Journal
New Zealand Day Eight: An Evening In Queenstown Then Off To Stewart And Ulva Island
New Zealand Day Eighteen: A Morning In Matamata And An Afternoon In Auckland
I was up early my second morning in Matamata. I was on the road again. I scheduled another bus trip to Auckland at 8: 20 a.m. I needed to get my morning walk in. I never miss morning walk at home. It has been a part of my daily routine for almost two decades. So…
Read MoreTrinidad And Tobago Day One: A Day Of Airport Hopping And A Night Drive Into The Rainforest
It didn’t take me long to set off on another adventure.I started this blog post at an airport. I had just visited New Zealand for three weeks in February. It was an awesome trip. You can follow my daily adventures in my blog archives. I am not young anymore. I realize there are far more…
Read MoreTrinidad Day Three: Watching Birds And Exploring The Trails At The Asa Wright Nature Center And Lodge.
The birds once again woke me up before dawn on my second morning at the Asa Wright lodge. I walked from my cottage to the main building in the warm, moist tropical air. Coffee is served at 6 a.m. . I drank a cup on the veranda and took a few photographs of the early…
Read MoreTrinidad And Tobago Day Four: Birds, Ants, Flowers And Other Cool Stuff At Asa Wright Lodge
At lunch we discussed our visit to the oilbird cave earlier Saturday morning at the Asa Wright Nature Center and Lodge. After lunch I spent some time observing, and trying to photograph, the many birds that visit the nearby feeders and fruit trees. It is a truly relaxing and exhilarating experience if you enjoy nature.…
Read MoreA New Friend At Community Park, An Endangered Great Egret
About two weeks ago I saw my first great egret on Lake Irene while walking in the Community Park near my house. Although their shape is similar, there is no mistaking this magnificent white bird for the great blue herons that frequently visit the lake. I have been walking in the park for years and…
Read MoreNature Up Close: Another Hike With My Macro Lens.
My love of nature began when my dad took me looking for wild edible mushrooms at a very young age. He taught me and my sibling how to identify the two species of scaber bolete mushrooms his dad taught him. We also learned so much more about the wonderful world of nature, ant hills, caterpillars,…
Read MoreTanzania: Day One. Travel To Zanzibar. September 28 2019
I love to travel. Once again I am blessed to be writing about, and sharing, another adventure. But I know as well as anyone that no one is guaranteed a day of the precious gift we call life. I write these words in Terminal B at the Newark International Airport. The stress and anxiety of my…
Read MoreStone Town: Tanzania Day Four: Zanzibar: So Much History, Good And Bad.
Once again I tried, and failed, to keep my blog posts current while I traveled. I am now sitting in the lobby of the Planet Airport hotel as I try to recollect the past two weeks and write this blog post. So much to see and do. But I have uploaded many photos in my…
Read MoreA December Walk At The PPL Wetlands
It’s early December and we are approaching the Winter Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere. In two weeks, December 21, the shortest day, the sun will once again begin its slow return north. In the middle latitudes of Northeastern Pennsylvania the light cast by low December sun makes for some beautiful landscape photography. The skies…
Read MoreA Wintry Walk On The First Full Day Of Winter
The first full day of Winter arrived last Sunday with clear skies and cold temperatures. I decided to enjoy the sunshine and wintry conditions and hike out to the Penrose reservoir near Weatherly in Carbon County. I have seen deer, hawks, otters and bears on previous hikes in the game lands around this old reservoir…
Read MoreTanzania Day Five: Sea Turtles, Monkeys And Marlins On Zanzibar Island
After my morning walk on my fifth day in Zanzibar, I had a quick breakfast at my resort, and was off on another tour arranged by Cholo Tours and Safaris. I was scheduled to take the Safari Blue tour. This tour included swimming on a beautiful beach, snorkeling and viewing marine life. However, it was located on…
Read MoreTanzania Day Eight: A Morning Nature Walk To The Muddy Shores Of Lake Manyara
I awoke on a mild and overcast Spring day in Tanzania. I left my tent/lodge at the Burunge Tented Camp and made my way to the main lodge to join my group for a nature walk to the shores of Lake Manyara. I was disappointed I didn’t see and zebras or giraffes on the way. …
Read MoreFlorida Day Two: Ospreys And Storks In The Everglades
As I always do when traveling, I awoke early my first day in Florida City, Florida and was driving to the Everglades in the morning twilight. It is about a ten mile drive from my hotel to the park entrance. I decided to drive to Flamingo located at the southernmost part of the park. It…
Read MoreNot Looking Much Like Spring In The State Game Lands 119 In Dennison Township.
