dam via the Van Hovenberg Trail. We’ve done this section of trail several times before and being that it was shoulder season, we thought it was best to stay below 2,500’ to avoid soft melting snow and the ice still holding on at higher elevations. The hike to Marcy Dam is pleasant with much of it being easy, rolling trail. It was a perfectly beautiful day and upon arriving at the dam, we chatted with some hikers who’d just come down from Colden. They confirmed it was mostly still ice up there, which was not a surprise. We took our time and hung out at the dam soaking in more sunshine before heading back. We stopped at the Big Slide restaurant for lunch in Lake Placid before heading back to the hotel and checking out to drive back. We’d initially planned to stay another night, but a spring snow storm was predicted to roll in overnight and by this time, the weather service was pretty certain it would bring with it about 12 inches of snow. We checked out early and drove back home to be on the safe side and avoid unpredictable driving conditions the next morning. It was another wonderful trip to the ADK which has become my happy place since we are currently here on the east coast.

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Adirondack Park, Owl's Head Trail, 1 Mile RT, 500' +/-, April 18, 2022

April 18, 2022

The Owl’s Head Trail is a short but steep 1 mile ascent requiring some moderate scrambling and is considered “Adirondack easy”. For a minimal amount of work, you’ll be rewarded with fantastic views of Giant, Hurricane, Lower Wolf Jaw, Porter, Cascade, Pitchoff and Jay.

The trail is on private land and is only open on weekdays. It’s located just off the 73 near Keene (you’ll actually see the summit as you descend from Lower Cascade Lake along the 73). Be mindful of parking (we parked along the 73 just to be safe) and walk down the dirt road to the sign for the unmarked trail. As you begin, the trail makes an immediate ascent. You’ll see views of Pitchoff, Cascade and Porter as you climb. The final pitch is a moderate scramble that snakes around the edge. At the top and you’ll be rewarded with fine views all around. From the main ledge we could make out Giant, Lower Wolf Jaw, Hurricane, Porter, Cascade, Pitchoff and Jay. We sprawled out on the large flat boulders and soaked in the sun before heading back down the way we came. Once back at the trailhead, we still had plenty of time in our day to head out and hike some other trails.

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Adirondack Park, Cat & Thomas Mountain Preserve, Cat Mountain, 7 Miles RT, 1,342 +/-, April 17, 2022

April 17, 2022

Beautiful day in the Adirondacks hiking to the top of Cat Mountain. We started the hike from the trailhead off Valley Woods Road, followed the blue trail and then onto the yellow trail to the summit which gave us spectacular views overlooking Lake George. There is nothing technical on this route and no rock scrambling as there typically is with much of the Adirondacks. Since it’s shoulder season, I was expecting more mud, but it was minimal. This was the perfect hike to do after a 4 hour drive which gave us enough time to head up to Lake Placid afterwards and enjoy a nice dinner before settling in early and heading out to do more hiking in the High Peaks region the next day.

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Birding Around Woodland Hills Preserve, April 13, 2022

April 13, 2022

Morning walk around the Woodland Hills Preserve. Love coming here before work. It’s a great place for birding! The tree swallows are coupled up and they are taking advantage of the nesting boxes. The cherry blossoms are in bloom and the preserve is full of birdsong. Woodland Hills Preserve was once a golf course and it’s so wonderful to see nature taking over. Other birds I observed here today were: Brown Thrasher, Red-winged Blackbirds, Mockingbird, Northern Flicker, Eastern Towhee and a few others I still need to identify. Very enjoyable morning.

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Jacobsburg State Park, Explorer Trail, Sobers Run, April 10, 2021

April 10, 2022

Beautiful early morning walk at Jacobsburg State Park. I parked in the lot off Belfast road, crossed the bridge over Bushkill creek and headed onto Sobers Run to the Explorer Trail. This is one of my favorite sections of the park, as there’s a large conifer plantation here and walking through it in the early morning hours was magical. The trail then travels mostly through hardwood forest until it eventually drops down to the creek. I sat here for a while enjoying the sound of the rushing water and the hemlocks swaying in the wind. I love starting out my mornings with a nature meditation and grounding practice. And even though some days it’s hard to wake up before the sun, I never regret it.

Sunrise at Jacobsburg State Park, April 8, 2022

April 08, 2022

My favorite time of day is the hour before sunrise. I got up early today to enjoy the woods in Jacobsburg State Park just as the sun was coming up.

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Nothstein Preserve, April 4, 2022

April 04, 2022

This is one of my favorite Nature Preserves in Paradise Township the Pocono Mountains. I’ve been here several times and keep coming back to see the changes throughout the seasons. There’s always something new to experience along this very short hike of about 3 miles. Today’s weather was cloudy and a little on the chilly side. The sun popped in and out of the clouds throughout the morning. It cast beautiful light across the moss covered rocks along the cascading Cranberry Creek. Soon the trails here will be covered with bright red-orange Red Efts (a second stage eastern newt). It was a lovely morning and a nice way to start the day.

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Lake Towhee walk, April 3, 2022

April 03, 2022

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.

