Celebrate Earth Day

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Earth Day is this upcoming Saturday, April 22. There are many different ways to get involved, even in the backyard. It’s a good time to plant some native plants to help the pollinators, erect some bird houses or feeders. For more information, ideas and events, Earth Day

The Secret Forest

A little known woodlands. somewhat of a Secret Forest, located near Titusville, PA received some much needed attention in late March. Titusville is a historic small Pennsylvania town where oil was first pumped out of the ground back in 1859. For more information on the successful oil wells, Drake and/or also Drake Museum and Park.

Also nearby is the famous Ghost Town, Pithole

The following is the clean up story of the little known patch of woods..

The Crawford County Forest was the focus of a day long, much needed clean up on Thursday, March 30. Participating in the effort were: ten students of Titusville High School under the direction of Biology teacher Patricia McKellop, all three County Commissioners, members of the Crawford Planning Commission, the Crawford County Maintenance Department. members of the Crawford Conservation District and the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

“I never seen so much trash, it was unbelievable,” Brian Pilarcik of the Conservation District said. “The Crawford Maintenance dump trucks were filled several times and hauled the trash away. It was apparent that the dumping in that area had been going on for many years.”

The Forest has been Crawford County property for many years, according to Bob Hopkins of the Crawford County Planning Department. The isolated 455 acre woodland  is located  near the intersection of  of Greytown and Kinsack roads in Oil Creek, Steuben, and Troy Townships.

“The county took possession of the Forest because of back taxes sometime in the 1930’s,” he said. “Years later, sometime during the 1950’s, a Boy Scout troop planted a lot of evergreen trees on the property which today are all very nice mature trees. Over the years. There has been an occasional timber sale on the property with the proceeds going to the county.”

According to Pilarcik, tires, old televisions sets and a wide range of other household debris were removed from the public property.

“It was just amazing,” Pilarcik said.”A lot of the trash was dumped in a small creek, a tributary to Oil Creek. It was difficult to get because of the terrain and the weather conditions that day.It rained and snowed off and on throughout the entire process. But no one complained, and the students worked very hard throughout the day. I think  all 20 volunteers involved all felt a deep sense of accomplishment when we quit at the end of the day.”

According to Pilarcik, everyone who participated agreed the clean up event should become an annual event.

“We made a big improvement  but there are still some problem areas,” he said. “The Game Commission has already started posting no littering signs in the area  and state officials will begin monitoring the area more closely.”

The clean up and more surveillance efforts are just the beginning of a new outlook for the Crawford Forest.

According to Hopkins of the Planning Department, the only structure on the property is the headquarters for the Titusville Sportsman’s Club under a lease signed many years ago with the county.

“The only other improvement is the recreational trail which follows the old Old Creek Railroad line,” Hopkins said. “Recently, State Forester Mark Lewis completed a Forestry Management study on the forest which outlines additional improvements which can be made to the Forest so that more people can enjoy it.”

According to Lewis, the Forest is an impressive woods with many possibilities for future development for wildlife habitat, timber harvesting and recreational opportunities.

“We’ve completed the forestry management plan and have been in discussions with the County Commissioners,” Lewis said. “It is a beautiful place and there are plenty of young hardwood trees growing.”

Leeks and Dandelions

It's been a rainy and wet spring but the leeks are up and growing and the important dandelions are beginning to bloom. Leeks, also called ramps, are good food;for some more information, Wild Leeks.

Upcoming, more on the important dandelions.

And Just for the Heck of It

?When: Always the last Friday in April.

National Arbor Day is the Tree Planter's holiday, and has been celebrated since 1872. It began in Nebraska, a largely treeless plain back in the 1800's. It is a day to plant and dedicate a tree to help nature and the environment. Millions of trees are planted on this day.

The National Arbor Day Foundation provides millions of trees for planting. It is estimated that 18 million tress are planted each year on Arbor Day.

Learn how to plant a tree

Did you know? The Latin word for "Tree" is "Arbor"...sure you did!!!