Even though the weather turned cold there were some promising signs of Spring at the PPL Wetlands in Salem Township Luzerne County on Saturday. On Sunday I decided to drive nearby Dennison Township and hike in State Game Lands 119. I parked at the Harry and Mary Goeringer Preserve, located adjacent to the Game Lands…
Read MoreFlorida Day Two: A Hike On The Coastal Prairie Trail
On my second day in the Everglades, after watching the osprey family at the Flamingo marina, I decided to hike on the nearby Coastal Prairie Trail. First I stopped and visited, for the first time, the Eco pond. Located adjacent to the campgrounds, I had heard there is an abundance of wild life at this…
Read MoreA Hike In Peace Valley Park To Escape The Corona Virus
Yesterday, I returned to Peace Valley Park located near Doylestown in Bucks County. I have visited there before but had no plans to go there Friday. Here is how it happened. I am working from my home now, because of the lock down due to the corona virus here in Pennsylvania. My nephew and I are…
Read MoreSearching For Spring In Walnutport, Northampton County
I often see the sign for Walnutport on my travels to Philadelphia via the Pennsylvania Turnpike. As you cross the bridge over the Lehigh River just past Lehighton the sign directs you south on Rt. 248 . I have never been to this quaint little town until this past Tuesday. A friend hiked on a trail…
Read MoreFlorida Day Nine: A Sunrise Walk On The Beach In Venice Then Reality Of The Corona Virus In Tampa.
My trip to Florida was coming to an end. It was my last full day in the Sunshine State. I had an early flight out of Tampa the next morning. So I was up early again, wanting to take full advantage of it. After a cup of coffee I left my room at the Inn at…
Read MoreNo Bears In The State Game Lands, But Found Some Other Interesting Critters
So far this Spring I have seen a lot of critters on my hikes here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. But no bears. I usually run into a few bears in the Spring as they awaken from hibernation and begin foraging for food. So on Sunday, I decided to hike in State Game Lands 119 in Dennison…
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 MoreSprout, The Corpse Plant And My First Visit To Longwood Gardens
Until a few days ago I never heard of a corpse plant. I have heard of the Longwood Gardens, but I never had the opportunity to visit these famous gardens near Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. On Friday I had the opportunity to see and visit both. Last week my nephew Charlie told me about Sprout, the…
Read MoreExploring The Remains Of The Mahanoy Plane: A Hike Into Our Coal Mining Past
I have been re-reading a book about the anthracite coal mining history of our area, “The Miners” by Mary Siegel Tyson. The book is about her ancestors who worked in these deep and dangerous anthracite coal mines in the Hazleton area of Luzerne County. In the first chapter of the book reference was made to…
Read MoreA Green Ridge And West Hazleton Sunny Winter Walk, With A Lot Of Memories
A heavy nor’easter storm dumped almost two feet of snow on parts of Northeastern Pennsylvania two weeks ago. This kept me from my usual hike in the PPL Wetlands last weekend. Instead, I stayed close to home and walked the streets of the Green Ridge neighborhood of Hazle Township and in the adjoining West Hazleton…
Read MoreInauguration Day Three: An Early Morning Walk To The Lincoln Memorial
I awoke early in Washington DC on January 21, the day after the Presidential Inauguration. I hoped to be able to walk to the Lincoln Memorial. I wasn’t sure if I could get there because of the security measures put in place for the Inauguration. It was partly cloudy and a colder 36 degrees when…
Read MoreFlorida Day One : Travel In The Pandemic
It was a difficult decision, to travel in the pandemic, risk versus reward. I had every intention with complying with mask wearing, social distancing and, hiking in the Everglades, avoiding crowds. Quarantine when I return , of course. Still two sides to the story, and, well, reward won out and on Wednesday I was on…
Read MoreFlorida Day Three. An Early Morning Drive to Flamingo, The Southern most Point In The Everglades
I was up even earlier on my third day in South Florida. I planned to visit Flamingo, about 47 miles from my hotel in Florida City, and the southernmost point in the Everglades. But first, I hoped to catch the sunrise in the cypress forests at the Pa Hay Okee Overlook. So I began my…
Read MoreA Walk In The Susquehanna Wetlands: A Different Name But The Same Natural Beauty
Many of you who have followed my blog the past 6 years have seen posts from the PPL Wetlands and River Lands. Located along the Susquehanna River in Salem Township, Luzerne County this nature preserve was created by the PPL Electric Corporation adjacent to it’s nuclear power plant. It preserved the wetlands created by the…
Read MoreNot Many Signs of Spring On The Local Rails- To -Trails
It was raining here in Northeastern Pennsylvania on Sunday morning. And I was still feeling some side effects from my second Covid-19 vaccine shot. So I decided not to travel far and hike on my local Rails -to -Trails which is located a couple of miles from my home in Hazle Township, Luzerne County. Ground…
Read MoreApril Visitors In My Backyard
April usually brings the return of the first migratory birds, and bears. to my backyard here in Hazle Township Luzerne County. This past year about 20 acres of land adjoining my property were clear cut. It broke my heart to see this woodlands disappear. And I think it may have affected the bears that have…
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