6 June 2019 Cars of Mexico

It is always interesting to see the cars in Mexico.  Many of them have a US counterpart or were brought in from the US and sold, but many are unavailable and unseen in the US.

There were two Mitsubishi Eclipses in the parking lot of the hotel.  These were once a common sight in the US.  Two of them in the same hotel lot meant they were probably traveling together.

This is a slightly older Seat Ibiza.  They are fairly common on the local roads.  The newer ones are now sporting an LED headlight configuration.

The Dodge Neon name lives in Mexico.

The Ford Figo is an import from India.  The future of this car is unknown as Ford has relinquished most automotive management in India to Indian manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra.

4 June 2019 Hiking Monterrey

Ghost bikes mark the side of the trail heading into the steep rides on the side of the mountain.  My local engineer loves to ride here, but I am aware these peaks are beyond where I want to ride.

Our company truck sits in the shadow of the base of a peak.  Our target this evening is across the road.

The trail climbs quickly shrinking the road and vehicles.

Canyon wrens were abundant on the climb.

We were about 200 feet from the peak when we pulled back and started down.  Reaching the peak would have been easy.  Making the big descent on a treacherous trail in the dark was more risk than we can afford.

A few times a year on my trips to Monterrey, I indulge myself with a favorite dish.  Queso fundido with chorizo is a real treat for me.  The hotel does the dish well.  The hike seemed a reasonable warm-up for this dish.

1 June 2019 Caching at Tam O'Shanter

It's no secret that golf is dying.  It's an expensive sport that takes a long time to play.  Most people lack either the financial resources or the time to play.  Years ago, Geauga Parks was the first park system we knew that took ownership of the Orchard Hills Golf Course and made it a park.  Today we were walking the former Tam O'Shanter Golf Course which had first opened for business in 1928.  I'm glad to see these former courses remain as green space and with the changing use become less of a burden on the local water supply and greener with the reduction of the pesticides used on courses.

It was easy to tell we were golfing at an old course at the first geocache.  I have no idea why geocachers love leaving golf balls in caches.  I know of few who also golf.

Stark Parks is clearly working to revert the land back to a more natural state, but the paths clearly shout old golf course.

It was a hot day.  It was hot enough that we were visited by a Stark Parks Ranger to determine if we were keeping the geodogs hydrated.  Four bottles of water and a dog bowl seemed to satisfy his curiousity.

There really wasn't much to see beyond some of the older trees from the course but it was a fun place to walk and find caches.

Ali spotted Dead Man's Fingers in a stump near one of the hides.  They are a fairly rare fungus near us and always fun to spot with their perfect name.

We dodged a storm cloud and finished off a fun afternoon at an old golf course.

31 May 2019 Flowers in the Yard

28 May 2019 Turtles at Sunny Lake

Walking the shore at Sunny Lake at lunch while looking for turtles is a pretty great way to unwind.

27 May 2019 For the Birds

Our birdboxes have been hosts to many, many nesting pairs.  They were also falling apart.  I planned to replace two and add a third.  My plans were altered with the discovery of an active nest in one of the boxes.  I was happy to wait while the box served one more nesting pair.

The bird box efforts were rewarded with a spotting of a blue-headed or solitary vireo.  It was a first for us.  We were walking our property to look for orchids when we made the lucky sighting.

We also spotted our first turkey of the spring on the property.  The northern edge sometimes has a nest, but there were no signs this year.  There was a much scurrying of sending young ones deeper in the woods with the sighting of us.

We were able to locate the round leaved orchids in their usual area of the woods,but like most years there would be no spikes.

Before heading back to Ohio we stopped at a favorite place to look for lady's slippers on bloom.  The natural area never fails to offer blooms each spring.

26 May 2019 Buzzard Swamp

We were planning to head to Buzzard Swamp for the afternoon, but first it was time to visit the baby robins who were nesting in the window well of an outbuilding.

Faces on a momma robin could love...

Buzzard Swamp was a little wet and there was some rain, but we still enjoyed a walk and a few bird sightings.

25 May 2019 Beaver Meadows

Beaver Meadows is a little visited jewel. It's a great place for scenic hike or paddle and it has bunchberry and orchids in the spring.

This area has the most bunchberry of any I have seen outside Washington.

Phin conquers the boardwalk'

We had passed by the usual areas where we would spot lady's slippers.  We had expected they either moved or died off.  It was a very, pleasant surprise to spot them on the other side of the shore.