hikes
Another June Hike At The PPL Wetlands.
After a rainy Saturday here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, I decided to take another late June hike in the PPL Wetlands and River Lands in Salem Township Luzerne County on Sunday. It was partly sunny when I arrived at the wetlands and began my walk under the now thick green canopy of the trees along the…
Read MoreSummer Heat, And A Fawn, Arrives At The PPL Wetlands
It’s now July and the summer heat has arrived here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Temperatures were in the low 70’s early Friday morning with mostly cloudy skies. Once again I debated with myself about my hiking destinations for the day, and once again decided to return to the PPL Wetlands and River Lands in Salem Township.…
Read MoreMushrooms, A Mosquito And A Red Eft: Another Hike With My Macro Lens
As many of you who follow my blog may know, I have been gathering edible mushrooms in our woodlands since I was around three years old. Yep, my dad taught me and my siblings this Polish tradition when we were very young. I have posted a few blogs on my dad and mushrooms and you…
Read MoreAn Early Morning Walk in Anson B Nixon Park In Kennett Square
Last Saturday I awoke early at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kennett Square. The earliest ticket for admission to Longwood Gardens I could obtain was 10:30 a.m. So I searched Google for local hiking trails and found some nice trails at nearby Anson B. Nixon Park. The park was only two miles from my hotel…
Read MoreHeat And Summer Weather At The PPL Wetlands
After some cooler and rainy days, summer weather returned to Northeastern Pennsylvania on Saturday. It was sunny and already near 80 degrees when I decided to visit the PPL Wetlands and Riverlands in Salem Township. I got a late start and arrived at the wetland around 9 a.m. As I drove in I spotted this…
Read MoreExploring Longwood Gardens, And There Is A Lot To Explore
After my Saturday morning hike in the Anson B. Nixon Park in Kennett Square I had a quick breakfast, checked out of the Hilton Garden Inn and drove the two mile to Longwood Gardens. What a difference a day made. When I arrived for my first visit on Friday I had to run to the…
Read MoreGrasshoppers, Dragonflies And Some Other Cool Stuff At Community Park
It’s been a few weeks since I hiked at the local Community Park near my home in Hazle Township. So I took a couple of hikes in the park and around Lake Irena last week. When I arrived on both Wednesday and Friday I was greeted by swarms of grasshoppers and dragonflies darting, flying and…
Read MoreAnother Hike In The Heat: This Time Along The Lehigh Canal In Walnutport
I knew it was going to be another hot day last Sunday. Temperatures in the 90’s were predicted I decided to hike along the Lehigh Canal in Walnutport. I had hiked here a few times now, on the southern portion of the canal trail. I only hiked the northern trail once in the Spring. It…
Read MoreHerons And More Summer Heat: A Hike In The PPL Wetlands
It wasn’t quite as hot on Saturday as it has been on some of my previous hikes these past few weeks when temperatures were in the mid 90’s. But it was still hot at he PPL Wetlands in Salem Township, Luzerne County on Saturday morning. . Temperatures were in the mid 70’s when I arrived…
Read MoreA Look At The Insect World With My Macro Lens
Spring is a great time to hike and explore the beauty of nature here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. And, these past few years, to also photograph and share this beauty here on my blog and social media. The returning migratory song birds, flowers, and the new, fresh green leaves of the plants and trees create a…
Read MoreAugust Already! An Early And Quiet Walk In The PPL Wetlands
August is here. Hard to believe the Summer is half over. Spring, Summer and Fall pass so quickly for me, but Winter feels like it last forever. Anyone else feel this way? Anyway, I decided to visit the PPL Wetlands in Salem Township Luzerne County again on Saturday . I love this place. Usually so…
Read MoreAfternoon Hikes At Community Park: Bugs, Flowers And More Cool Stuff
These past few months I have been taking a lot of afternoon hikes in my local Community Park near my home here in Hazle Township Luzerne County. Before the corona virus restrictions I would join my nephew, and law partner, for lunch. Since the restaurants are now closed I use the time I spent eating…
Read MoreAnother Look At The Insect Kingdom And Wildflowers With My Macro Lens.
I was always fascinated with insects. As a young child my backyard was my world. I would watch the ants on the ant hills and spiders on their webs for hours. In grade school I remember borrowing books about the insect kingdom and urging my parents to purchase the How and Why book about Ants…
Read MoreSummer Winds Down At The PPL Wetlands And Riverlands
It was Sunday, and once again I found myself hiking in the PPL Wetlands and Riverlands in Salem Township Luzerne County. I know there are so many beautiful hiking trails in our area but I have come to love this small nature preserve. It was mostly cloudy, and a bit cooler and less humid when…
Read MoreAn Unsuccessful And Uneventful Search For “Red Top” Mushrooms
Since I was a very young child, I have searched for “red top” and ” cozie” mushrooms (birch and orange aspen bolete mushrooms) in the woods near my home in Hazle Township in Luzerne County. My dad taught us how to identify them. We enjoyed eating them and we dried some and made soup for…
Read MoreFlowers And Berries: A Hot August Afternoon Hike in The PPL Wetlands.
