Last week, for perhaps only the second time, I saw a woodcock (Scolopax minor) at the preserve. I was walking around the preserve with easement monitors from Brandywine Conservancy, and we flushed the bird from brush along the trail.
Saturday night we held a successful Star Stories event: a dinner followed by the myths of the constellations' origins and a walk to look at stars. The skies were a bit cloudy, but we had a good night hike. And the wonderful parents and kids pulled off a series of skits illustrating the legends of the constellations.
You might think the flower blooming season is over, but the fall witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is just starting to flower.
I hiked the penultimate section of Denise's Appalachian Trail hike on Sunday; now she has just 5.2 miles left, out of the approximately 2,160 total (she knows just how many the actual figure is this year). We completed a section that is very close to home that she had skipped earlier in the hike: from PA 183 to Port Clinton. I have hiked about 10% of the trail, most of that this year. She hasn't had time to update her online trail journal recently, but she will. She will finish the trail on the day after Thanksgiving!
