Spring Colors in the Quehanna Wild Area

I have been trying to schedule a vacation day from work for the past few weeks, but the last two times I've tried, it rained, and I had to cancel. My husband and I looked at the online weather forecast and decided to go for it again on Monday. So this ended up as a vacation day for me, and what beautiful weather we had for it!

We decided to spend our day outdoors (of course). So we planned a quick, one-day hike into the back-country of the Quehanna Wild Area, to the campsite that I like to call the Valley of the Elk.

It's a several-mile trek in, and then out, and we usually split it up over two days when we backpack. However, on this particular day, we walked both in and out. It was sunny and breezy, with blue skies, and I'm happy to report we didn't spot a single tick!

There is a charming wooden bridge that we pass along our way, and I do not think I have ever posted a photo of it on Blip, so here it is above. You may see the spring colors in this photo: lots of baby greens, as well as some oranges and pinks and yellows. In springtime, I speculate on whether the fall foliage for each tree will match the color of the spring buds.

We saw lots of tadpoles in the puddles along the path, and even a few rather zaftig newts. I always wonder if the newts are herding the tadpoles and taking care of them, or perhaps eating them!

In any case, the amphibians seem to be doing quite well. And for a bit of added excitement, we saw our first snake of the year on the walk out: a tiny garter, I think. It rustled in the grass, my husband did the obligatory "snake dance," and then I stopped and took a few pictures.

We also saw plenty of yellow tiger swallowtail butterflies. In fact, they seemed to be using the waterway in the middle of the valley as a major navigation/travel way. I stood by the edge of the water and watched them flitter-flutter by at top speed!

It occurred to me that the people who fight to protect clean waterways are obviously helping the fish, but the waterways - and the diversity of plant life around them - also support the butterflies. To harm one is to harm ALL.

There was one special tiger swallowtail that came to visit a sunny meadow near our campsite, and I walked out with my camera to capture the show. You may see a photo of it in the extras.

The butterfly posed prettily for me on many different blooms, and I even got to see some hot proboscis action! I believe the tiny, pale pink, bell-shaped flowers it was feasting on to be the spring blooms of wild blueberry plants.

This will likely be our last visit to Quehanna for a while. It is a place we just don't tend to visit in summer, except for the occasional quick day trip.

The bugs can get pretty bad there at times, and on this visit, the gnats were pretty annoying, especially in the shade. (Oddly enough, they seem especially fond of eyebrows.) When the wind blew, it kept them away, so we were grateful for every breeze.

Also, there were big signs indicating that road crews are getting ready to oil and chip substantial sections of the Quehanna Highway, and we'll give that all a chance to settle in before we visit again. So farewell to Quehanna for now!

Let's let the soundtrack for this posting be one of my favorite farewell songs: Joan Baez, with Farewell, Angelina.