Laurie and I went for a nice hike today at the “Todd Sanctuary” near Freeport. http://www.aswp.org/toddTrails.html The lands are owned by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. This hike was sure better than the trek I made on Monday morning. Although I saw a deer, a number of squirrels; bear tracks and found a sheephead mushroom, I was caught in a heavy rain that wasn’t scheduled! I was soaked!
Our hike today was great! The weather was perfect. We hiked on several different trails that snaked their way through a diverse number of habitats. We saw dense hemlock groves; big timber; pole-sized timber from past pasture lands and areas with large boulders rich with moss and polypody ferns. Another area featured seven-foot high goldenrods making for a sea of yellow. 
Another site features a nice pond loaded with frogs and newts and fish. We sat on a bench and enjoyed the traffic-less solitude. A couple of rock-laden streams cross through the lands. Of course, the water tables were low due to tha absence of rain these past several months. 
Larry A. Smail's Blog 
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