Costa Rica abounds in beautiful birds and butterflies. Some of the nature centers and wildlife refuges have birdfeeders so you can get a closer look at the colorful display. At Monteverde, there is a hummingbird garden with many feeders and the hummingbirds are flitting all around – including sitting on your fingers. Enjoy some of…
Category: Culture/Travel
Costa Rica #1
Last February, we made our first trip to Costa Rica. We spent most of the time in the interior area on a hacienda bordering Lake Arenal. But we also had some time to explore the Pacific beaches and several wildlife reserves. The above photo was made at Coco Beach or Playas del Coco. It is the…
Matanuska River Valley – Alaska
Here are some photos from our trip this summer through Alaska in a RV. Travel north of Anchorage and head east on the Glenn Highway and you will travel through the Matanuska River Valley. It is a beautiful area with a broad river valley and mountains on both sides. The Glenn Highway connects Palmer near…
New Hampshire in the Fall
One of my favorite areas is the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We spent several days in the Lincoln area at the end of September. It is near the White Mountain National Forest and Franconia Notch State Park. There are lots of hiking trails, waterfalls and other beautiful scenery. Looking forward to returning again next…
Alaska – Denali Highway
Denali Highway goes east-west connecting Richardson Highway with the Parks Highway in Alaska. It can only be called a “highway” in the very loose sense of the term. It is 135 miles of washboard gravel but goes through a vast wilderness area. There are a couple of lodges along the road but otherwise you are…
Lehigh River Gorge State Park
In early October we spent a week on the Pine Creek and enjoyed the rail trails in northern Pennsylvania. We continued our enjoyment of the fall colors and rail trails in late October with a day trip to the D & L Rail Trail which goes through the Lehigh River Gorge State Park. The trail…
Tioga County in October
Pennsylvania’s Tioga County is a rural county that borders New York state. The county is full of beautiful scenery including: The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania Abundant wildlife – bear, eagles, elk (largest herd in the northeast) State forest lands Farms dotting the hillsides Roads that include creek crossings Pine Creek Rail Trail Colorful seasons Covered…
Pine Creek Rail Trail
We spent a week in the mountains of north central Pennsylvania enjoying the change of season and taking advantage of the great rail trails. Pine Creek Rail Trail in Tioga County goes through the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, is 57 miles long and runs along the Pine Creek. In the early morning, the mist rises…
Local Sightings
There is always something interesting to see as you drive round Lancaster County and the adjoining counties such as a farmer preparing his fields for planting. Or a Mennonite woman heading down a county road on her bicycle… Or a covered bridge… Or corn starting to grow in a field… Or a peaceful stream at…
Wandering the Country Roads
I spent some time last weekend driving around the countryside and enjoying the farms and the scenery. After the drabness of winter, it is so wonderful to see all of the “green” and the farmers working the fields once again.
Rural Church Tradition
I grew up in rural southeastern Arkansas and lived way out in the woods. The small church I attended until it disbanded was also way out in the woods but only a couple of miles from our house. Although the church stopped being active many years ago as the families who once lived in the…
Auction Day
We stopped by the annual auction at the Fivepointville Firehouse last weekend. There was an abundance of farm and garden equipment for sale, along with household materials, bicycles and buggies. There is a large Old Order Mennonite community in the Fivepointville area plus Amish so many people arrived by buggy or bicycle. It was a…
Goat Expressions
“I am having a good day, chewing my hay and waiting for judging at the Farm Show.” “Forget about that other goat, I am pretty confident that I am going to win first place.” “Grrrrr… Step away from the goat pen!”
Frosty Morn
With temperatures hovering around freezing, it was a frosty morning for the horse pulling the Old Order Mennonite buggy. (The Mennonite buggies are black while Amish buggies in this part of Pennsylvania are gray.)
Tractor Square Dancing
Tractor Square Dancing at the 2013 Pennsylvania Farm Show
A Bit of Butter
The 2013 Pennsylvania Farm Show just completed a week-long celebration of agriculture in Pennsylvania with exhibits, lots of food, animal exhibits and judging (over 6,000 animals), special events and then there is always the butter sculpture. This year’s butter sculpture focused on Pennsylvania’s products. The PA Farm Show is the largest indoor agricultural event in…
The Drive Home
During the summer, my drive home from work looks like this. The green leaves meet over the road to provide a feeling of driving through a green tunnel. This time of the year, the green has changed to yellow, red, orange and all shades between. It is a delightful time to be out of doors…
School’s Out
The Amish and Old Order Mennonite children enjoy a break from school during the summer. However, rather than spending time at the pool or playing video games, they are helping on the farm, working in the garden and manning the produce stands that are in front of many of the homes. Lancaster County has over…
Tobacco Growing
The Amish farmers use tobacco as a cash crop and most dairy farms have several rows of tobacco growing in front of the corn.The corn, which is plentiful in this area, is used to feed the dairy cows. While it has been a very dry summer, the corn is still green and our conditions do…
Nature and Life Notes 