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Nockamixon State Park, Old Mill Trail, March 27, 2022

March 27, 2022

Today we hiked the Old Mill Trail at Nockamixon State Park. I hiked this trail in July of 2021 on a very hot, humid day. It looked much different at that time with everything so green, but this trail seems to be muddy no matter what time of year you hike it. Today it was especially so. Luckily, I have a good pair of Keen waterproof boots and my feet stayed dry despite the boot sucking mud. The trail is about 5.6 miles and there’s a creek crossing to be negotiated at about .4 miles in if you start from the trailhead at Deerwood Lane. In July, we did this without issue, but today the water level was higher and I didn’t want to risk a slip. We decided to forego the water crossing and drive to the other side where you can park at a different trailhead off Old Bethlehem Road and pick up the loop from the other side. On our way back to the parking area at Deerwood Lane, we took a paved path that passed by Stover Mill and a small waterfall. We got back in the car and drove to a the trailhead on Old Bethlehem Road and continued with our hike on Old Mill. The day was chilly and the ominous clouds reflected like a mirror in the lake. Most of this hike takes you through hardwoods with scattered pine and cedar. As we neared our last half mile, it began to snow with some hail. Not too many people out on the trail today, but it’s always a good day to be outside if you’re prepared for weather.

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Graver Arboretum Walk, Spring Flowers Emerge, March 26, 2022

March 26, 2022

Photos from a relaxing early evening walk at Graver Arboretum, in Bushkill Township, Pennsylvania. I’ve been here a coupe of times and need to make it a point to visit more often. The arboretum is used as an outdoor classroom by the biology and other science departments of Muhlenberg College. Today I saw the first signs of spring in the form of the emerging Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). It’s one of the earliest spring flowers in Northeastern Pennsylvania. These plants are unique in that they can generate heat to melt through snow making them one of the first wildflowers to be seen emerging in the spring. The plant produces a pungent odor if the leaves are crushed. Some compare it to rotting flesh. (I didn't crush the leaves to try it, because I didn't want to hurt the plant.) The odor, while maybe not so pleasant to a human, is attractive to pollinators. Another subject of artistic interest was the early evening light cast on the “knees” coming up from the roots of the Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) near the pond. I spent about about an hour here walking, observing and enjoying my time discovering some trees I had not seen before such as the Lacebark Pine (Pinus bungeana). But as the sun sank lower in the sky, a large dark clouds threatened with stormy winds. I knew the sky was about to open up with rain, but luckily, I was dressed for weather because it started to hail. I loved the sound of the trees swaying in the wind, and the sound of the bark on the limbs rubbing against each other. It made the time even magical to be here at this hour with no one else around listening to the trees talk. The storm didn’t last long before the sun came back out. As I was driving home a gorgeous rainbow appeared in the sky. It was a nice way to wrap up a wonderful evening.

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Tuscarora State Park, 7.5 mile icy loop, March 6, 2022

March 06, 2022

Today we hiked a loop around Tuscarora Sate Park. The hike starts along the lake. It was fine on the south side but the north (where the sun doesn’t hit) was icy as I expected. We switched into light traction which was more to keep from slipping as there’s really not much elevation on this hike. I love Tuscarora. The terrain here is not your typical ankle breaking rocks jutting out of the ground like most of the trails I’ve experienced in Pennsylvania. I’m not sure why that is, exactly, but it’s so pleasant when you can actually look up from your feet and enjoy the scenery. This loop trail isn’t listed on the map. You actually have to walk along the street for a bit and then jump the guard rail to reconnect with it to make it a loop. We did this over the summer and it was just as pretty in the winter. I spotted a white robin today too. It wasn’t an albino though. The white is caused by a genetic condition called leucism which prevents pigments from reaching some of the feathers. I tried getting some photos, but since I didn’t have my birding camera with me, they didn’t come out very well. At least I got a good enough photo to I.D. the bird. After the hike we took time to enjoy the icy beach. I’m really enjoying these beaches in the winter when no one is on them. In the summer, that may be a different story! :)

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Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Tumbling Waters Trail, Pocono Environmental Education Center, February 27, 2022

February 27, 2022

Another day of blue sky and snow. We hiked from the trailhead at the PEEC on the Two Ponds and then the Tumbling Waters trail to make a loop. I guess a lot of people don’t like cold weather in Pennsylvania, because yet again, there was nobody out hiking today. We hiked past the ponds which were all frozen over and down to the waterfall. The sun felt so good when we stopped at the falls to enjoy the scenery. Then we made our way up out of the gorge to enjoy the vista at the top and then looped it back to the trailhead. Didn’t see a another soul out on the trail today.

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Locust Lake State Park, Locust Creek and Broad Mountain, February 25, 2022

February 25, 2022

Another cold, icy day. Seems like we’ve had to deal with more ice this year then last year. We headed out to Locust Lake. We’ve had really great weather lately. Mostly blue sky and not the typical winter gray that I remember from last year. We hiked a loop that took us along Locust Creek, up to Broad Mountain then back down. After the hike we stopped to enjoy the icy beach. I’ve never see the beach in the summer and wondered how crowded it gets. Well, no one was here today! So we sat for a while and looked out across the frozen lake watching the ice fisherman before heading home.

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