Winter is coming...

It must be, because I saw my first Dark-eyed Junco last Wednesday. These cute little birds head "south" for the winter to our area and usually stay until April, when they head home again. After doing some yard work, I was resting on our front porch and spotted a single Junco, but I'm sure more will soon be appearing.

This isn't the bird I saw last Wednesday -- I didn't get a picture of that one. This is one I photographed in our front yard in March, 2009. He's holding a sunflower seed.

A Sunday drive

I spent about eight hours today photographing fall scenes in Somerset and Fayette counties. Included in my “tour” were four covered bridges, a restored train station, and Ohiopyle State Park. At Ohiopyle State Park, I visited beautiful Cucumber Falls for the first time.

At 162 feet in length, the Barronvale Covered Bridge is the longest in Somerset County. According to the placard, it was built in 1830. Other sources list the date built as either 1846 or 1902. It spans Laurel Hill Creek. The Barronvale Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 11, 1980.

This photo was taken from the Loop kayak Take-out spot along the Youghiogheny River at Ohiopyle in Fayette County. The Great Allegheny Passage, a 150-mile biking trail between Cumberland, Maryland, and Pittsburgh, crosses the Yough on the old railroad trestle. The view from up on the trestle is outstanding.

Within Ohiopyle State Park is Cucumber Falls, a 30-foot bridal veil waterfall on Cucumber Run.

This farm on PA Route 381 in Westmoreland County is a pretty scene in any season. The sheep found my presence intriguing.

A brief getaway -- part two

Here are just a few more photos from our trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

A Great Egret looks for lunch at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.

Sunset on the Chesapeake Bay as seen from the widow's walk just outside our third floor room at the Wades Point Inn.

Soybean fields dotted the landscape as we drove around the Eastern Shore. Here a beautiful cloud formation filled the sky over one of the soybean fields. Click on the photo to enlarge it and get the full impact of the image.

This is a private cove just off of the Chesapeake Bay at the Wades Point Inn. The kayaks are for the use of the guests. With having to get in and out of the kayaks from a floating dock, and being novice kayakers, we felt it best to pass this time.

A brief getaway

Char and I took a mini-vacation to the Eastern Shore of Maryland a few days ago. Although our plan was to leave Friday morning, on the spur-of-the-moment we left Thursday evening and drove to the Annapolis area. This left us with only a little over an hour driving on Friday morning to reach our destination, giving us, basically, a full day there.

Our base while on the Eastern Shore was the Wades Point Inn, five miles west of St. Michaels. The inn, built in 1819, is a beautiful old mansion that sits right on the edge of the Chesapeake Bay.

We spent most of Friday exploring Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. On Saturday, I checked out several historical sights, including the birthplaces of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, while Char relaxed by the harbor at St. Michaels. Sunday we took an almost three-hour cruise on the Chesapeake Bay aboard the Rebecca T. Ruark, the oldest skipjack in the United States. Sunday evening we went to a small nightclub, the Night Cat, in Easton, to listen to two young ladies perform.

The weather was nice, enabling us to get in some outdoor activities and enjoy our short getaway.

At Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, I spotted this small male Chickweed Geometer moth. If you click on this photo to enlarge it, you'll see that his antennae are "feathery." This is what determines that it's a male. A geometer moth is one of thousands of moths in the family that comes from inchworm caterpillars. The name "geometer" ultimately derives from the term "earth measurer," which is, in effect, how the inchworm got its name -- appearing to measure the earth as it moves.

This was the third time we've stayed at Wades Point Inn. The inn is located on 72 acres, which are available for guests to explore. There is a small wetlands area, a pond, walking trails, and, of course, the Chesapeake Bay just outside the door!

Char relaxes in a hammock at the Wades Point Inn with the Chesapeake Bay in the background.

Here I am at the wheel of the Rebecca T. Ruark, the oldest skipjack in the United States. It was built in 1886. The "National Historic Landmark" sign refers to the boat, not to me. Skipjacks are the last working sailboats in the country. At one time there were hundreds of skipjacks "oystering" in the Chesapeake Bay. There are only about 40 remaining, with about half of those in the tourist trade, such as this one.