Thursday Hikers

Great hiking weather in on of our favorite places. A decrepit bridge over a rocky stream has been replaced by a sturdy new footbridge bridge built by Americorps youth. We all had a good look at it because soon we’ll be volunteering for trail work as the new Williamsburg Dam Trail gets built. That should be a 2-3 year project that will take hikers to the site of the failed Williamsburg Dam that caused such massive destruction in the late 1800s. Last year we saw the Pad Orchid for the first time and were hoping to see it again. Actually it has increased in numbers and is looking very good (although not yet in bloom). Clintonia, Tiarella, Mitrewort and Dwarf Ginseng were in full bloom and so many other wildflowers were in various stages of bloom. This is a great trail for finding wildflowers.
Many ash trees are being clear cut due to the devastation of the Emerald Ash Borer. I found one small cut tree that had become a nice little chair for Claudia.
After three hours of hiking, we set out for “Inspiration Point” on Hallockville Lake where we ate our sandwiches (I had cheese, pickles, lettuce and mustard on grain bread). It was time to celebrate Lissa’s birthday too. I made her a crown and Tony made her a blueberry pie from the berries we picked last year. Joe read a poem. Baxter stole and ate Gwen’s peanut butter sandwich – plastic wrap and all! He was tied up for a bit so he could think about his naughty behavior. Have a wonderful week. Love, Penny