I got a late start on Saturday and decided to visit the PPL Wetlands in Salem Township, Luzerne County in mid afternoon. It was a hot August afternoon, with a temperature of 90 degrees when I began my hike. I once again was surprised by the complete silence in the wetlands. No birds, no frogs,…
Read MoreFinally, Some Wildlife Sightings On An Early Morning Hike In The PPL Wetlands
On my last few hikes in the PPL Wetlands in Salem Township, Luzerne County I saw little wildlife. I think this was for a number of reasons. First many of the song birds have already began their journey south. Second I have walked on some very hot days and I believe this discourages wildlife activity.…
Read MoreWalking, and Observing, The Beauty Of Nature As Summertime Draws To And End At Community Park
“‘There’s a time each year That we always hold dear Good old summertime” So say the lyrics of and old time song. And I agree, I love the summertime. Sadly, as we can see by the decreasing daylight, the sun retreating from the Northern skies and many other signs, summertime is coming to an end.…
Read MoreNo Mushrooms But A Nice Hike In The Weiser Stater Forest Roaring Creek Tract
My search for the orange birch, aspen and oak bolete mushrooms took me to the Roaring Creek Tract of the Weiser State Forest in Columbia County last Sunday. I had hiked there a few times and thought it might be a good place to look for these mushrooms. My family has gathered these “red top”…
Read MoreLate Summer Green Ridge Walks With My Macro Lens. More Butterflies and Insects.
Late Summer arrived here in Northeastern Pennsylvania with more heat and sunny days. I spent a few of those hot, sunny afternoons walking in the woods near my home in the Green Ridge section of Hazle Township with my macro lens. Once again the patch of flowering mint near my house attracted a number of…
Read MoreAn Early September Hike At The PPL Wetlands: Beavers, Muskrats And Deer
September is mushroom season here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I spent my afternoons last week and all day Saturday looking for bolete, hen of the woods and chicken of the woods mushrooms. I didn’t find any. So,on Sunday, I decided to take a break from my mushroom hunting and return to the PPL Wetlands in Salem…
Read MoreWood Ducks, A Kingfisher But No Bald Eagle At the PPL Wetlands
After another week of searching for wild mushrooms, this time with some success, (this is a photo of some of my finds, including chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, and milker mushrooms), I decided to take a break and search for wood ducks, bald eagles, kingfishers and other wildlife, at the PPL Wetlands…
Read MoreLate Summer Walks At Community Park
It’s hard to believe it’s late Summer already. It seems as if we were just celebrating the arrival of the robins and first flowers of Spring . But Summer is ending, and I saw many signs of the coming Fall on a couple of afternoon walks I took at my local Community Park these past…
Read MoreSeptember Afternoon Hikes With My Macro Lens
Fall arrived here in Northeastern Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning with clears skies and an early morning frost. The sun is still strong and quickly warmed the morning air. Temperatures were in the 60’s by noon., I took advantage of the pleasant weather and went on a a couple of late September afternoon walks this week…
Read MoreAn Early Autumn Walk In Community Park.
Rain was in the forecast for Saturday morning here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. So I decided to stay close to home and take an early Autumn walk at the nearby Community park in Hazle Township, Luzerne County. It was partly to mostly cloudy with a seasonably cool 53 degrees when I arrived at the park around…
Read MoreMore Fall Color Appears At The PPL Wetlands
I awoke to cloudy skies, a light rain and mild summer-like temperatures on Sunday morning. I decided to return and hike in the PPL Wetlands in Salem Township, Luzerne. Despite the warm temperatures, I quickly was reminded it was Autumn as the trees in the wetlands were continuing to display more color with each visit…
Read MoreA Chilly October Morning In The PPL Wetlands.
It was a chilly October morning on Saturday here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As usual, I decided to drive to, and hike in, the PPL Wetlands and Riverlands in Salem Township Luzerne County. Upon arriving in the wetlands area of the nature preserve, I walked down to the banks of the Susquehanna River. The river is…
Read MoreAn Autumn Visit To Mansfield University And Tioga County.
Last weekend I decided to visit my nephew Mike, who is a sophomore at Mansfield University and to check out the Fall foliage om my way. I have never visited the university town of Mansfield before. It is located in Tioga County in the mountains of northern Pennsylvania. It was a good time of year…
Read MoreAn Autumn Hike In The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon
I awoke early in the Quality Inn in Mansfield, Tioga County on Saturday morning. After a cup of coffee in my hotel, I was off to pick my nephew Mikey up at his dormitory at the University. We were soon off to visit the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon located about 25 miles west of Mansfield. The…
Read MoreAutumn Colors Continue to Creep Into The Woodlands At Community Park
Well it’s now over two weeks since I started this blog post. It is about a hike I took on a sunny afternoon, at the Community Park near my home in Hazle township Luzerne County . I wanted to see how the Autumn colors were progressing on the trees surrounding the park. It was early…
Read More