Beautiful morning!
I exited my vehicle with a plan to enter into the woods of a mile long hollow and “still hunt” for bear. (Still-hunting is the style of hunting of moving along slowly and stopping to look and listen.) This hollow is very wide and has brushy areas; hemlocks and rhododendron thickets. As I was walking towards the woods, three sets of vehicle lights could be viewed and turned into the site. An organized bear drive was being planned for daylight. I turned around and drove two miles north and went on an exploratory hunt. I was in a new area in the 287 State Game Lands. 
The area I was exploring proved to be a site of many old strip mining high walls. I estimated this area was mined early into the last century if not before. The high walls have plenty of spruce, larch (Tamarack) trees, poplar and aspens. I wondered why individuals left the areas this way in the past. I wondered even more why landowners seemed to allow it!
Larch cones
At one point I could barely hear the shouts of the drivers from the earlier mentioned drive for bear. They were so far I first thought I was hearing swans high into the sky. (I saw swans flying. They appeared silver as the sun illuminated their white plumage.) The drive produced no shots! I heard two far off shots all day. I am suspecting the bear may be in the standing corn. There are many acres of corn in this area.
Brilliant orange fungus
I saw some deer and squirrels. One deer had a very small set of antlers. I found joy with seeing many small birds too. Birds such as the golden-crowned kinglet; downy woodpeckers, doves and jays were viewed.
Long way to the river!
Noon was approaching as my circling proved to be within reach of the car. I decided to go back to where I was parked originally and walk back over to the river hill site I hunted last year on the first day. This hill overlooks the mighty Allegheny River and is very steep. As I walked along about 1/3 of the way down over, I found the trail to be only as wide as the deer trail I was on. Occasionally, I could see remnants of old mining or logging roads from ancient of times. I wondered how far I would go if I stumbled???
Steep hillside
Prior to reaching the river hill, I met a father and two teenage offspring. We enjoyed some great conversation before shaking hands and wandering away. Great to see his daughter and son learning about the great outdoors!
Mahoning watershed
At two different times I set down and did a little reading. The warm temperatures made climbing hills a little exhausting so a half hour rest was welcomed on two occasions. The book I am reading is “COMMON SENSE” by Thomas Paine. The book was originally written in 1776 during the time of the breaking down of relations with Great Britain and the colonies. The man would not be surprised at what has happened in America today. He had it pegged!
Downy Woodpecker
On this hunt I saw a small, illegal buck and doe. I heard them long before I saw them. The two were coming along the steep hillsides. They managed to get along much better than I! I reached the vehicle around 3:15 and decided to begin the drive home. Laurie still has a lot of homemade buns around the house!
Reesdale Power Plant from across the river (Closing from EPA regs)
Larry A. Smail's Blog 
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