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Archive for the ‘Misc. Nature’ Category

Beautiful Autumn Day

Posted in Early Flintlock, Misc. Nature, Wildlife on October 20, 2011| 2 Comments »

Jeremiah and my "stuff"

Dogwood berries

   Last Monday, October 17th, I spent the day completing various tasks. My step-father, Bob and I hauled a new refrigerator to my basement. Earlier this year our fridge went “kaput”. Laurie and I decided a new one would be of benefit since deer season was upon us and meat storage would be of necessity since I do my on processing.

 

    The nice warm weather, also, forced me to change the oil in the car. Yard work is always present. I mowed, trim some rhododendron and cut some spent flowers back. Monday evening, however, I decided to take “Jeremiah” for a walk  and a turkey scouting venture come morning. Jeremiah is my .62 caliber smoothbore French Fusil. The flintlock was a custom-made piece and is flawless. The firearm is very dependable.

 

    

Pretty colors of autumn

   Tuesday morning began very cloudy and later became sunny, warm and breezy. A saw a number of deer throughout the morning. At one point I found my front sight almost aligned on a deer. Two seconds more and the shot would have been completed. Of course, the deer’s curiosity soon became a concern and two steps placed it’s form among much foliage.

Turkeys seemed everywhere. I heard a little morning chatter followed by the sounds of many feet scratching the leaf litter in search of mast. Two different times I heard the sounds of feeding birds. Several other times I saw birds including gobblers.     

I was edging along crab apples and dogwood trees when a red fox jumped up. The beautifully primed fox went about 25 yards and looked back at me occasionally scratching itself.

My earliest memory of this area was when I was about five or six years old. My father and I searched a ridge for morel mushrooms one spring. The trees, at that time. were huge. Remnants of those monsters are still present here and there. Some of the stumps are around 6 feet across. Of course, they are now badly decayed and a handful of years from now they too will be gone. I, also, remember hearing my first great-horned owl that evening.

I located a chestnut tree growing. Some time ago I would carry chestnuts, hawthorns, etc and plant in places where the sun light could reach the ground. This tree is about three feet high. Few seem to make it when planted like this.

       I saw a lot of squirrels and I hope to take a few more for a fried squirrel meal. I saw a curious groundhog along a trial too.

Rain was being forecasted so I promised Laurie we would go to Butler shopping on Wednesday. Of course, the day was mostly dry but later breezy.

I may try to get out with Bob on Friday and Saturday for some deer hunting. Weather will play a part in that decision for Friday.

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I was having an issue with a young raccoon eating my bird seed from my back deck. On several occasions I would peak out to see that critter laying on the deck rail sleeping. After a few “banjee-style” war whoops and chases failed I decided to try a more aggressive approach. The ‘coon would run behind some flowers on the deck. This time I armed myself with a pole and chased and pushed on him. He leaped backwards the 12 feet or so from the deck. I haven’t seen him since!

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Squirrel Season

Posted in Misc. Nature on October 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »

  

Witch Hazel

  I woke up to winds on the first day of squirrel, grouse and even ethe early muzzleloading season for deer. There wasn’t any rain so I decided to head out to the woods and witness some nature.           

Aspen leaf

I carried a Remington.22 rifle sling across my shoulder as I worked through the darkness of the pre-morning. I walked about a quarter of a mile into the woods to set down and listen and watch.

The morning proved to be gloomy as I listened for turkey sounds. the winds would definitely be a deterrent to hearing this day. I watched two gray squirrels as they silhouetted themselves against the gray sky.               

Sassafras leaf

   

Buck

  I had several primary reasons to be in the woods this day and squirrel hunting was not one of them. First and foremost I hoped to hear turkeys. I was seeking information as to any possible roosting areas. This reason was realized shortly after 7:00 A.M. when I heard a couple of cuts and later soft yelps.

The second reason to be out was, of course, to witness the colors of the woodlands and see how well the trees and grapes produced fruit. This reason was completed all morning long. The leaves are peaked and quite beautiful despite often heavy cloud cover.

The third reason was to try to get some good photos of deer, etc. This reason didn’t do very well for me.

    I walked about all morning and had 10 squirrel sightings. I was not into a hunting mode yet. Eventually, my hunter instinct took over and a bagged one. After the shot i wished I hadn’t done it, but I cleaned it in Cherry Run and look forward to some fried squirrel soon. I missed two earlier while the dismal grays interfered with my visuals. i just don’t see well in gray days…old age!

