Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Bear tagging.

John has been busy mowing several areas on the refuge.  I started working on the chemical inventory to update the MSDS/SDS Books on Friday.  The weather here as been cool at night and in the mid 60s to mid 70s in the afternoons.

This morning John and I got to go along with the refuge employees for bear tagging.  So cool.  What an experience. 

The two bears that were tagged this morning were female yearlings.  

This picture is right after the bear was tranquillized.


Tranquilizer finally worked.

Tagging the ear.

Measuring.



The fur was really course.  I expected it to be softer.

John getting the DNA sample.

John tagging an ear.

John measuring.


One of the bears had markings on her chest.

Tattooing inside the lip.

Look at that paw.

Resetting the traps. 






A very interesting morning.  This is one of the reasons we love volunteering at wildlife refuges.  You never know what you will see or experience. 

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 




Sunday, May 22, 2016

All settled in at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge.

We arrived at the refuge Monday afternoon and met with Fran and Jessie who will be our contacts here. Nice group of people.  Jessie drove us over to the volunteer RV sites and made sure we had everything we needed.

Our site. 
 The view from the left front side of our RV.  There are four RV pads.  

Tuesday Jessie took us on a tour of the refuge and showed John all the places he would be responsible for cutting. 

Wednesday John and I joined two local walking groups for a hike on Liberty Loop at the refuge.  It was a 2 1/2 mile hike with lots to see. 


Part of the Appalachian Trail







Thursday was grass cutting day for John.  I tagged along with him that morning when he went to cut up a tree that had fallen on one of the trails. 




Getting ready to cut the grass around the volunteer sites.

Here are a few nature pictures from the last couple of days. 









Friday night we had date night.  We rode over to New York to the drive-in theater.  We saw Neighbors and The Boss.  Both of them were flops.  Sadly, we were glad when they were both over.

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Monday, May 16, 2016

Moving on to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge

We have enjoyed our time here in Gettysburg, PA.  Tomorrow we will be leaving Gettysburg and moving on to Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge near Sussex, NJ.  As usual it has rained here almost everyday.  This happens every time we visit here.  The last couple of days we have had much cooler temperatures.  This morning it was 45 degrees at 8:00.  I was not liking that. Regardless of the weather, we do like this park and the area.

While in the area we met up with Josh Drexler and his family for dinner.  Josh worked for the Ridgeland Fire Department with John about 15 years ago.  He moved back to this area and works for the Baltimore Fire Department.  Thank you Josh for treating us to a wonderful dinner. 

Josh, Kaleigh, Delilah and Lindsay.

Me, Josh, John and Delilah.
Josh and Delilah.

Lindsay and Delilah.

John and Delilah.

Today we took a road trip to photograph covered bridges.  The countryside is very beautiful here with all the wildflowers in bloom.   Here are a few highlights from today's trip. 















Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.