Bird Day, held on May 4th, is often celebrated in conjunction with Arbor Day."

from:http://holidayinsights.com/other/arbor.htm

Pheasants Forever Banquet

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Special Addition : Pheasants Forever Banquet

"No Child Left Indoors" is a popular Pheasants Forever program in Northwestern Pennsylvania.
Thanks to Ed Moss for sharing the photo.

The local Chapter of Pheasants Forever is an important local educational and outdoors activities organization. On April 8, they will hold their  12th annual Pheasants Forever of Northwestern Pennsylvania  Banquet at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the banquet begins at 7:30 p.m. All Interested persons are invited to attend.

According to Ed Moss the president of the non-profit conservation group, the registration deadline for the banquet is fast approaching on March 29.

“This is a casual, family oriented get together which features excellent foods, plenty of prizes and raffles”, Ed Moss, the president of the regional organization, said. The prizes include firearms, outdoor gear and artwork.“The banquet is open to anyone who wishes to support wildlife habitat programs, including restoration and improvement projects.”

The banquet also helps to support their signature program, “No Child left Indoors”, a program which serves some 1,500 young people. It is geared to help youth appreciate the outdoors, encourages conservation and habitat education, youth hunting and shooting programs,  hunter/trapper educational programs, monthly meetings  and many other outdoor adventures. All money raised by the group remains within the three county region for local programs.

“Pheasants Forever is a grassroots, volunteer, membership-based organization.
Moss said “We are a diverse groups of landowners, hunters, conservation enthusiasts, and wildlife officials. The common thread is striving to make a difference for wildlife by conserving and creating habitat and sharing our outdoor traditions with young people to encourage the next generation of conservationists.”

The Northwestern Pennsylvania Pheasants Forever (PF), serves the Crawford, Erie and Warren counties. According to Moss, the organization was first organized in Warren County in 2002.

“After a couple of years struggling for membership, it was decided to expand into a three county Chapter,” Moss said. “Thus, the Northwest PA Chapter was formed with Crawford and Erie joining in 2005:”

In 2005, the very first banquet was held in McKean with about 70 people in attendance. Shortly afterwards, Moss became the Chairman of the banquet and eventually the presidency.

“Right after that I took over as Banquet Chairperson and moved the banquet to the Waterford Legion where it remained until 2014 when we just grew out of space,” he said. :”We then moved the banquet to the Bayfront Convention Center in 2015 for our 10th year anniversary and had over 190 guests that year. We continue to grow and last year we had 215 guests.”

For more information on the Pheasants Forever organization and the upcoming banquet and registration, visit the organization Web page at http://www.nwpapf.org/ Those interested can also contact Ed Moss at 814-528-4538 or email at emoss1128@verizon.net

If you're interested in great outdoor activities which help to benefit our local environment, the Pheasants Forever Banquet is a great starting place.

The local organization has been in the news recently concerning the recent closing of the Cambridge Springs Pheasant Farm. Discover more at Closing

Maple Taste and Tour

Don’t forget and join in the fun at the annual Maple Taste and Tour Open House this weekend. Learn and discover more at Taste and Tour. It’s a fun time for all ages.

Learn more about Frogs and Toads

FrogWatch is a national organization with a chapter at the Pymatuning Lab of Ecology. Learn more at FrogWatch.

Just For the Heck of It

The space between your eyebrows is called glabella (just in case it ever shows up in a crossword puzzle),

It'll Get Here - the Sooner, the Better

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The Magic

It was a mild winter until Stella , a major snowstorm. Brought heavy snow squalls, high winds and frigid temperatures. Still digging out here. But with a mild February, the maple sap began to flow and the producers were were busy collecting and boiling.

This weekend is time to enjoy and learn all about maple syrup as the Northwestern Pennsylvania Maple Association  sponsors their annual Taste and Tour Open House this weekend Saturday, March 18 and Sunday March 19.