I did see 4 deer. One was a buck for sure. I managed several photos, but the blowing leaves often interfered with the subject causing blurriness. Later while traveling home I watched a flock of turkeys fly across a hollow. This is always a great site to see.

     I am not sure if I will hunt deer this week or not. If I can get into the hunter mode I may. Monday, I am getting a new fridge for the basement. Ours had blown up last spring. I know I need to get one to hold deer meat while I butcher and process.

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Pennsylvania Elk Country

Posted in Misc. Nature on September 30, 2011| 1 Comment »

   

Pennsylvania Elk Country

   Friday, September 30, was spent in the elk areas of Pennsylvania. We occupied the various roads and sites in the Bennezette area of Elk County. Laurie and I introduced two friends of ours to the elk country. Neither had been north to see the elk before and we had hoped for a decent weather day and , at least, a few elk sightings.                                  

The smallest rack we saw

                                                

The trip to elk country is a couple of hours of driving. We were noticing the advancement of leaf colors and were fortunate to see a couple of small flocks of turkeys.

Bugling!

    The more pronounced height of the hills are always a thrill for me to see. I should have deported myself to Elk, Potter, cameron or Clinton Counties in my youth since I enjoy the vastness of the woodland areas. This part of Pennsylvania makes my native Armstrong County appear very lacking in the wildness I enjoy. Armstrong is highly developed with few “big” areas of woodlands. Much land division has created small woodland sites.                                          

Our morning travels failed to yield any elk sightings. We traveled to the Elk Vistor center and spent some time observing what they had to see.

We settled in for lunch at the Bennezette restuarant before heading back up over the hill hoping for a change in our luck. And a change we witnessed indeed!

    Elk began to show themselves and the bugling became very prevelant too.  We walked about various roadways listening and locating elk everywhere! One large bull had over 20 elk in it’s harem. Some were calves of the year too.

One very large-antlered bull was laying in a field. I wondered if  this bull was either injured from fighting or just played out since the rutting season is now in full swing!

The day turned rather well with some sunshine and dramatic cloud cover. The winds were strong making for movement of the camera. (I should use a tripod more than I do.) I wondered what may have triggered the sudden elk movement. I believe the incoming rain may have had a part in this sudden change in behavior for while in transit back home we began noticing rain.                                  

Puff Balls

    

Another beauty!

  All and all, we had some great times. We saw a lot of elk, (including at least large bulls) some turkeys and some deer. And like I said I was able to return to the country I admire so much.

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Lots Of Stuff Going ON!

Posted in Fishing, Historical, Misc. Nature on August 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »

  

Andrew Blaney and Jim Johnson

Indeed, I have been involved in many things over this last week. Beginning  on August 4th through August 7th, I was at the Armstrong County Folk Festival most days. I was dressed in  civilian manner along with members of the 62nd Pennsylvania Volunteers, Company D. Thismembers of this  group are Civil War Living Historians. I had the completed and framed painting of “The Wheatfield-Whirlpool Of Death”on hand to exhibit and discuss. 

Kaison Wolfe with my painting

The only day I was not involved at the festival was Saturday the 6th when I spent eight hours near New Alexandria, PA making some country music this time.

Monday, August 8, my friend, Robert “Slim” Bowser and I went to Pittsburgh to discuss having prints made of the above mentioned painting.  Later in the evening, Laurie and I attended a MS meeting with a catered meal.

SGL Bluebird Box

  Tuesday, I was beat. I wasn’t very productive for much of the day. I did some yard work and I did work on another painting. I am considering entering this waterfowl painting in the Pennsylvania waterfowl contest this September. I haven’t entered in quite some time.

Cooper's Hawk

   Wednesday morning, I stepped outside in the coolness and decided carp fishing should take a priority. I loaded up, after administrating Suzie’s insulin shot, and headed for the mile long hike to the local state game lands pond. The walk in introduced me to a small flock of turkeys.

The fishing didn’t disappoint me either. I caught four carp ranging from 14 inches to about 20 inches. The “close to shore” activity was low this morning, possibly from the rain and slightly higher water in the pond…more food???

      The walk out from the pond was enjoyable. I chose a different route to exit and heard a fawn bleating and shortly saw a fawn and its mother. They were about 25 yards away. I managed one quick photo.

