Lititz

Just north of Lancaster is a sweet little town. Founded in the mid 1700's by the Moravians, it is now a nice little day trip. The town is packed with lovely old historic buildings and quaint little shops.

The Sutter Inn, named after General Sutter, of Sutter's Gold fame, the founder of Sacremento, California spent the last 9 years of his life in Lititz.

They really don't want you to be hit by a car in this town.

The Wilbur Chocolate Factory, still in operation, now houses a small museum of chocoloate paraphenalia.

Chocolate molds

Candy stamps

A collection of antique cocoa boxes

I had to stop here and try out the merchandise.

A Key Lime Cupcake, was as good as it sounds and looks

First pretzel bakery in the new world, right here in Lititz, Pennyslvania

Kathy and the giant pretzel of Lititz

Chincoteague, Virgina

We were able to get away this weekend for a trip to Chincoteague, Virginia. The beach was packed with people and the wildlife refuge was packed with birds. We hadn't been there in a while and were surprised by some changes, like the new causeway bridge that now obstructs the pristine view of the marsh on the bay from our favorite hotel. Many shops on the island have gone out of business and new ones have sprung up, but generally things are much the same. The beach on Assateague Island now is much shorter beach and has no dunes. The wildlife refuge however, seems very much the same. It was good to see the water level high. Fall migration has started and we were able to see some nice birds. Here is a list of some of our favorites: Brown Pelican, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Black-Necked Stilt, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, Long-Billed Dowitcher, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Osprey, Double-Crested Cormorant, Green-Backed Heron, Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron, Piping Plover, Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Laughing Gull, Great Black-Backed Gull, American Oystercatcher, Canada Goose, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret.



A view of Snow Goose Pond in early morning

Bird tracks on the beach

Greater Black-Backed Gull

Here is the reason that most people come to the Wildlife Refuge on Assateatue Island, a view of the wild ponies of Chincoteague.

Birding at Bombay Hook Nationall Wildlife Refuge

The marsh was beautiful this morning, so many wildflowers in bloom and so many birds. Also so many horse flies, but lucky for us they weren't biting.

This fox greeted us as we entered the refuge.

An American Avocet, my favorite shorebird and we saw literally hundreds of them. What a treat!

Another of my favorites, the Black-necked Stilt. They are so delicate and graceful.

Here is a group of Lesser Yellowlegs.

Avocets, Yellowlegs and an Egret.

Great Egrets amd Snowy Egrets

Egrets and Glossy Ibis

Butterfly on Milkweed

Finally, here is me. We did most of our birding from the car in order to avoid those bothersome horseflies. It was a rather grey morning but I think that makes for the best birding.

Jerusalem Mill Walk

Accompanied by the constant hum of cicadas, George and I walked the trail this morning along the Little Gunpowder River between Jerusalem Mill and Belair Road. This is another of Harford Counties little gems located about 5 miles from my home. This is a historic site that has been around since Revolutionary times and had some importance during the CivilWar.
The Jerusalem Mill gristmill was built in 1772 by millwright Isiah Linton and was operated by miller David Lee. Lee's Merchant Mill produced the prized White Silk flour for sale locally and overseas. The Lee's sold the gristmill in 1886. Operation continued until 1961. The restored mill structure opened in 1995.

McCourtney's Store (Circa 1830's) was built by Ralph S. Lee and was in use as a general store when it was raided during the Civil War by Confederate Major Harry Gilmore's cavalry.

The Tenant Farmhouse was occupied by farmers who maintained the large barn on the property which is now in ruins.

One of the few remaining covered bridges in the US is part of the Jerusalem Mill Village complex. It was built in 1865.

