The Fyke Nature Association is offering a free guided nature walk at the Celery Farm in Allendale this Saturday, Oct. 3, at 8 a.m.

The walk, led by Marsh Warden Mike Limatola, is for nature-lovers of all ages and birders of all levels.

We'll look for  bugs, weird plants and our feathered friends. We meet at the end of Green Way on the north end of the CF off Franklin Turnpike.

E-mail Mike Limatola at mike.limatola (at) gmail.com if you plan to attend.

Found this scofflaw walking off the trail near the old fox den yesterday.

I told her to get back on the trail. She ignored me, but I let her go with a warning ... Fred Weber suspects she was off laying eggs somewhere.  I think Fred's right (as usual).  Here's a link.

This blog has a new header, and the description has been changed to reflect a wider range of topics.

(I should have added local history, the Stateline Hawk Lookout, occasional local ghost stories, and perhaps Wave Hill, but I ran out of room.)

The blog will try to use the "category" function more so that if you want to see only the posts on, say, High Mountain, or the John Fell House, you can do it at a click or two, but the easiest way to find anything is with the search function in the upper right.

New York Ironweed has flourished at the Celery Farm the past few years -- to the point where it grows all over our adjacent yard.

I have collected a huge bag of Ironweed seeds and would be happy to share with anybody who wants some. They are awesome, hardy native plants that butterflies and other insects love.

(I am hoping that the above Monarch that I photographed two months ago is on some Ironweed -- I've lost track.)

More about NY Ironweed here.

E-mail me at the address on this blog.

There was a minor kerfluffle at Stateline Lookout the other day as to whether this was a Cooper's or a Sharpie.  What do you think?
While you're at it, how old is this Bald Eagle? (Thanks,Ron Shields!)

And a mostly easy one:

This dude was so close that I did not crop the photo at all.