I spent the remainder of the day working around the yard, mowing and painting. Later, near dark, I watched flying squirrels at the feeder.

Flying Squirrel

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Love Those Carp

Posted in Fishing, Misc. Nature on July 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

My Wednesday “TO DO” list had three early morning possibilities listed. One was a hike and one was a bike ride and the third was carp fishing at a local state game lands pond. I chose to hike to the SGL pond to fish. However, my plans needed altered for a bit. My cousin, Donny Smail called me Tuesday evening to make some stencils at the Kittanning Township Firehall.

I met Donny about 6:15 and began measuring and placing letters onto cardboard to make the stencils for the words “NO PARKING“. I placed the cardboard in my vehicle to cut out later in the day and off to fishing I did go!

State Game Lands road

  The walk to the pond is a mile. Usually, one sees deer or turkeys, but this day was void of sightings. I approached the pond cautiously already seeing hints of water disturbances from carp activity.   The first cast close to shore landed a small carp. The next two hours I caught eight carp from about 14 inches to about 22 inches. What a morning!

    Two carp broke my line and another threw the hook out at a high leap out of the water. Most were caught by my carp stalking techniques and close to the shore. Several of the bigger carp really gave me and my rod and reel tackle a work out!

The negative aspect of the carp is the habitat destruction they can do in ponds. They root around in the shallows easily disturbing  other fish nests harming the populations of bass and bluegills and the like.  They can make a pond very dirty with the bottom mud disturbances too. Many specie prefer clear waters  for optimum  survival. But, since the non-native carp has firmly naturalized in Pennsylvania waters, as well as most waters across America, one may as well enjoy fishing for them.

Polyphemus Moth

  Personally, I have never eaten carp. My father said he ate them in WWll. The German civilians would cook them up for the soldiers and my father said the fish were good to eat. My dad said he tossed gernades into small water areas to gather up the fish.

While walking out from fishing I notice a Polyphemus Moth on some grass. The moth was not doing well at all. His wings had lost their luster and colors. The moth’s existance is not long.

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Muskie Fishing

Posted in Misc. Nature, Muskie Fishing on July 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

      Fishing for muskies is rather new for me. My first venture with the muskie challenge occurred a couple of years ago when, my friend, Frank Maus invited me on his boat for a fishing excursion. Frankie is an expert on muskies. He would, probably, tell you otherwise, but to me he is very knowledgable about the specie.. 

    I met him early at his home where I saw a turkey walk into a field. As we began our trip to the Allegheny River the rain started. The moisture continued even for a time while we surfaced fish. It never rained hard enough to think about quitting.      

Citizen's Bridge at Kittanning

We casted surface plugs for two hours and I was fortunate to see a swirl one time. Additional casts produced nothing.

We began trolling around 11:00 and continued trolling until about 3:30. We were blessed with a beautiful day after the rain subsided. A front was coming through pushing out the heavy clouds into a clear sky loaded with fluffy cumulus clouds.  We commented more than once as to how great the day turned out.                                                                                  

A diver from the bridge.

We reminisced about the old days at work and some of the incidents we had witnessed. We laughed a lot at many of these incidents and those involved.

   The catch!  The afternoon finally produced a strike and Frank landed a muskie. The fish was somewhere around 30-32 inches. Frank plays the fish fast and tries to remove the hook and release the fish as quickly as possible. This helps insure a better survival rate to such a spectacular fish.

Cormorant

  Other wildlife we saw was a deer along the shores; lots of geese; some mallards; a kingfisher; some herons; gulls and an immature cormorant.

Thanks Frank for an enjoyable day on the waters! 

                                                                    

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Walk Along The River

Posted in Butterflies and Insects, Hikes, Misc. Nature on July 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

     I had a couple of errands to do and Laurie and I decided to go for a walk along the Allegheny River at the park in Kittanning. The morning hours were beginning to become rather warm as we walked north and south on the river banks or in the park. Few people were involved at any park activities.    

I carried my trusty camera along for I knew wildflowers and waterfowl would be present somewhere along the banks.  I wasn’t disappointed as a lot of colors were to be observed.

    We, also, saw some mallards and mergansers on the water. We saw some chipmunks, one of which was at the amphitheater and hadn’t a quick place to dart into to. He ran the total length to escape.

