12 November 2021 Orchard Hills

Fall colors don't seem the same as climate change happens and invasive species like the emerald ash borer decimate trees, but I still keep looking for fall colors. 

10 November 2021 Watching Sunset

 I wish I had more time to see the sun go down.  This evening, I was returning home from a business trip and was hours away.  Watching sunset at Shades Beach seemed like a good plan.

7 November 2021 Spartansburg Snow Geese

 We don't visit Spartansburg Reservoir very often, but our visits often include a few interesting birds.  A stop this afternoon gave us an opportunity to see a few snow geese that had stopped while migrating south.

6 November 2021 Penn DOT Meadville

I've posted images before of the whimsical use the Meadville PennDot team has for old road signs.  It may have been the pandemic, but they seemed to have decided to give the signs a refresh and add even more.  Sometimes the world needs more fun.

 

4 November 2021 Last Heron of the Year?

 Phineas needed to make a visit in Akron for a surgery follow-up.  We left with good news of his condition post-surgery.  I stopped to check out a small pond on the way back to my office.  I spotted this heron near the shore.

30 October 2021 Back in Pennsylvania

 Phineas was out two weeks from his surgery.  He was continuing to show improvement so we decided to stop at a small geocaching event at a park in Meadville.  Phin made the ride well and joined us for a very short walk on the paved trail at the park.  Later at home we made a short walk with him to see our stream after the day's rains.  So far, we feel quite lucky.

24 October 2021 Caching with Lizzie While Phineas Mends

 Our little beagle has some big staples in his back.

So far, his recovery is encouraging.  We are hopeful that he can return to most of his activities and join us on the trail.  In the meantime Lizzie and I headed to Cleveland Metroparks for some trail time.  She looks quite happy.

19 October 2021 Surgery Day

 Phineas was scheduled for back surgery this morning.

Knowing he would be in surgery and recovery for some time we took Lizzie to a Medina park for a walk.

Puffball mushrooms

He made it through surgery.  Now to see how far he can come back.

16 October 2021 Looking for Migratory Birds

I was hoping for a last sighting of migratory birds passing through Mentor Marsh.  I think I waited too long.  The marsh was quiet with no birds and no other visitors.  I walked a bit along the shore and along a short loop before moving on.

15 October 2021 Tough Day

 Phin was in extreme pain this morning so we were headed off to the emergency hospital to get him evaluated.  They weren't able to provide us much help beyond a referral to a specialist and pain meds.

13 October 2021 Liberty Hollow

I dropped Ali for an appointment and wanted to walk while waiting. Liberty Hollow is a nearby park with great views.  I spotted a couple mergansers while near the water, but they were skittish and gone before I captured an image. 

I spotted these runs of shallow water from above.  I was hoping to reach them from the lower level, but the trek to the water was more than I was willing to challenge my healing knee.

11 October 2021 Visiting Moebis

 Pre-COVID I was at Moebis and nearby Sunny Lake multiple times between spring and fall.  With the added work load related to the pandemic, I rarely visit either.  This evening I was out of the office early enough for a short walk around the pond.  The fall colors and a pie-billed grebe were worth the visit.

10 October 2021 Fowl Pets

A nearby neighbor now has ducks and chickens.  I grew up with a neighbor whose rooster was a convenient alarm clock so the presence of the fowl is a known experience for me.

 What I can't get used to is seeing them moving around from property to property.

Besides the fowl being tough on yards and destructive, they are at real risk for being hit by vehicles.  I now rarely drive to my office without seeing one or more dead fowl roadside.  The nearest ducks and chickens cross the road frequently to visit a very large pond.  Eventually they will try to cross in front of a vehicle and be another roadside fatality.

9 October 2021 Fall at Geneva Swamp

 We made a stop at Geneva Swamp hoping to spot a few migratory birds and see one of the eagles that stay in the area.  The migratory birds seemed to have already make the next move south.  This was our first visit here that ended with no eagle spotting.  Meanwhile the look of an approaching winter was evident in the quiet grey day.

8 October 2021 The Camera Returns...

 Happiness...

My camera was back after repair from the warranty service.  Overall, their service was all I could want.  I took time after leaving my office to stop at Sunny Lake and take a few photos.

The asters were in bloom

and the bees were busy.

Wildlife was cooperating this evening as I spotted a red-bellied woodpecker

and this snake.  I was hoping for a better image.  It was in a hurry to move away.

3 October 2021 Area Closed

Our mission today was to make a short hike to retrieve one of our geocaches from Cleveland Metroparks. Caches in the park must be on an official trail.  When we placed this hide, it was an official trail.  Now it no longer accessible.

There seem to be more areas of CMP being marked as closed while more paved trails are opened for use.  It seems as though the shifting ages of park users are more likely to use the paved areas.  The trail where our cache was hidden used to pass through a wetlands and continue on the other side.  The other half of the trail was closed years ago.  The area also includes a small esker off the old trail.  It was time to say goodbye to this interesting area.

2 October 2021 Cleveland Metroparks Brecksville

 Lizzie's a gentle soul who hates having her picture taken.  She was spending a quiet, happy moment with Ali when I was able to capture this image.

Brecksville Reservation was our walk for the afternoon.  There were a number of unfound caches and the last of the season's wildflowers in the field.

I thought there might be more leaf color, but the woods were still green.

My knee is still very painful after six weeks.  It slows us on the trail and makes me wince at the site of stairs like this.  Hopefully, there are better days ahead.

21 September 2021 Say It Isn't So!

Oh No!  My new(ish) camera stopped working.  I was skeptical when Ali gave an extended warranty with my gift.  So far the experience has been mostly positive.  The warranty people have been helpful.  Their on-line instructions aren't the greatest, but the process has worked.  I'll be shooting with the older Nikon for a while until the Canon returns.  😞