The (Not so) Rural Pennsylvanian

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  • A Wintery Lock 60

    The Schuylkill River once had a navigation along its length. A few structures associated with this waterway remain – including Lock 60 at Mont Clare, Montgomery County. I visited on Valentine’s Day as part of a trip along the River to look for waterfowl. A few areas of the River that were free of ice had groups of ducks, including Hooded and Common Mergansers, Goldeneye, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Ring-necked, Bufflehead and a rarity – the Tufted Duck.

    Lock 60 is a fully restored, working lock on the Schuylkill Canal, originally built as part of the Schuylkill Navigation system. The lock is demonstrated for groups and during special events by the Schuylkill Canal Association. This lock, one of 71 originally built on the canal, was constructed in the 1820s and was originally part of the Oakes Reach. The site includes the original Locktender’s house as well as canal information and interpretation. The house is open by appointment and during special events. 

    The lock gates

    Some views of the lockkeeper’s house.

    The Locktender’s House

    Some looks along the Canal and the River – sadly no ducks were present here, as both areas were covered in ice.

  • A Few New Astrophotos

    As the weather continues to keep me indoors, I thought I’d post a few astrophotos taken with the Dwarf Mini smart telescope. Temps are on the rise, so I hope to get out this weekend to do some bird watching.

    The Rosette Nebula in Monoceros. This is an RGB photo,
    The nearly full moon.

  • A Lucky Birding Day

    This winter has been particularly harsh, with prolonged periods of below average temperatures that have kept me trapped at home when the snow fails to melt around my car. I did, however, manage to travel to a farming area in northwestern Chester County to do some birding on New Year’s weekend.

    This area is known for attracting winter migrant species that prefer open habitats, such as horned larks, Lapland longspurs, and snow buntings. I have had lucky seeing the horned larks before. This time, I saw the flocks of birds but had difficulty making out individuals with my binoculars or camera. However, a popular bird sound id app did pick up all of the species above, including the snow bunting and longspur. To access this site, one has to try to pull off by the side of the road and sit an wait. There was one other car during the time I was there. The locals must think we are crazy.

    In terms of pictures, I had to content myself with scenes of the local area.

    Gee, this farm looks familiar.
    Cows sheltering in the woods.

    I made my way home via Marsh Creek State Park. Alas, the gull photos I took there were too distant and blurry.

    A pensive scene on an overcast day.

  • A New (and Tiny) Smart Telescope

    A belated Christmas gift brought the redundantly named Dwarf Mini smart telescope my way. You can see more information about this scope here. I was interested in this telescope due to its extreme portability and the ability to get a wider field of view compared to my Seestar S50.

    Weather here this Winter has been below average in temperature and overcast. When it does clear, it has been very cold and windy. Here are some sample photos I managed to get processed with only the Stellar Studio software in the Dwarflabs app. Most of these stellar objects here have been featured in this blog before. Total integration time for most targets was about 1-2 hours.

    M31, the Andromeda Galaxy
    M45, the Pleiades
    M33, the Triangulum Galaxy
    C19, the Cocoon Nebula
    M44, the Beehive Cluster
    M35, the Shoe Buckle Cluster with NGC 2158 in the lower right
    The Eastern Veil Nebula in Cygnus

  • McCalls Dam Road Vista in October

    The scenic vista on McCalls Dam Road in Clinton County provided a good overview of the area’s fall foliage. I felt this year’s foliage was not spectacular, but still nice, perhaps due to warm and dry conditions in the preceding weeks. This vista sits above Raymond B. Winter State Park, and the road is paved from that park to this location. It is also south of McCalls Dam State Park on the same road. Confusingly, there is no longer a dam at McCalls Dam. The small park is adjacent to White Deer Creek, and the surrounding forest contains pines, hemlocks, maples, and oaks. There is a small picnic area with picnic tables and and a bench next to the creek. The park also provides access to hunting, fishing and hiking.

    Here is an actual dam at Raymond B. Winter State Park.

    A view of the lake and the beach.

  • Ravensburg Revisit

    I made a quick stop at Ravensburg State Park on my way home from the Pine Creek area because I realized I had missed most of its features on my first trip. Ravensburg is small wooded park with picnicking, hiking, hunting and fishing, and a rustic campground. The campground was already closed for the season in mid-October.

    The park lies in a cozy, steep-walled gorge carved by Rauchtown Run through the side of Nippenose Mountain. A northern hardwood forest blankets the bottomland along this spring-fed stream.

    Talus (rock) covered slopes and interesting rock formations are interspersed among a stunted oak forest growing on the steep mountainsides and ridges. This pretty valley is especially beautiful when the mountain laurel blooms during late June and during the fall foliage of October.

  • Why is There a Graveyard Next to My Yurt

    I was surprised to find a small cemetery next to my yurt at the Little Pine State Park campground.

    It seems this cemetery was part of the town of English Mills. As is sadly the case with many large reservoirs and lakes in the state, communities are flooded to make way for them.

    During 1782, the first American settlers in the Little Pine Valley were brothers John and James English. These brothers built two sawmills along Little Pine Creek in 1809, one of which was at the southern end of the present park boundary. The village of English Mills was established in 1816 and housed the families of the loggers, occupying what is now the park campground. The cemetery of English Mills is on a small knoll in the middle of the campground.

    Another prominent name in local history is Robert Carson. He was the first of his line to settle in the Little Pine Valley, and his descendants, who made homes near his homestead, gave rise to the village of Carsontown. Robert Carson was one of the first farmers in the area, and also operated a sawmill. The Carsontown cemetery can be found at the northern end of the park.

    Some other views around the campground.
    These trees seem much taller than when I first visited the area and largely obscure the view of the dam from the campground.
    Views of the yurt and the interior (below).
    The neighbors.

  • Tioga County – Church, Farm, Forest

    There is some lovely countryside the way to and from Leonard Harrison State Park in Tioga County.

    Middle Ridge Church

  • Wishing You a Happy (and Starry) Holiday Season

    In celebration of the season, let’s take a look at a celestial Christmas Tree in two different edits (in which I switched the red and green channels). Which one looks better?

    NGC 2264

    NGC 2264, also known as the “Christmas Tree Cluster,” shows the shape of a cosmic tree with the glow of stellar lights. NGC 2264 is, in fact, a cluster of young stars — with ages between about one and five million years old — in our Milky Way about 2,500 light-years away from Earth. The stars in NGC 2264 are both smaller and larger than the Sun, ranging from some with less than a tenth the mass of the Sun to others containing about seven solar masses.

    I will take a break from posting this Sunday due to the holidays.

  • As Thoughts Turn to Winter …

    At this time of year, skiing is now on people’s mind. Ski Sawmill Family Resort, located in Tioga County, offers a family atmosphere and a range of options for skiers and snowboarders of all skill levels. The ski rea has 12 slopes and 3 lifts.

    The resort’s peak elevation reaches 2,215 feet, with a base elevation of 1,770 feet, providing a 515-foot vertical drop. For those seeking even more excitement, the terrain park, conveniently located adjacent to the double chairlift, offers a variety of features for freestyle enthusiasts. There are also a variety of casual lodging offering onsite, a retail store and main lodge.

    The Morris location of the Oregon Hill Winery is a short distance down the road. The Winery produces award-winning “Pennsylvania Mountain Wines.” Since 1983, our family-owned winery has been creating a variety of wines from bold, oaky reds to crisp, blush wines, as well as sweet fruit wines. The actual Winery is located in Wellsboro .

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