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Monday, October 30, 2017

11 May 2017 An Evening Walk at the Rookery

7 May 2017 West Woods

Warm and sunny weather seemed perfect for a long walk at Geauga Park's West Woods. There were two caches in the park and plenty of spring to see.

The pond near the picnic pavilion was a gathering of interesting wildlife.

I took the log image to capture the painted turtle. It was only when I downloaded the image that I noticed the large water snake at the other end of the log.

Spotted yellowlegs are not very common in northeast Ohio. This one was an unusual site.

An early swallowtail near wild geranium

A solitary jack-in-the-pulpit

The turn-around point for our walk was the grounds of the old Affelder Estate. We enjoyed the views of the waterfall.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

6 May 2017 Red-Wing Blackbirds

On a trail in Stark County.

30 April 2017 Anders Run

The trilliums were in bloom as we enjoyed a walk at Anders Run.

Saturday, October 28, 2017

29 April 2017 More Spring Views From Our Woods

We have morel mushrooms in our woods. They do not exist in abundance. We do not see them every year. When we do spot them, it is a bit exciting.

It was another great weekend to look for wildflowers and see what was now taking its turn to bloom.

When we first moved here, we were certain of seeing many salamanders on the property each year after rainfalls. There were a few years where we spotted very few. Now they seem to be on the uptick again.

27 April 2017 Great Blue

The pond at our newest location (and my home office) appears to have attracted a great blue heron. I think that is kind of special.

Walking the Shore

Looking for Food

Friday, October 27, 2017

23 April 2017 North Chagrin

Ali was visiting family back east so I stopped by North Chagrin to replace a missing cache container. The wildflowers were still in heavy bloom along the trail behind Squire's Castle.

16 April 2017 Wildflower Walk in Our Woods

We spent a spring afternoon with chores in the woods. While the bloodroot and trout lily would be gone before our return, most other flowers were just showing up.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

15 April 2017 Brush Hollow

It was a perfect afternoon for a spring walk in the ANF. The day almost ended before it began. We arrived at the parking area and were getting the dogs out when we saw Phin had chewed through his leash. I was very happy we had started double leashing him after his last escapade in the woods.

There weren't many spring wildflowers to spot, but the trail was wonderful. We spotted salamanders and vernal pools filled with eggs.

This sign clearly lost the battle with the forces of nature.

We've seen salamanders feast on eggs before so we weren't sure if this one was watching the nursery or deciding where to begin eating.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

14 April 2017 SGL 218

We visited the gamelands to find a few unfound caches with the hope there might be a few ducks to spot on the water.

Our second cache hunt took us to an area of very active beavers. They seem to have no limit to what they will chew.

The cache is back there in the flooded area.

If frogs could be amused, this one had plenty of chances watching us try to reach the cache without getting soaked.

In the end, Ali ended up going for the cache and wringing out her socks after the find.

After a few more finds, we made our way back to the pond to enjoy the ducks.