This will be the 14 year for the popular family event. The participating Sugar Houses will open their doors, free of charge, at 10 a.m. each day. The Taste and Tour ends each day at 4 p.m. Each participating Sugar House has a wide variety of different fun events, free samples and maple products which can be purchased. (one of my favs, besides the syrup. is maple mustard)

For more information on the Taste and Tour event click on the link above or at GoErie

Dress appropriately since some events are held outdoors; at this point there are no major storms headed this way,  although there is a chance of some snow each day possibly mixed with rain.

Nearby New York State also sponsors a similar Taste Tour event which can be found at New York Maple Tour

Enjoy sometime in the sugarbush this weekend!

Frog and Toads

The warmer than usual weather not only got the maple sap running; it also got the regions toads and frogs singing in late February. While I( did not hear any of them here, plenty of nearby neighborhoods enjoyed the chorus.

The warm weather was just in time for the two training sessions for volunteers in the FrogWatch program sponsored by the Pymatuning Lab of Ecology in Linesville.

For more information on this vital volunteer fun project  Probably Hiding

The Garden

The warm weather made me do it and now I have some tomato and pepper seedlings growing in the front sunny window. I might have been a tad early but I should be able to get them out in the greenhouse sometime in April and before the plants get too large.

I was somewhat surprised when I saw the garlic growing two weeks ago; it was up about two inches. Now the plants are buried under almost two feet of snow.

The bees were also out and about and it looks promising that the hive survived the winter.

Just For the Heck of It

• March 17, 1845 The rubber band was invented. Can you imagine life without them!?

• March 29, 1886- Coca Cola is invented.

• March 20 International Earth Day - also called Sun-Earth Day
• 
  
• March 20 Spring (Vernal) Equinox

A Puppy, Bees. Upcoming Graden, the Silent Peepers

A Puppy, Bees, Garden and No Spring Peepers Just Yet 

To leave comments, email KoyoteHill@outlook.com. See  more at the end of blog.

Nick is the newest addition around here at Koyote Hill. He’s a lot of fun except when trying to work (like now) and an instant alarm clock as soon as the sun comes up. I took him for a walk on March 7, an early warm spring day to check on the bees. He's called Nick since he arrived just before Christmas.

The Bees

The bees were active, out and about on this early spring day. We, Ryan and I, got the bees almost a year ago on April 17, 2015. We've learned a lot ever since, planted the hive a bee pasture which didn't fare too well because of the growing conditions last year. It'll be re-planted this year once the weather finally say okay. The plans are to get another bee hive started this year. The veggie garden planning is intense as well and a major, organic garden, as always, is being mapped out. There will be plenty of herbs, more so than usual this year with some new additions. Hopefully, Mother Nature cooperates and there will be sales. The  bee hives are on the border of the garden and naturally one of the herbs will be borage.
The spring peepers have been silent so far, but the peas and lettuce seeds go in the ground when they start. Still waiting.

Important Dandelions

April so far has not been very friendly so far with a lot of wind, cold temperatures and snow. This up coming weekend ( April 8,9,10 looks to be rather wintry. But soon the all important dandelions will appear, providing the first meals for the honeybees. The dandelion is also an edible plant; the roots, leaves and blossom can all be eaten. Just take care that no one has sprayed this valuable to plant to kill it. More about the danedlion, Hoot.

Cartoon

Some Fun Facts (besides snowfall)

April Happenings:

• 15 Income taxes due (most years it is due on the 15th)
• 18 Patriot's Day Third Monday
• 22 Earth Day (U.S.)
• 22 Passover begins at sundown, lasts 8 days.
• 27 Administrative Professionals Day formerly "Secretaries Day"
• 28 Take Your Daughter to Work Day 4th Thursday
• 29 Arbor Day always the last Friday in April

Some Regional News Updates

Photo taken last Fall near the mouth of 12 mile creek which empties into Lake Erie. 

1 Pymatuning State Park, the largest In Pennsylvania has many activities and opportunities for thousands of people, The dam is currently being re-constructed and there are other improvements being made at the Park. Read more at Pymatuning.

