6 April 2019 Sugar Island Preserve

We were invited to visit a Western Reserve Land Conservancy gathering at one of their conservation project sites called Sugar Island Preserve. We have long been connected to the WRLC as donors. I almost always miss their events either through being at work or traveling. This was a rare opportunity for us to attend an event together.

We enjoyed a mid-morning hay ride through the navigable portion of the property.  There were birds and turtles aplenty, but my photography skills are really limited on a vehicle moving across uneven terrain.

We did find out some interesting facts about the land and surrounding areas.  I had never thought about the soil needed for a stadium.  During the ride we were told the top soil used for then Jacobs Field construction was literally scraped from nearby lands and transferred to the stadium.  Part of the work is to address the damage created by the removal of all that rich top soil.

After the ride we stopped to visit at the old hunting lodge that came with the acquisition.  Ali enjoyed lunch on the deck while we looked for birds in the distance.

When we left the gathering, we made a visit to the Trumbull County section of the Western Reserve GeoTrail.  The caches are older and most weren't in locations for the long haul so it was a mix of found, missing, thrown down, and wet hides.  We enjoyed the walk and the sights.

An early arriving eastern comma.

The WRGT made up for all the turtles we passed on the wagon ride.