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Little Clay Pots
In late April, little clay pots appeared on our forested trails. Thumb-sized and sturdy, most were circular but some were oval-shaped. Never before had I seen such constructions. Near some of them, I also found small holes deeper than my forefinger could penetrate. It was as if some tribe of lilliputians had emerged from the…
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An Enigmatic Warbler
“Wee, wee, wee, wee, bzzz” sings my favorite yard bird. For two months most years — mid-May to mid-July — the male cerulean warbler sings his monotonous song from dawn until dusk. The first year this happened, back in 2002, I worried that he hadn’t found a mate. Why else would he sing on and…
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What About Bears?
Next to poisonous snakes, people fear encountering bears in the outdoors. Even some of our hunter friends are bear-shy. But ever since black bears returned to our mountain, back in the 1980s, I’ve relished every experience I’ve had with them. So far, they’ve been exciting but harmless. Last spring and summer, I saw more bears…
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White Easter
Easter — March 23, 2008. It is a cold 17 degrees on this earliest Easter Sunday most of us will ever celebrate. And only the oldest folks now alive have seen it this early before, those who were around in 1913. The next time Easter will fall on this date, according to The Christian Century…
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Narnia Interlude
In winter, it’s all about the weather, especially in February when we are liable to experience a confusing mixture of balmy, spring like days, sleet, freezing rain, and snow. Last February 1 the predictions were so dire that all the public schools and colleges were closed. The “tick-tick” of sleet against our windows began at…
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Hiking the Ghost Town Trail
No trace of December’s snow remained. “It might as well be spring,” I thought as I hummed the lines of an old song. But it wasn’t spring. It was January 7 and a balmy 60 degrees. Seduced by the perfect day, my husband Bruce and I set out to hike portions of the Ghost Town…
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The Trees in Our Yard
If someone were to ask me what my favorite tree is, I wouldn’t be able to answer. It would be like choosing my favorite child. Every tree species has its own special qualities, and no one is better than another is. Take the 17 tree species that grow in our yard. When we moved here…
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Golden Eagle Redux
In case you’ve been wondering about the photo of me in the sidebar, here’s the story, from my November column in Pennsylvania Game News. The phone rang just as we were in the midst of eating dinner. “I’ll bet that’s Trish and she’s got an eagle,” I said. Bruce answered the phone. “You’ve got an…
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Mountain Meadows
Imagine receiving a gift of 113 acres on Tussey Mountain. That’s what happened to Mike and Laura Jackson back in 1988 when Laura’s parents, Richard and Phyllis Hershberger, gave them a portion of their farm. The Jacksons named their property Mountain Meadows and built a home with large windows for wildlife viewing. Part of the…
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A second life for “Escape to the Mountain”
Never ignore your junk mail. That’s a lesson I learned a year ago last July when I found an e-mail in my junk mail folder from an agent in New York City. She was representing a small press in Virginia — Axios Press — that was interested in reprinting my first book, Escape to the…
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Rock-Flipping
Never underestimate the power of the Internet. That’s what I thought last Labor Day weekend when folks from around the world participated in International Rock-Flipping Day. You say you’ve never heard of such a day? Well, neither had anyone else before August 22. That was the day our son Dave announced it on his literary…
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Marcia Bonta 