18 May 2014 Wildflowers and Water

With the dogs at camp in Ohio, it was a day for chores on the trails at our home. We grabbed a saw, clippers, gloves, and a camera ;) and spent a few hours getting the trails ready for spring. We also enjoyed the colors of the season.

We spotted our first morel in the last year or two on the property. Besides the great flavor, they have high amounts of potassium and iron.

The turkey eggs are still in place. The poults should be emerging soon. :)

17 May 2014 ASP Geobash

It was a big annual day for us. We always anticipate traveling to Allegeny State Park for the big geocaching event. It is one of the few days we set aside for friends, hiking, and geocaches with few or no other activities. The crowd was big and enthusiastic despite the threat of rain.

It was a very good day including time spent with friends, a day on the trail with our friend Chris, and lots of hiking and caches. The rain arrived after our first couple of finds and soon drove us indoors to Chris' cabin for a piece of pie while we waited for the downpour to let up. Eventually, we were back on the trail and even treated to a spot of blue in the sky.

I really want one of these things, but the practical side of me says don't do it. I think a good unit is a significant investment plus the cost of the camera. It looks like a toy made for me, but in the end it is still a radio controlled aircraft that can disappear or crash in a moment with a bit of operator error or a battery losing power. Besides as great as think it would be for taking pictures, I'm not so certain I would find dragging it on a trail to be a practical experience. I also can't forget my ability to damage land-based cameras.

The wildflowers weren't at their peak, but we were really happy to spot painted trilliums. They are still an unusual treat.

After the rain, the clouds slowly lifted and eventually gave us a touch of blue sky.

I usually don't notice the new caches for this event since there are always caches in the park which we haven't found, but Chris was interested in a new puzzle cache which required finding a number of other caches in the park to get the clues to the location of the cache. Since the twist to the puzzle was there was no indication of which caches had to be found to get the information, we searched for a lot caches. It was different and more intense than the type of caching we've done recently, but a lot of fun. It was another day to create a great memory at the beautiful park.

16 May 2014 Caching East

Each spring we try to spend the day at the ASP Geobash geocaching event. Today we left early to enjoy a few caches and a few sites along the way.

We stopped at a cemetery in Edinboro to look for a last cache before heading home. There were two veterans at the cemetery placing flags at veterans' markers in preparation of the upcoming holiday.

15 May 2014 An Old Bridge and Pete's Pond Preserve

We were out seeking a few caches in Lake County. The first cache took us near this old bridge. Many of these are disappearing to be replaced with preformed concrete units. This 1881 beauty was spared and rebuilt.

Pete's Pond Preserve is a Lake Metroparks holding behind a local high school. We've always enjoyed our visits. This evening was no different with some nice mayapples in bloom and lots of wildlife. We were also lucky to avoid any rain.

No duck's this evening,

but we did spot this young buck and an immature bird near the viewing platform.

This picnic table is far out of the way in the woods. It might be a great place for a picnic on a bright, summy day. This evening it just looked lonely.

13 May 2014 Dodging the Rain

We dodged the rain and found a few caches at a nearby wetland. Spotting the small waterfall was a bonus at the end.

11 May 2014 Spring in the Chagrin Valley

Some days should just be enjoyed.

10 May 2014 Holden

We don't visit Holden as often as we should. It is a beautiful location every season. This evening we stopped for a walk with the dogs after an afternoon of chores in the yard. The spring wildflowers are running their course, but there were still some to be seen on our walk.

These bellworts were attractive. There was a large carpet on the ground.

We have been lucky to see male orioles on our journeys. The female is not so easy to spot. Today we were able to see both of them in the same group of trees.