We had two backyard visitors today
One of the many millipedes on the James Mayer Riverswalk Trail -- cute, huh?
Our sunflower patch is growing...now we have two!
Since I haven’t posted in a number of days, I have some catching up to do here.
Last evening Char and I put the top down on the Miata and took the scenic route to State College to watch the Spikes host the Jamestown Jammers in a New York – Penn League game. The Spikes are the short season Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and a number of the Pirates selections from this year’s draft are on the team. It was a great evening for a ball game and the Spikes won, 11-2, to make it even better.
Today, at a little before 2:00 in the afternoon, two fawns made their way through our backyard. They took their time, munching on our neighbors’ plants before strolling up the street and then into the woods. Mommy wasn’t around today. One of our neighbors reported seeing this pair a day or two ago, and said that there was no doe with them at that time either. That doesn’t sound good. Maybe that’s why they don’t know it’s not a good idea to be wandering about in the middle of the day.
I went for a walk today on the James Mayer Riverswalk Trail. Although it’s natural to want to call it the “Riverwalk” Trail and, in fact, some sources do use that name, the official trail signs show the name as “Riverswalk.” Therefore, I’ll continue referring to it as the Riverswalk Trail. In any case, the trail is a short (about 1 ½ miles) treasure of nature along what was once the path of the former Johnstown and Stony Creek Railroad between the Johnstown neighborhoods of Moxham and Riverside.
Today the trail was ablaze with a variety of wildflowers, most notably both Pale and Spotted Touch-me-not (also known as Jewelweed). In the Spring, I enjoy spotting Baltimore Orioles and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks along the trail. One thing that I’ve seen this year, that I haven’t noticed in other years, is a ton of millipedes. They are all over the trail on every visit I make. I’ll have to ask Dennis McNair, a biology professor, if there might be a reason for this.
Also, our sunflower patch is progressing. We now have two blooms and more will be coming, I’m sure. As I mentioned before, the sunflowers are the result of the birds dropping the seeds from the birdfeeders. This results, too, in almost nightly visits from a skunk who enjoys scratching around for dropped seeds on the ground – right in front of our porch! Char and I had been going inside when the skunk showed up each night, but it has got to the point where we just stay on the porch and let the skunk go about its business. He stays for about 20 or 30 minutes, eats his fill, then goes on his way.
Last evening Char and I put the top down on the Miata and took the scenic route to State College to watch the Spikes host the Jamestown Jammers in a New York – Penn League game. The Spikes are the short season Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and a number of the Pirates selections from this year’s draft are on the team. It was a great evening for a ball game and the Spikes won, 11-2, to make it even better.
Today, at a little before 2:00 in the afternoon, two fawns made their way through our backyard. They took their time, munching on our neighbors’ plants before strolling up the street and then into the woods. Mommy wasn’t around today. One of our neighbors reported seeing this pair a day or two ago, and said that there was no doe with them at that time either. That doesn’t sound good. Maybe that’s why they don’t know it’s not a good idea to be wandering about in the middle of the day.
I went for a walk today on the James Mayer Riverswalk Trail. Although it’s natural to want to call it the “Riverwalk” Trail and, in fact, some sources do use that name, the official trail signs show the name as “Riverswalk.” Therefore, I’ll continue referring to it as the Riverswalk Trail. In any case, the trail is a short (about 1 ½ miles) treasure of nature along what was once the path of the former Johnstown and Stony Creek Railroad between the Johnstown neighborhoods of Moxham and Riverside.
Today the trail was ablaze with a variety of wildflowers, most notably both Pale and Spotted Touch-me-not (also known as Jewelweed). In the Spring, I enjoy spotting Baltimore Orioles and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks along the trail. One thing that I’ve seen this year, that I haven’t noticed in other years, is a ton of millipedes. They are all over the trail on every visit I make. I’ll have to ask Dennis McNair, a biology professor, if there might be a reason for this.
Also, our sunflower patch is progressing. We now have two blooms and more will be coming, I’m sure. As I mentioned before, the sunflowers are the result of the birds dropping the seeds from the birdfeeders. This results, too, in almost nightly visits from a skunk who enjoys scratching around for dropped seeds on the ground – right in front of our porch! Char and I had been going inside when the skunk showed up each night, but it has got to the point where we just stay on the porch and let the skunk go about its business. He stays for about 20 or 30 minutes, eats his fill, then goes on his way.
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