2. The maple sap run, the First Harvest, was short a sweet this year for the region's maple syrup producers because of the unusual warm weather in Feb. and March. The regional Northwestern PA. Maple Producers held their 13th annual Maple Taste and Tour March 19 and 20.  Read and Learn more at Got Maple?

3. Canadohta's Radio Station WUUK-LP at 105.7 will soon be on the air full time. Currently, they are test broadcasting for several hours a day. Discover more about the station and a planned get together fund raiser. Discover more at WUUK-LP
Briefs

The Annual Rummage & Bake Sale will be held at Hickernell United Methodist Church, on Saturday, April 16^th from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  In addition to “treasurers you may find” there will be homemade baked goods for sale.  Free coffee will be available throughout the day.  Proceeds will benefit local missions of the church.

 The church is located 3 miles west of Route 98 on Springboro Road, Springboro, PA and is completely handicap accessible.

Koyote Hill Update

Thanks for the visit! Its been a busy couple months and some re-organization around here. If you care to leave a comment, please send your thoughts to KoyoteHill@outlook.com Again, Thanks for the visit.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

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MERRY Christmas

AT THAT time, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from: Galilee out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea to the city of  David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child. And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first-born Son, and wrapped Him up in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flock. And behold an Angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them, and they feared with a great fear. And the Angel said to them: Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people; for this day is born to you a Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to men of good will.

Gospel of St. Luke, Chapter 2:1-14

Blogger Note:: Merry Christmas to All and Peace! If your spirituality is another insight, please accept our Greetings of Peace and enjoy your own expressions of the Great Mystery.

It;s been a few busy months here at Koyote Hill and haven’t been able to post as frequently as I wanted.  In fact, still cutting firewood and want to get the rest of the garlic in the ground. But there will be  beginning with this post weekly blogs on rural issues and concerns, wildlife and organic gardening. Join in the comment discussion, hit the follow button. Let’s learn from each other.

And a Sad Note: Yaw, or officially Yahataw (Lakota word for Coyote), who lived here at Koyote Hill for 15 years, died on August 15. He was an English Springer.

The New Pup Named Nick

A week before Christmas I was given a new pup by a nearby farm. I called him Nick. Its not the best photo in the world but more coming. He is part beagle and Springer. And a handful right now

Making life more interesting was the black kitten that someone dropped off on this back road just a few days before Halloween. We call him Spooky. He is all black. He doesn’t like to come inside whatsoever but is always on the porch every morning for his grub (and usually again later in the day)

Spooky sitting on a stack of pallets watching us split wood. Not much help though.

The Honeybees

Our hive seems to be doing well and the neighborhood bear has stayed away to date.The warm weayther throughout December has us a little concerned. The bees are out flying but nothing is blooming. We;re planning on getting more bees and boxes in the the spring. (The photo is a little dated there are actually now four boxes).
Garden plans are underway for spring planting even though there is more garlic to plant which hopefully gets done this week.

There has only been two minor snowfalls so far although the long range forecast for January does hint at colder weather and more snow. Enjoy the rare Full Moon this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

This month, the December full moon falls on Friday, December 25, 2015. For Earth’s Western Hemisphere, it’s the first full moon on Christmas Day since 1977.*

We won’t have another full moon on a Christmas Day until 2034.

A 19-year cycle of the moon is the reason. Amazingly, the moon’s phases recur on (or near) the same calendar dates every 19 years. This cycle – known as the Metonic cycle – happens because 235 returns to full moon almost exactly equal 19 years.

Merry Christmas!!

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Labor Day - Never Forget : Enjoy a National Treasure

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Labor Day weekend..already! It seems as if everyone has experienced “the fastest summer” ever.  What happened to summer? The schools are already open?

But it will be a weekend filled with picnics, home grilling, garden work, and “getting ready for winter” projects (getting firewood cut, split and stacked).