Ruins of the old barn

The Little Gunpowder River

Peru

George and I just back from 10 days in Peru. We visited the three main areas of the country: the coast, the mountains and the jungle. On the coast we stayed at Second Home Peru, the home and studio of famous Peruvian artist Victor Delfin. The small hotel is located in the neighborhood of Barranco just outside Lima. It is perched atop the cliffs that overlook the Pacific Ocean. Here we enjoyed the hospitality of Lilian Delfin, viewed the studio of Victor Delfin and enjoyed his wonderful artwork that filled the hotel. A highpoint of our trip was meeting Senor Delfin. We took a tour of Lima, including the Archeology Museum of Larco Ferrera and The Plaza Mayor, and the Monastery of San Fransisco. We also took a bus ride to the town of Ica where we were able to go on to Paracas and the Ballestas Island. It was here we saw Humboldt Penguins and sealions and thousands of birds that use the islands to nest and perch.
In the mountains we visited Cuzco. From our base there we went to the many ruins and sites in the Sacred Valley and of course our train ride to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu. I still can't believe I was there, standing at the top of that mountain looking down on one of the most well known Wonders of the World.
Our last part of the trip took us to the jungle where we stayed at the Tambopata National Reserve. Here we visited a clay lick to see macaws and parrots, took a canoe ride around an oxbow lake, and climbed a very tall observation tower to observe the wildlife in the canopy. This, along with walks and boat rides made it possible for me to add 64 new birds to my life list.

Harford Glen Revisited

For sometime now I have been wanting to take the long walk all around the park. It is a 5 mile hike through the woods, around the lake, up and down some steep hills and along the river. It is very picturesque but can also be rather humid and buggy in the summer. I decided to celebrate the first day of summer with this long anticipated walk. It was wonderful. There is something about being alone in the woods in the quiet of the early morning that is very satisfying and uplifting.



These two fawns were all alone and very curious about me. I wonder where their mother was.


Lake Atikisson

Summer sunrise in the forest

Great Egret on the Lake

A quiet path

Winter's Run

A Cautious Deer

Harford Glen Park

George and I took a great morning walk at Harford Glen Park. This is another one of Harford Counties gems. Just less than a mile from busy Route 24 is a little oasis of forest, wetland and a bounty of wildlife.


Today the park was full of geese and goslings.



A Red-Winged Blackbird


This is a small section of a beaver dam that runs about 25 feet. The two beavers that made it completed all the work in just two weeks.



Wild Iris

Backyard Birding

Sometimes you don't have to go very far at all to have a really good birding day. This morning was a perfect example. Just sitting on the deck in my back yard I was able to see 29 species in a short 1 hour. It helps that it is the peak of spring migration and the Choke Cherry tree is in full bloom.

Here is the list:

Bald Eagle

Cardinal

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Red-shouldered Hawk

Blue Jay

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Great Blue Heron

Common Crow

Common Yellowthroat

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Common Grackle

Magnolia Warbler

Downy Woodpecker

Mockingbird

Black and White Warbler

White-breasted Nuthatch

Catbird

Prairee Warbler

Tufted Titmouse

American Robin

Northern Oriole

Carolina Chicadee

Wood Thrush

American Goldfinch
Canada Goose

Red-eyed Vireo

House Sparrow

Mourning Dove

Chipping Sparrow

Lillian Holt Park

Today's walk took George and I to a park we used to live near and visit quite often. Lillian Holt Park was always a good place to see warblers in the spring so we headed there early this morning. After watching birds dart in and out of the foliage for about an hour we came up with some birds worthy of our trip. Besides the usual common birds we always see, we saw the Blackburnian Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Eastern Wood Peewee, Great Creasted Flycatcher, Belted Kingfisher and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

The park has changed a lot since we were last there about 15 years ago, but oddly the same warblers in the same places.

Heavenly Day

Kilgore Falls

Today George and I took a short drive north in Harford County to Rocks State Park to a place we had heard about but never visited. We walked down a beautiful wooded path, across Deer Creek to Kilgore Falls. The falls are 19' high and are the second highest vertical waterfall in Maryland. The location was used for the filming of Tuck Everlasting. We were lucky to get there early so that we had the opportunity to enjoy the falls alone.

Nassau, Bahamas

Here are a few views from my recent trip to Nassau, Bahamas. My sister invited me to join her on a short weekend cruise and the price was irresistible. We enjoyed the sun and warmth of the Caribbean during the cold weather at home. We sailed from Jacksonville to Freeport and Nassau in the Bahamas.

Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square Pennylsvania is having it's Fall Color Display from now until late November and my sister and I headed up there to check it out. I usually visit the gardens in the summer to see the perennials and again at Christmas to see the lights and holiday decorations. I wasn't sure what to expect in the fall. I found that there is still lots to see in the gardens, everything from late summer annuals to chrysanthemums. The displays of pumpkins and squash were impressive. The topiary bees in the conservatory were especially interesting. It was my first visit since the completion of the Children's Garden and that was stunning. Another new addition are the four treehouses built throughout the gardens. I highly recommend a fall visit to the gardens.