6 May 2021 Visiting Owego

 We've visited Tioga County before but not since we have been geocaching.  Construction in Ithaca was horrible on my trip to Cortland.  I didn't feel like dealing with it on the way home.  Instead I headed south taking a different path to I86.

A little water always makes a visit better.

I missed the find near the first water while the second stop had no caches with just a pleasant view.  Like so many counties, Tioga has a geotour.  I don't have the time to stay in a county and hunt all the geotrail hides, but I did enjoy making a stop at this nice Newark Valley depot.

The cemetery overlooking Otswego was filled with old markers and offered a great view.  It also included a rare bonus these days of a benchmark with a view.  It was hard to miss this one.

What other town offers a map of town painted on a building at a major intersection?

My last stop was for a surreal multi at the courthouse.  I was lucky to grab a great parking spot and soon realized I was one of the first arrivals for a strange outdoor music event geared to a different political view than mine.  I stuck with it and found the information for the final of the multi and picked up a second benchmark on the way.  My search ended when I realized the final was right in the middle of the political gathering.  Getting in that crowd would not have ended well.

4 May 2021 Chicago Bog and Dryden Lake

I hadn't been to Chicago Bog in years.  It was great to be back for a lunch walk.  Cortland is always a few weeks behind my normal woods walks so I was able to enjoy spring flowers a second time. 

I was hoping for ducks and maybe a lucky warbler sighting when I reached the bog.

Instead I spotted turtles and a song sparrow.  They weren't quite what I was hoping for, but they were fun to see.

After work I made a first visit to Dryden Lake.  The lake was quite scenic with a trail along the northern shore.

My duck sighting was a little late, but I enjoyed a solitary merganser swimming across the water to a log where it stopped to dry off.

The old railroad grade was a pleasant walk although I was always looking out for more rain arriving.

Eventually the rain did arrive and I had a long run back to the vehicle.  The camera came through dry so the journey was worth the sights.

3 May 2021 Homer

 I had big plans for a hike on the Finger Lakes Trail after work.  A storm took care of those plans.  Instead, I decided to visit Homer to complete and Adventure Lab.  Homer is an attractive old town where almost no one is ever seen.  It's kind of creepy quiet.  These works were on dispaly outside the Homer Center for the Arts.  The Center is soon sponsoring a concert by Asleep At The Wheel.

The zebra was my favorite although the rock guitarist captures the power perfectly.

2 May 2021 Spring in Warren

I was off to New York for business on Monday so we had the day to spend enjoying a perfect spring day.  We started with a long walk at our property to look for more flowers. 

We spent the afternoon geocaching and walking at Washington Park.  We hadn't been to this park overlooking Warren in years.  The site has been cleaned and was pleasant for a visit and a great view with a nice walk.

Our last stop of a fun day outdoors was a visit to Anders Run.  The wildflowers were getting past their prime, but we spotted many still in great shape.

1 May 2021 Heading East

We stopped today at Melnik on the way to our home.  We hadn't stopped here in 2020.  The stand is set away from the road, but offers a variety of plants including hostas and lilies.  It was great to support a small business and pick up a few new plants to add to the yard. 

We took a walk on the trail at our home.  Trilliums were in bloom and the recent rains were flowing through the stream.

We made a short visit to the nearby ANF area for a walk.  Red trilliums were near the parking area.

28 April 2021 Birding Day

 We set aside one day each spring to visit the shoreline of the western basin of Lake Erie looking for spring birds. Before leaving the house we spotted a large milk snake.  Three feet is long for these.  This one was at least four.  I wanted to place something for scale, but it was moving as soon as we were spotted.

This year was a little later than usual for us, but turned out to be a perfect adventure.  We started our day at Old Woman Creek.  The sights were good.  The boxes near parking are bluebird boxes, but today there were no bluebirds visible.  This was one of many swallows standing guard over a nesting box.

It's not a bird, but most wildlife interests us.

When the early day gives a green heron about twenty feet away, it is time for a happy dance.  This one seemed oblivious to us and gave plenty of opportunities for a great image.

Usually great blue herons are fairly easy to spot on this annual journey.  That was not the case today as this long distance shot was the day's ony sighting.  Interestingly, this was at the same distant shoreline spot were we saw herons the year prior in the snow.

There were still plenty of spring wildflowers to enjoy.

We often spot wood ducks at Sheldon Marsh.  With a later visit the wetlands area had mostly dried.  We were lucky to spot a pair of teals near the shore on the open water.

Sheldon Marsh was busy today with egrets visiting including a couple with breeding plumage.

We were near the end of the trail when we spotted multiple palm warblers.

The teal couple had left the log and were out for a swim.

We left Sheldon Marsh and made a visit to East Sandusky Bay.  The park is often home to nesting eagles.  We were't disappointed today as we made a long distance sighting two with one in the nest and a second watching the nest from a nearby tree.

We decided to keep the day alive with a stop in Rocky River Park on the way home.  Even baby raccoons can look cute when they are tired and resting in a tree.

Someone spent a lot of time creating fairy homes.

Buckeyes aren't very common in northeast Ohio.  This one was blooming as we were ending our walk.