18 June 2020 Moulting Great Blue Heron

 I wasn't sure I would even be at my office to see one of the local great blues stop by the pond for a meal.  Today I noticed one there in moulting.  I had not seen one in this phase before.

13 June 2020 Butterflies, Birds, and Wildflowers

We were walking the bean field today to check our geocaches and maybe hide a new one.  June is too early for the real show in the field, but we were happy to spot a few monarchs. 

This song sparrow was one of many hanging out in the thorny growth.

We had seen wild delphinums here before but assumed they were lost when the bean field was replanted a few years ago.  Today we were both happy to see they were here as strong as ever.

9 June 2020 Looks Like I Have Work To Do

 

7 June 2020 Bendigo State Park

 Bendigo State Park is a tiny state park in Pennsylvania.  It is near St. Marys and a very popular place for the locals to visit with a campground and a pool in addition to the the natural beauty of a branch of the Clarion River and the surrounding woods.  It would normally be very busy with a nearly full or full parking lot.  With COVID, ninety percent of the parking lot was empty.  The pool was closed.  We were mostly alone in the park.

The East Branch of the Clarion River is very attractive.  A few park visitors were by the water.

The quiet park was even quieter along the trail in the woods.

Lizzie seemed quite happy with the adventure.

6 June 2020 Caching Elk

We usually visit Elk County a couple times each year.  Most of our walk was on a hot, sunny gamelands trail.  We enjoyed the walk and the sites. 

Blue-eyed Grass

Toadpoles in a puddle

Oxeye Daisies were blooming.

We walked the entire trail with only a few brief sightings.  When we reached the parking lot on our return there were multiple swallowtails.

31 May 2020 Familiar Places

We were still in a rediscover mode with a second visit back to Pennsylvania.  We weren't sure the rights to visit would last and were hoping to see favorite places while it did.  We started our afternoon with a visit to the ANF's Bean Field.  The skies were blue and blossoms were starting.  We were also treated to a group of young mergansers getting an escort along the Brokenstraw.

We finished a walk at the bean field and moved on to a visit to a trail along the Allegheny River and back along an old railroad grade.  We made an early season sighting of what would become an elusive great blue heron.  For much of the summer it would be to the north in a less accessible area where it could be heard but not seen.

Diligent beaver work on a couple very large trunks.

30 May 2020 Two Weekends

 We felt lucky to have the opportunity to visit Pennsylvania for back-to-back weekends.  We were also able to make a visit to our favorite ice cream stand.  It felt almost normal even with our maks.

I spent the afternoon doing chores in the woods and looking to see what wildflower plants I was able to find.  Unlike most of the plants, this rue was still in bloom.

Ginger and trillium flowers

We'll need to wait for next spring so we can hopefully see hepatica in bloom together.

26 May 2020 Spring Blooms

 Our Columbine at the house is blooming quite nicely this spring.

It's been many years since Ali's mom brought a handful of these iris to transplant on a visit.  They have slowly spread and provide wonderful blooms every spring.

24 May 2020 Looking for Wildflowers

 We started our day with a walk in our woods.  We expected most spring wildflowers to have finished blooming, and they had.  We were able to enjoy wild geraniums and rue in bloom.

I was hoping we would still be able to spot painted trilliums along the Tanbark Trail while Ali was hoping to spot clintonia in bloom.  We were both happy at the thought of a walk along an old favorite trail.

The stream was flowing strong with the cascades filled with water.

It was a good day for spotting wood thrushes.

We found clintonia in a few places we expected.  The blooming was past, but the plants are strong and hopefully will be waiting for  a visit next year.

We were happy spot twisted rose stalk again in the area where a couple shared their find with us last year. It to was past blooming, but we happily wait until next year and hopefully better times to see it.

We missed other wildflowers blooming included starflower, but painted trilliums were plentiful.

The Tanbark is one of the nicest hikes in the ANF.

Our last stop on the way home was a quick look for orchids on a walk with the dogs.  Some years, they are plentiful and blooming.  There were fewer plants than usual this year, but at least a few had spikes.