We chatted with some friends and strangers before heading home.

Male mergansers

                                                                                 

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Wading Cherry Run

Posted in Hikes, Misc. Nature on July 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

    

Cherry Run

The Maple Grove Campground is next to an approved Pennsylvania trout waters called Cherry Run. I have been around this creek all of my life in various ways. I have fished, trapped and hunted on or about this creek. I have learned history of those of past people and times who made their homes along these waters. In my youth, and continuing on today, I find relatives among these hills and hollows. Many great and cherished memories surround this watershed.

Brown trout

     My father grew up at the intersections of SR 422 and the Margaret and Brick Church Roads. My mother grew up near Rearick’s Ford. This site is farther south between the mouth of Cherry Run and Crooked Creek.  Rearick’s Ford is another several mil;es south along the Crooked Creek. The areas between their two homes yielded many relatives over the years.

Wter Lily from wetland area

   On July 1, I knew I was to play music at the campground so I allowed extra time and an old pair of shoes to be included in my vehicle. I began my   wade/hike north on Cherry Run. I visited a man-made wetlands all the time taking photos and seeing any kinds of wildlife I could. The stream was low due to the lack of rain. I still manged to become saturated to the knee in some of the deeper holes. (There were some holes deeper than I cared to walk too. I circumvented the deeper water areas.)

Note the beak!

  Years ago I would sometimes wade the middle of certain sections of the creek armed with a four-foot fishing rod. The thick bank vegetation would not allow access any other way. The snakes never bothered me as they would drop from limbs into the water to escape my approach.

I saw some trout in the water. I, also, saw a great blue heron and a green heron. I saw numerous specie of bird life; one deer; only one snake and a squirrel.                                      

Shed water snake skin

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Zoo Day

Posted in Misc. Nature, Uncategorized on June 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

   Laurie likes the zoo. I can’t argue that fact! We went early to avoid the bulk of the crowd. This makes for a much more enjoyable visit. I enjoy the vegetation and flowers just as much as the animals. The keepers have done a great job with various plantings and landscaping. Many areas resemble natural habitat. And this is outside of the areas where the animals roam.    

Purple Coneflower

Lion in the grass

I actually enjoy the aquarium section of the zoo as much as anything. Strangely, in the aquarium section I enjoy the fish native to our area of Pennsylvania more than the exotics. Call me weird!                                              

Springboks

                                                  

We were fortunate to be at the polar bear area exactly when a trainer was about to work with the polar bear…through the glass, of course! The bear has learned many commands from the trainers. He mentioned the polar bear is the least trustworthy of all the bears. they are extreme predators and may mistake an action of someone leading to an attack. This particular bear weighs in the 800 pound class.                                               Brook trout

Globe Thistle

   A native red-wing blackbird caused much torment to an ostrich. I wonder if the bird had a nest nearby.

The trip was a pleasant excursion for the two of us. the day was beautiful too.                                

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      Elk  Yesterday, on the 28th, I went for a walk along Buffalo Creek from Worthington, Pennsylvania to present-day Shadyside. (Used to be known as Yellow Dog.) I saw two longbeards, a deer, kingfisher; carp, suckers and bass. The evening before I saw a deer from my deck. One never knows what might appear in my wildlife enhanced habitat yard.

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Walking Around The Yard

Posted in Misc. Nature on June 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

   

Wild Leek Seed Pods

  After a nice bike ride in the morning and working on the painting of Gettysburg, I spent some time in the yard. The yard can be a great place to think. Suzie, my springer spaniel, hasn’t been feeling well so I didn’t keep her out very long. Oh..the fun we had when she was a younger dog. She couldn’t wait to go outside. Now, I often need to coax her. I dread our futures.

Damselfly

Anyway, camera in hand, I took a number of photos in my yard and along the creek. The minnows are as big as eight inches in the deeper holes. They love it when I throw bread into the waters.  I saw a number of Damselflies along the water and vegetation. They dart around and are difficult to catch on film.

Daylily

  I called in some crows. The young crows are out of the nests here. I stand by a tree and do some young crow caws in distress and the older birds bombard the trees. they are obviously concerned about their offspring.

     In one area of my flower garden I noticed some colors that didn’t fit. A large moth was settled in. This unknown specie was about 3-3.5 inches in length.

 

 

 

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