We have been going to Cedar Creek Park to walk the Cedar Creek Gorge loop trail every spring to see the snow trilliums, but have never gone back. This year my son wanted to return, so we went there on April 25. We found some really spectacular wildflowers. We arrived on a gorgeous, sunny weekend, and the parking area was stuffed with people, fishing gear,  bikes, boats, and even horses. The park itself runs along the Youghiogheny River and the Great Allegheny Passage runs through it. All the major long-distance trails have been especially popular lately, and I believe they are best avoi ..read more

Eastern bluebird (male). Birds are very hard to photograph. Of course I believe the only way to get better is to get lots of practice. So I went back to Wingfield Pines on April 24 to try again. Why are they so hard to photograph? I'm just beginning to learn all the ways. Here are some in random order: They are often tiny. If they are not tiny they are so far away they might as well be tiny, like soaring hawks. Unless they are Canada geese.  Their eyesight is excellent so they will see you long before you see them. Unlike wildflowers, landscapes, friends and family, they may ..read more

Greek valerian. On Wednesday 4-22 I went up to Slippery Rock to see Wolf Creek Narrows in the springtime. It's a small but spectacular spot and it has wildflowers I've never seen anywhere else. The timing of wildflowers is always different here than I expect. Virginia bluebells, which I expected to be peaking, were still only budding. Bloodroot, which has disappeared long ago everywhere else I've been lately, was still blooming. But trout lilies appeared to be fading, and Mayapples were bearing flower buds, just as they are everywhere else. Virginia bluebells. Trout l ..read more

I visited Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve last Monday, 4-20 and found it bursting with blooms. The Virginia bluebells in particular are stunning. They actually bloom in a variety of colors, and lavender, pink and white blossoms can be found there. Now is the best time to see them, but there are still more flowers to come. Creeping buttercup. Virginia bluebells. The fertile frond of a sensitive fern. Small flowered buttercup. Blue cohosh. Trout lily. Trout lily. Blue cohosh. Cutleaf toothwort. Large flow ..read more

I took my family to Braddock's Trail Park on Saturday 4/18 to remind them that the outside world still exists, and spring is real. The blue eyed Marys were still blooming ferociously, but the spring beauties and Dutchman's breeches were fading. Bear corn, Jack in the pulpit and lots and lots of what looks like bellwort will be blooming soon. Dutchman's breeches. Blue eyed Mary. Blue phlox. Blue cohosh. Dutchman's breeches and blue eyed Mary. Large flowered trillium. Blue cohosh. Wake robin. Squirrel corn ..read more

Redwing blackbird. There are tons of them at Wingfield Pines. I went back to Wingfield Pines on Tuesday 4/14 just to see the birds, and to see if I could take some better pictures of them. I am not so great at bird photography. Gotta practice! So these are not terrific pictures but I'm making progress. No better time to look for birds than the spring, when the often colorful males are doing their best to draw attention to themselves with song. Wingfield Pines is an acid mine drainage mitigation site. That means it has a series of ponds that were made in order to slow the flow of wate ..read more

I visited Braddock's Trail Park on Easter Sunday, and found the blue-eyed Marys covering the forest floor with a lush blue carpet! It's glorious to see. Braddock's Trail Park is a wildflower lover's delight, and unlikely to ever be too crowded for safe social distancing in our pandemic times. The parking lot is just too small for too many people to visit at once. Just be sure to avoid hand rails and benches, particularly near the waterfall viewing area. Wake robin Trout lily Trout lilies Violets Violet Blue eyed Mary Blue phlox ..read more

We visited Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve on Saturday 4/11/20 and I expected the wildflowers to be at peak bloom. Not yet! I am guessing that the cold snap and snow we received last week may have slowed things down. But the wildflowers are showing every sign of going crazy very soon! The wildflower reserve continues to be a great choice for social distancing. Saturday was the day before Easter and a warm-ish, sunny day. The parking lot was almost full. But we rarely crossed paths with anyone and it was easy to get out of the way.  Virginia bluebells Squirrel corn ..read more

Trout Run Conservation Area is oddly placed near the Robinson Township shopping mall conglomeration, right by a busy trailhead for the Montour Trail. It's a spot I'd never thought of as a great place to experience nature. I thought it might be fun to check it out, so I went two days ago. For social distancing purposes during this pandemic, I don't think I could possibly have done better. As far as I know, I had the entire 88 acre park to myself. The tiny parking area is good for probably no more than 5 cars. It was empty except for me, and I saw no one. (If the parking area is full, the Mont ..read more

Wingfield Pines is a rather pretty park. It's also an acid mine abatement site with a series of ponds. The ponds are designed to allow water to flow just slowly enough that iron oxide will sink to the bottom and therefore stop flowing into the creek. It's an odd place to go exploring, but it has some nice rewards. I went there on Sunday to see what I could find. The first thing you will notice is the birdsong. Wetlands of any kind are generally magnets for birds, because so many of them depend on insects, and insects love water. Right now is a perfect time for bird watching there, because ..read more