On the Montour Trail

We have spent entirely too much time in the air-conditioned house lately because it has been much too hot to venture outside. So on Sunday, when it was cooler than it has been for a while, we decided to hike on the Montour Trail. There were plenty of wildflowers to admire. At first, we didn't detect any butterflies because they like it hot and won't come out until the temperature is really warm. Instead, two wrens and several cardinals entertained us with their songs. When we came to a wetland area we spotted not only a monarch butterfly, but also its copycat, the viceroy. It was exciting to see both of them in one place, since viceroys look almost like monarchs. Viceroys mimic monarchs because monarchs feast only on milkweed and taste terrible.
We saw quite a few people on the trail: bikers, runners, and walkers. But I doubt that any of them even saw the birds and butterflies that we admired. Instead, they played their mp3 players, completely oblivious to the beauty around them. They might as well run on a treadmill. Nature is wasted on them.

A Short Picnic

In the middle of a hot and brutally humid summer we enjoyed a few days break. We took the opportunity of dry weather to head to the wetlands trail at Raccoon Creek State Park last Saturday. At the last minute I decided that it would be a great day for a picnic. I packed drinks, bread, snacks, and two small cans of lunch meat. Our walk was gorgeous and we worked up an appetite.
We found a picnic table in the shade and I unpacked our basket. The lunch meat cans did not have pullies, however, like others from the same brand. Without anything to put on them our bread slices were useless. We ate our snacks and headed home, stomachs growling. Of all the things I packed that day, a can opener wasn't one of them!
Sometimes I miss German trails. They're never far from a restaurant or imbiss stand.