10 September 2019 Returning to Alfred

It had been a long time since my last visit to the Alfred area.  This time I was back for a business trip.  I had closed out my business and was on my way home when I stopped by a riverside pull-off for a conference call.  After the call I walked over to the dam area to see if there might be any birds feeding below the dam.

Except for a lone hawk the river and dam area was quiet.  On my way back to the vehicle, I glanced to a quiet side stream and spotted a great blue.

I continued my drive with the plan to stop at Lock 102 to find the cache there.  Since I was passing by I decided to make yet another attempt to find the cache at the Hinsdale American Legion Post.  I was successful today.

Lock 102 was overgrown with fall wildflowers in bloom and made a pleasant visit.

8 September 2019 Medina Caching Part 2

We were back for another day of visiting Medina County Parks.  This visit was without the dogs.  Our first stop was Medina Marsh which is a recently opened park in the system.  The public portion of the park is roughly a half-mile flat trail through an open field that appears to have once been a driving range.  We enjoyed the gathering of butterflies and avoided the gathering of things that sting.  At the end of our walk, we were happy to visit a few other cachers who had also arrived at the park to seek the cache.

Monarchs Visiting Wildflowers

The rain had started by the time we reached Princess Ledges.  We still enjoyed a fun walk in the park.

Sneezeweed along the trail...

We finished on the trails at Susan Hambley Nature Center while enjoying a few bird sightings.

Young mallards dabbling on the water.

7 September 2019 Medina Caching

We were in town for the weekend and wanted to finish the Medina County Parks to finish the cache series.  We first started the series in June so it was time to complete it before the caches went away.  It's a good park system with interesting locations so it promised a good weekend.  The dogs joined us Saturday with our first stop at Allardale.

It was definately the time of the season where yellow and purple flowers dominate with goldenrod and asters leading the wave.

We were treated to a number of young bluebirds growing their adult feathers.

There was water.  Lizzie was happy.

Our next stop was Hubbard Valley.  The parking lot was full, but the trails were mostly empty.  We soon found out as we were in the woods and the sounds of someone performing Simon and Garfunkel classics were heard.  There was some sort of social gathering on the other side of the park.

We enjoyed walking in the woods, finding the cache, and spotting this odd tree.

Our next stop was Killbuck Lake.

We ended our day with a stop at Buckeye Woods.

6 September 2019 Looking for Par

We usually venture out once or twice a year to play mini-golf.  Last year my work-load meant many  of the summer and its activities passed by undone.  They days are getting shorter and the evenings cooler, but we were able to find time this evening and half fun play mini-golf.  Someone won or maybe it was a tie.  Either way, we had time together.

1 September 2019 Greenfield Township Caching

We greeted September with a visit to tiny Greenfield Township. We were looking for an area we hadn't visited in a while where we could spend most if the day on the trails. The Greenfield game lands was a good choice. Usually the paths have been mowed by Labor Day in advance of hunting season. They missed the Greenfield SGL.

The paths were walkable in most places.

Less so in other areas

In some areas the growth was tall enough to not see the dogs at the ends of the leashes.

We navigated the heavy growth and found easier passage in the woods.  Once there we were treated to a very large stand of turtlehead blooming in a wet area.

Ali was also happy to spot a few orchid leaves during our journey.  At least one had the remains of a spike thrown for a blossom.

We were even able to make our exit from the woods before the rain become too bad.

31 August 2019 Geauga Fair (Saturday)

We were back at the fair for the donkey and mule activities.

The empty early-morning midway is kind of creepy.

But the ag fair was busy and active including the donkeys and mules.

This is serious business until your animal decides to roll in the dirt

or just decide to be stubborn.

They will wear socks if they are dressed.

They will even jump over bars.

There was time for one last visit for Ali with the goats before we were on our way.