HikingWebsite last updated . Links to me and for My Hiking Archive, (hikes in 2006). |
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07/22/08 Although I've been busy with summer camps since the beginning of this month I did manage a hike into Connetquot River State Park Preserve this past Sunday morning. Not really a hike though - more of a walk, a few miles at best. However, I did get a few photos and while walking a path upon turning a bend, and while in mid stride, I came within about 10 yards of a Vulpes vulpes, the Red Fox. Almost immediately it spotted me, turned around, and sprinted into the underbrush. Not my first sighting but always a welcome surprise, and this specimen looked big, with a nice color to its coat. There were also quite a few birds about and an annoying assortment of flies as well - it was a little before 9 am when I entered the park, and the sky was overcast. Below are a couple photos. |
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06/26/08 Had the best hiking experience of the year this past Tuesday with an experienced adventurer whom I've known for a comfortable while, but haven't had the opportunity to visit with for some time. We met years back when she asked to learn about bees, and since then I may have gotten the better end of the deal by way of the nature lore she's generously shared. It was a late start as the hundred twenty miles or so to where we were meeting was rife with construction delays on roadways and bridges, and we didn't get into the woods till about 1PM or so. However, We were but minutes into our trek and not yet at our destination, The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, when a short distance in front of my truck a Black Bear Sow with 3 cubs in tow bounded from the undergrowth on the far side of the road onto the tarmac. In a moments time she was aware of us watching, and off she ran full tilt into the forest on the near side with all 3 cubs struggling to keep up. There was no time for a photograph, and there wasn't a suitable place to leave the truck, but I did see her go about fifty yards in and effortlessly scale a tall pine in absolutely no time at all. Now I don't claim to know much about bear. My only experience came while attending nature classes, a long while back, when I was introduced to a little ball of fur and teeth weighing in at about 20 lbs. or so. I thought this bear was huge though, but my friend assured me she was on the tiny side. I sometimes wonder when, if ever, I'll be able to speak from such experience. I thought that this was probably it for the time and we might consider turning back, however, there was so much more to see, and do - not to mention quite a few calories to burn. Once inside the park I was introduced to "Buttermilk Falls", Wow!, not a thundering falls, but from afar the cascading water was very white, and the falls were extremely high; almost all of which we climbed without benefit of trail or path, through brush, around strewn boulders, and over unsteady slabs of shale. Along the way my companion introduced me to crayfish and frogs she found with studied ease. Thankfully I was able to keep with her pace and not appear to be unfamilair with climbing, but I did take the opportunity to photograph as often as I could. After all, that was one of the reasons for the trip. Truthfully though, I had come just to share the company and renew the friendship. And In not too long a time I just might relocate out that way. We unhurriedly soaked in the scent and feel of the forest, marveled at natures disarray, enjoying all the time the textures and color, relaxed upon shale slab and earth floor, marveled at the not too cool water, and even splashed it on to relieve the heat. The descent was exhilarating if uneventful, but fun as well, and we took a slow ride home following a road that was in no hurry to get us to our destination. And the days adventure lingered still as before dinner we strolled along Paulinskill Trail, a reclaimed railroad bed, and crossed a railroad bridge from which my friends son and others jump into the river during summertime fun. There's a beaver lodge on the far side of the river that parallels this trail, and I'm told to walk the length of the trail would be about 26 miles. I'll do just that one day, just as I'll kayak down the adjoining river sometime in late summer, after my summer camps. |
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06/16/08 Upon answering the phone this past Saturday morning I was asked where we might go for "a nice walk", with the prerequisite it be on level ground - no hilly terrain. As I hadn't been to Hecksher State Park in a while I suggested there, where the salt laden breeze off the bay livens the spirit some. If you're lucky you'll catch a glimmer of a red fox retreating into the woods, and there are the deer that although sometimes are well hidden seem, at other times, almost a nuisance. This days walk was, with the exception of needing to be ever alert to ticks, somewhat uneventful though. Much the same can be said of the arboretum as the spring blush of color is all but gone and, although certainly not drab, ones interest is more directed to the different textures and shades of the wide variety of arborescent flora on display. However, while relaxing in Adirondack chairs, on the great lawn, an Osprey found the tree that was providing us some welcome shade to its' liking and settled onto a limb directly above us. Shortly after what was probably its mate joined the first and seemed to beg to have their picture taken. I couldn't resist the opportunity. |
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06/16/08 Many of you are aware that I'm a beekeeper and this entry is about my bees. The day after my return from a recent vacation it rained, and if bees feel the need to swarm they very often will do so after a spring rain. So, it came as no surprise when, early the morning after my return, I heard the familiar sound of beating wings increasing in volume. Sure enough when I looked to find the sounds origin there were, all of a sudden, bees flying everywhere, thousands of them. It lasted but a few minutes, until the swarm gathered on the branch of a convenient Maple tree close by, and it wasn't long before I set in motion a plan to retrieve them - they were after all mine (most beekeepers are very possessive of their bees), and install them in a new hive. Eventually I did hive them, however, the limb they had chosen for their bivouac was somewhat inaccessible, and required considerable tree trimming. An emerging swarm is truly a sight to be seen and heard, and can be, usually is, somewhat frightening to the uninitiated. However, recently swarmed honeybees (other than the Africanized version) are quite docile, and only interested in protecting their queen and seeking out a new home. What enticed me to report this is that honeybees have been dying in large numbers, and years ago I decided to not use any medications on my bees. I've been concerned for their welfare, and bothered them not at all for the last few years, leaving them to their own designs. What a welcome surprise to find they were so healthy and their numbers had grown so that not only did a primary swarm come from this hive, but a secondary and a tertiary as well. The second swarm was gone before I had the opportunity to gather it, but I was successful with acquiring the third, and quite happy about the entire episode. Can't wait to observe what becomes of them. I hope you enjoy the photos I took, and if you've an interest visit my bee pages at my other site N8ture.com,. |
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05/14/08 Today, Wednesday, my friends Tony and Joan, and I, headed out to Blydenburgh County Park which is on the east side of Veterans Memorial Highway, in Smithtown, across from the H. Lee Dennison building. The plan was to complete a walk around Stump Pond that Tony and I had started on Monday. The literature states the pond is 167 acres and the walk around it is 5 or 7 miles depending on which trail you choose. This being our first trip in the park we did a three and a half hour hike and I'm sure we exceeded the longer of the two distances as we meandered a bit, even exiting the park prematurely and skirting its boundary by Croft Road for a while. There were no maps of the park and the trail markers left much to be desired, but still it was a fun hike, and the weather couldn't have been better. However, I'd definitely call it a lake and not a pond as it is truly enormous. There's much to view here as well. There are hills, woodlands comprised of oak, hickory, tupelo and white pine, and, of course wetlands.
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