It should also be a great weather weekend for family fun activites of all sorts. Happy Labor Day Weekend!!

There's More to the Labor Day Holiday - Never Forget

Labor Day, has a rather amazing history, which should not forget. The holiday has its roots in the early Labor Movement in the late late 1890’s when American workers were working seven days a week for 10, 12, 14 hour shifts.

The early Unions wanted better working conditions for the American workers, less hours and more equitable benefits. As would be expected, the wealthy companies resisted and so did the US government which was heavily influenced by the wealthy class (some things never seem to change).

The workers voted to strike, the Pullman Strike was the most violent as the US government under then President Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to Chicago to put an end to the striking. Riots, looting and mass civil disobedience soon followed. The troops opened fire on numerous occasions, killing dozens and wounding many more in an effort to keep the 7 day work schedule in place.

Below are several good accounts of the strife:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/01/labor-day-2014_n_5738262.h

Grover Cleveland https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/grovercleveland22

the Pullman Strike

Labor Day should also be a weekend of remembrance for those workers killed and injured so we could enjoy a long weekend ahead at the end of summer. American workers made and keep America great. It’s a history some would rather hide and revise even in the political climate today where some want to return to the days of the “medieval” past.

The Treasure We Have

French Creek is an amazing resource in northwestern Pennsylvania. The environmentally important watershed provides many opportunities to enjoy and it is the very reason many communities even were first established.

It was an important waterway long before settlement. For the early Native Americans, it was a major transportation route and a fishing and hunting destination. Some of the old villages have been identified such as the McFate site at Cochranton, Pennsylvania. In this region George Washington camped on his journey to Fort LeBoeuf (at present day Waterford). This summer the first ever Heritage Celebration in honor of Native Americans was held near the McFate site at the Cochranton Fairgrounds. Heritage Festival
Another Heritage Festival is being organized for next year.

On September 12 the French Valley Conservancy will sponsor the 23rd annual cleanup of the creek and the entire watershed area. For more information, CleanUp.. To learn more about the French Creek Valley Conservancy and how to get involved, FCVC.

Discover even more about the opportunities : French Creek, a national treasure

kayaks

Meanwhile In the Fall Garden

The weather has been hot and dry for the last several weeks. So on August 24, planted some early Italian beans and a Burgundy bean which turns green when dropped in boiling water. The plants popped up in 6 days and above are the photos taken todat, September 2.
Both varities should be ready to harvest in 53 days which should be about the middle of October. They are planted in the closer and smaller kichen garden, so in case of a visit by Jack Frost, the beans can be quickly covered. On the same day, August 24, red beets were also planted and sprouted about the same time as the beans. It was difficult to get a picture of the because of their size.

And it was difficult to get a clear photo of this fella, a Monarch butterfly caterpillar. But I discoverd the caterpillar a few days up in the milkweed patch near the big garden. Milkweed is essential to the Monarchs survival.
The seeds are information on planting and growing the important Milkweed plant is readily available from numerous sources (see the post below) or call the Crawford County Master Gardeners at (814) 333- 7421 at the Ag Extension Office.

Discover more at: Milkweed

Tyler Built

For affordable and dependable high speed internet access, check out Tyler Built. This device about the size of a small match box was invented by Jeff Tyler, a former reident of the area and a graduate of Seneca High School. If your having problems with high speed internet acess and the costs, check this option.

Pickerwell Weed

A good plant for home landscaping in very wet areas or even for the water water garden, It is carefree and attracts many pollinators. It also provides a very valuable habitat for many insects and aquatic species. Discover more about the fascinating pickerwell weed at, Pickerwell.

And Just for the Heck of It

Native Americans inhabited the French Creek Valley from Archaic to Late Woodland times, an era spanning the period from 1,000 years before the birth of Christ to 1,000 years after.  Archaeologists have excavated prehistoric village sites and burial mounds at Wilson Shutes, south of Meadville, PA, and at the McFate Farm in Cochranton, PA, the region’s most extensively investigated location.

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