Larry A. Smail's Blog

   I should have had known what kind of day I was going to have when the leg pains still hurt and the difficulty at getting around in the early mornings. I was determined to enjoy some of our plans as well as I could.                                                                                         

Laurie and I visited a breakfast buffet at the hotel we stayed. Here I fell fast on the floor. Hotel people rushed to check on me, but I was good from the fall. I am not sure if the leg gave out some or I just misjudged a step.

   Regardless we headed for the Erie Bluff State Park to hike and enjoy the views. Laurie and I hiked a trail and eventually came to some steep bluffs overlooking the lake. The relaxing sounds of the waves could be heard before the lake became visible since we were in a mature oak forest.

Note cloud bank!

Acorns were falling everywhere as we walked. The squirrels and chipmunks were quite busy. One ‘corn just missed Laurie’s head! We laughed as we abruptly stopped.

Double-Crested Cormorant

We looked through the woodlands at various spots to view the beauty of Lake Erie. Of course, gulls could be viewed flying about as well. But, unfortunately, my pains became severe  enough that we decided to head back to the jeep earlier than I had hoped. I was planning to walk to the lake where Elk Creek enters for photos.    

We stopped in at the Tom Ridge Environmental center for a time to study and observe the various things of interest in regards to Presque Isle’s environment, wildlife and history.

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   I had been planning an adventure to the 975 acre Marion Brooks Natural Area for quite some time. (Southeast of Medix Run, Pennsylvania.)This site is very unique to Pennsylvania. The forests of northern Pennsylvania are a typical mixture of oak; hemlock; maple… but this is a special area consisting of many White Birch. Typically this specie is more common farther north as northern New York, etc. I know of a couple of sites locally but not very large with this specie surviving.                                      

Many years ago, my neighbor Bob Bullers showed me a site of many white birch and a clear moving water source where a beaver had built a dam with birch. Native brookies could be viewed in the dammed-up water. It was beautiful. I had hoped my memory and search would find the same place. It wasn’t!

  Several factors were involved with planning this particular day. (October 4) One was Laurie was away visiting her aunt near the Poconos. Another was the timing for the birch should be yellowing at this time and the third reason was words of tropical storm Karen possibly heading into the northeast next week. We could get rainy and windy weather conditions depending on her path.  

I was up at 4:30 A.M. and headin’ northeast  by 5:30.  I arrived on site around 7:40. The forests were wet from yesterday’s evening  rains. The waist-high Bracken ferns were numerous and soaked.  I elected to walk the Losey Road for over a mile when rains began. The weatherman was predicted a good day for the most part. I turned and the rains soon stopped. I made my first mistake of the morning! I decided to enter the woods here and circle around and into the white birch growth. (I altered my plans without much thought.) Second mistake was that I didn’t put the state forest map in my shoulder bag. (I traditionally do not hike off-trail without a topo map and I didn’t have such a map.) The third mistake was that I was so intent on photography that I didn’t watch my surroundings well. I always carry fire-making methods with me; knife and two flashlights just in case! (I took my friend Ruger with me too.) Oh well, I had some lessons that I relearned!

As I was walking about I could hear a roar of either high winds or hard rains. The rains came quick and I perched tight to a large tree, but within moments I was soaked from every hair on my head to the bottom of my feet! The only place that was dry were my arm pits and the waters soon wicked around them too!

I was walking about looking for great photos scenes. I exited the birch area and somehow, after turning left, walked  slightly off my desired course. I would come out about a mile or so north of where I wanted.   I spotted some camps and talked with two utility workers. They said I wasn’t way off but it would be a walk back to get there. They told me to get in and they would drop me off.

Black-phased Timber rattlesnake

The walk proved interesting  for I removed another specie from my “Bucket List.” I was tramping along when I saw a dark-colored snake. A second later I realized I was seeing a black-phased Timber Rattlesnake. I was about four feet from the snake. I began taking a few photos and noticed several young rattlers. I was elated! I touched the adult snake with my walking stick and I heard the rattles too.

Young rattler

Other wildlife species I saw throughout the day were  plenty of deer; a couple of distant elk; two separate flocks of turkeys and several squirrels.

I was a great day despite the couple of mishaps.

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  We, here in western Pennsylvania, have been witnessing some great summer weather. The morning temperatures are in the fifty degree comforts. I, and sometimes Laurie, have walked about a half a dozen times in the last two weeks. How could I be expected to set and paint or work on a precious day like this.  

I needed to visit my sister this morning so the walk was planned early and near her residence. I elected to walk the Frog Pond Road near the Simpson Church. (This church was built in 1893.) I believe this area still to be in Cowanshannock Township.                                  

Two fawns.

The early morning held a fairly thick fog, but the sun in short order began to burn the fog off. I saw a number of rabbits and a couple of gray squirrels. I saw eleven deer  in total, four of which were fawns. I was blessed to watch them play and case each other. I saw two flocks of turkeys. One flock yielded a few poults to my view. The other flock, probably, had some babies, but the high vegetation would not allow seeing any.                                          

The round-trip venture was around four miles possibly a little more. The morning was quiet and comfortable and not one vehicle came past me while walking along the road. This is a rare treat!

Red (Purple) Clover

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