26 November 2022 Visiting Orchard Hills

Two months ago, this field would have been filled with wildflowers, butterflies, and bees with an assortment of birds.  By late November the flowers have been gone for weeks and the insects have left.  Today the field was quiet and calm with bare trees at the field's edge.

This lone bluebird was the one exception.

19 November 2022 Cold Walk in a Meadville Park

 

It was a raw day to take a walk in a beautiful park in Meadville.

14 November 2022 Backyard Birding

With the days still growing short, it was time for a bit of backyard birding.  A cardinal and downy woodpecker were nearby today. 

5 November 2022 Hiking Along the Tanbark

Lizzie, and the rest of us, were dressed out in our safety orange today as we headed off for a hike along the Tanbark Trail.

It was a grey day with bare trees getting ready for winter, but we enjoyed our journey.

This is one of the Tanbark's shelters offering rest and shelters for distance hikers.

30 October 2022 The Wilderness Center

We were back for more fall  geocaching on the trails at  The Wilderness Center.  Most leaves were down as we walked the trails.

A blue-grey knatcatcher was our birding highlight of a pleasant trail walk.

28 October 2022 Cleveland Metroparks Brecksville Visit

It was a perfect day for an afternoon in the park.  We were with the dogs on a trail of geocaches. 

Phineas was raring to bay.

When the geocaching was done we crossed the road and walked a bit in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

24 October 2022 Rainy Day in Cortland

 I was in the area for business and hoping to have an after-work, fall walk.  The weather didn't cooperate on a cool, wet day.

I found a couple geocaches and a few stages of an Adventure Lab, but also spotted a sign pointing me down a small dirt drive to the home of Gridley Hollow Honey.  I stopped by the stand and purchased a few containers of honey sweetening my wet day.

23 October 2022 Allegany State Park

We had a day to spend on the trails at the park with the dogs.  The colors were perfect and the weather was comfortable. 

Phineas went full bay early  on the trail.

Lizzie just wanted to be on the trail.

16 October 2022 Concord Woods

It was another perfect day for a fall walk and geocaching.  Concord Woods is not a frequent visit for us, but the weather was wonderful and new england asters were still in bloom.

15 October 2022 The Leaves Were On Fire

We stopped at a nearby county park for a long walk on the trails.  The tree colors were outstanding under the cloudless sky.

 

8 October 2022 Irvin Flats

 

We visited a favorite walk with the dogs today.  Flow in the stream was a quiet, fall trickle.

Surprisingly the water was without any ducks as our walk continued beside the Allegheny River.

The trees were still offering some leaf color.

A few remaining great blue lobelia were still showing blossoms as we made our way back on the old railroad grade.

29 September 2022 Visiting Mentor Lagoons

Mentor Lagoons is a favorite place for me for birding.  The lagoons offer opportunities for shorebird viewing for eight months of the year while the trails lead to the south shore of Lake Erie and opportunities for spotting ducks.  This late afternoon the lagoons were birdless.

Spotted this phoebe as I headed onto the trails leading to the Lake Erie shore.  It seemed to be young and possibly from a late summer hatch.

It was still daylight when I neared the shore, but the tree cover made it appeat sunset was approching quickly.

No ducks, but there were a couple sailboats enjoying the nearly glass-like water.

24 September 2022 Another Visit to The Wilderness Center

 We were happy to make a fall visit to The Wilderness Center with Phineas and Liz.  They were ready for a log walk on the trail.

We expected to see fall wildflowers.  A few left over blue lobelia blossoms in late September.

There were bees still working and collecting as fall moved forward.

We have seen woodland jumping mice in Pennsylvania.  I believe this was the first I have seen in a meadow.

Lizzie was looking happy after her day on the trail.