Larry A. Smail's Blog

Laurie and I had planned some time away and we scheduled four days at the Bull Elk Lodge near Driftwood, Pennsylvania. The lodge’s website is: http://www.bullelklodge,wixsite.com .

We left early to travel to the lodge and as I generally do, we moved across back country roads of the Quehanna Wild Area. We stopped at the Shagger’s Inn Shallow Water Impoundment to see how the Ospreys were doing this. At this site I didn’t know what to expect for I had heard the Osprey nesting platform had collapsed. However, two nesting platforms were added farther down from the water. Two Ospreys were using the one platform. I moved across a wetland to close the gap for photos. I stopped once the water began to become worrisome for getting wet. We saw Canada geese, mallards, Wood Ducks and Common Mergansers at the water.

As we drove the back roads we saw a Beaver dam and lodge. Of course, I have to get out and take some photos. WE continued on and visited the Beaver Run Shallow Water Impoundment where we saw another Osprey on a nesting platform. The last time I was here the water had been drained. We saw 15-22 elk while we traveled.

Upon arrival we met with the owner of the above-mentioned lodge. Marcy has become a friend to us. She is a delightful person and Laurie and I have been honored with her friendship. We were the first to spend time at Bull Elk Lodge last year when she first opened it up for stay. We met her latest addition too. The German Shepherd pup named Cheech was full of energy upon greeting them all. Max, the little dog, was just as eager to say hello to us.

After we had settled in I went for a walk along the Bennett’s Branch of the Sinnemahoning anxious to see anything of interest. I immediately spotted some Common Mergansers on the water. As I explored around I saw, what appeared, to be deer hair along the shore. I assumed a deer may have been hit on the road and headed to the water and died. As I approached the hair became white feathers. I expected a male Common Merganser may have become a meal for a bald Eagle. I was wrong! The dinner had been a Red-Tailed Hawk. I am still assuming a Bald eagle killed the hawk.

I walked east along the branch along a remnant of an ancient logging road. I could see where workers had placed rocks many years ago over a ditch to make the road more level. To my right a 90 degree vertical, rocky cliff was present entirely. I could not even think of climbing this area. This road remnant, apparently, is used much by the local Elk population for droppings and antler rubs are everywhere. Across the creek I saw two deer. They were enjoying the greener, bottomland grass.

As I continued along I saw a Porcupine about twelve feet in a small tree. I shook the trr some, but the mammal didn’t care a bit. I could have shaken him out of the tree if I had wanted.

I came upon a log diagonally across this old road. I noticed the leaves on the one side, but I didn’t realize the leaves had blown in against the log and filled in a depression in the ground. I stopped onto the log and stepped into the leaves falling head-first. The depression was two feet deep and filled with leaves. I gathered my senses and brushed myself off and moved about thirty yards farther and began to checking for things. I realized my one camera lens was not in my shoulder bag. I returned and frantically began to search eventually crawling into the depression. I found my lens. Relief!

I removed a few ticks from my clothes disposing of them all….But one! Later in the evening after I showered I found one of those despicable critters in my neck. That totals three embedded ticks in seven days for me.