Top 10 Tuesday

1. Appalachian Summer by Marcia Bonta--Marcia Bonta is a naturalist local to the Altoona/Tyrone area. I happened upon her property this past summer while searching for a way up Sapsucker Ridge--the ridge that looms over Tyrone on the east of Interstate 99. Upon walking up a path that turned out to be her driveway, I came across a kiosk with many educational brochures about the ridge's flora and fauna. Last month, I became familiar with her name but not so much the amount of work she had done--such as writing books about each season on that ridge. I came across two of them at the local library book sale last month and then bought the other two accompanying books through Amazon. Each book in the Appalachian series focuses on a different season. I began with summer and will move on with autumn, etc. as the seasons come and go. It's written like a journal--so I can follow day-by-day if I'd like. I hope to meet her someday--she apparently leads hikes through the Juniata Valley Audubon Society. I prefer to hike alone or with very close loved-ones, but I'd love to join her on a group hike someday. Her Summer book was informative. She writes of her morning walks along various trails on the ridge (trails I have not yet seen). In this book, she doesn't muse so much on anything idealistic the way Diane Ackerman or Mary Oliver would. She's objective and passionate about what she observes on her gorgeous property, sharing her observations of everything from Grosbeaks to black snakes to Queen Anne's Lace. Click here to visit her blog that she updates at least monthly.

2. Dave Bonta--I keep finding more and more blogs and people to cyber-stalk online. Dave Bonta is a poet who is also Marcia Bonta's son. Click here to visit his website and blog. Creative, expressive families who immerse themselves in nature are one of my favorite things. He lives on the above-mentioned Sapsucker Ridge and runs this other blog where he writes a daily snippet of a poem about what he observes from his porch every morning. Swoooooon. You can subscribe to this blog so you can receive the daily poems!

3. First Snow Flurry--This past Saturday, I took Silas outside only to be surprised by a flurry of snow! I'll admit, I've been dreading the colder weather but for some reason when I stepped outside on the cold, blustery Saturday morning, the frigid air and the snow felt so familiar and dare-I-say...normal. I have a few things I would like to try once there's snow on the ground--mountain biking, snow-shoeing, trail running, animal tracking, bird-watching, and much more.

4. Star Gazing--On Sunday night, Brian and I went up Wopsy to the game lands to watch the Taurid meteor shower. We layered up in warm clothes and packed a bit of gear so we could lounge under the Milky Way and count meteors. Brian trusted me to take him to a dark area in the country with a wide-open sky and I certainly delivered. Brian set up his camera with its telephoto lens and automatic thingamabob that allowed it to continuously snap 15-second exposures for over an hour, allowing us to relax and enjoy each other's company as our body parts began to freeze.

As soon as we sat back and took it all in, our eyes were pretty much adjusted to the darkness and we were able to make out the creamy-cloudiness that was the Milky Way above us. Within ten seconds, I saw my first meteor and my reaction is always either a long "oooooh!" or bursts of "oh! oh! oh!!!" if it's a meteor that spans the sky, fading in and out. Brian and I are somewhat competitive and keep a running tally of who sees the most meteors. I won with 15 by the end of the evening. Although this was the Taurid meteor shower, most of the meteors we saw were from the upcoming Leonid meteor shower which peaks this weekend. Be sure to check it out (weather pending)! Here is a photo Brian got of a meteor.

5. Hiking on the Mid-State Trail--Speaking of good times with my guy, we also went hiking with Silas on Sunday. I finally purchased the necessary merchandise needed for my new Subaru so that Silas can get in without getting the interior dirty. I got a dog hammock for the back seat so that all his hair, dirt, and mud don't get on the interior. It was Silas' first trip in the Subaru and it went very well!

Silas loves the new car, especially since there is more room and he has his own windows to poke out his head. My previous car was a two-door, so my window was his window. Anyway, we headed to Alexandria to hike a portion of Pennsylvania's Mid-State Trail, a 323 mile-long trail that bisects PA down the middle and is actually a part of the Great Eastern Trail (1,600 miles) that traverses the Appalachian mountains. We hiked during the golden hours before sundown and it was absolutely gorgeous. Lately when I have been in the forest, I have been trail running so it was nice to slow down. I even took my macro lens with me and captured a few gems. Below are pictures of ice, bubbles, and...something I cannot identify.

Next year, I'll be focusing more on backpacking. Not sure if the Mid-State Trail will be a part of any over-nighters. I'm considering thru-hiking the Lost Turkey Trail and the Standing Stone Trail with Silas.

6. My Favorite Murder--My horror-whore friend Jeanette got us tickets to go see "My Favorite Murder" live! What's "My Favorite Murder"? It's my favorite true-crime/comedy podcast hosted by two sassy Cali-girls who take turns narrating horrific true-crime stories, be them concerning serial killers, near-misses, etc. They've become quite a sensation over the years. It was through Jeanette that I learned about them. It has become my favorite podcast for long drives, workouts, etc. They became such a hit that they decided to travel the world and have live shows. When they have a show, they focus on local murders and serial killers. Can't wait to see them in Pittsburgh in March!

7. -ologies: Speaking of podcasts, this past week I checked out the -ologies podcast hosted by Alie Ward. In her podcast, Alie introduces us to strange studies and a representative scientist for that specific -ology. She is yet another sassy Cali-girl (good friends with one of the above Cali-girls from "My Favorite Murder") who has taken what could be a humdrum lecture and turned it into a fascinating and hilarious introduction to that science. This past week, I listened to the "Ophthalmology" (the study of eyes), "Entomology" (the study of insects), "Volcanology" (the study of volcanoes), and "Corvid Thanatology" (study of crow funerals). CROW FUNERALS. These are pretty basic -ologies but there are many, many strange ones that I'm looking forward to hearing including "Malacology" (snails and slugs), "Areology" (Mars), and Deltiology (postcards!!!!).

8. FaceTime with Brett & Shelly--On Friday evening, I was in my dank, flooded basement studio drawing insects and drinking some vodka. I suddenly got a Facebook message from my friend Shelly, asking me to FaceTime her. I immediately thought that she was a virus because, one--no one ever wants to talk with me, let alone see my face; two--it's Facebook messenger and lately all messages from there have been from women over 60 who are telling me that I have a virus and need to click on this website, etc etc; three--it was a Friday night. I immediately asked her if she was a virus and she quickly responded in a manner that was not-so-virusy. So, I FaceTimed with Shelly and her husband Brett for over two hours and it was marvelous. What I thought would be a by-my-lonesome evening of making art and reading until Brian came home became an evening enchanted by these two wonderful folks from back home. We talked about everything, from birding, to packing heat, to synesthesia, to Florida. The evening went by quickly and I look forward to seeing them again.

9. Insect Art--So, I've been painting insects. Here is a little silly sample. There's more where that came from. I'm not any good or anything but it's fun to do.

10. Running in the Dark--Last Wednesday was the last day of the year that the sun would set after 5:00. I ran nearly 7 miles that evening and into the cool night in State Game Lands 166. It was a gorgeous evening and a lovely way to say good bye to Summer swelter. Time to prepare for winter!