Cicada 2021

Cicada shell

 This is the year for the 17 year cicada brood to emerge for Baltimore and surrounding region. Cicadas are an insect that spends most of its life underground before emerging, shed their skins and fly off to find a mate. And part of that mate finding includes making a loud chirping clicking sound. Once mated their adult part of the life cycle ends. They have been out since mid-May and yet I haven't seen many in my area. I hear them when near wooded areas but it wasn't until yesterday that I finally really saw them. I might have seen one or two these last few weeks but that is it. 

I went for a walk along a parking that was surrounded by many trees. And on the ground I found cicadas crawling about, and not crawling. I went off to go chat with friends and noticed something odd sitting on a rock. It wasn't moving, and looked like an insect of sorts. So me being me I snapped a picture thinking I will identify it later. After getting home on closer inspection of the picture, I figured out what I found, a cicada shell, the exoskeleton. It is the skin left behind from a molting larva into adult cicada form. Look closely and you will see a slit along the middle back and counting legs there are only four and not six. It also has a translucent quality to it. It's pretty cool when you think about.

Exploring the Rain Garden

A few years ago I ran an elective class that helped maintain a garden across the field from the school. It has likely been as long since anyone really looked over it. The garden was designed to act as a rain garden and a learning garden. As a rain garden the plants are native to the region and everything grows without much maintenance. When I ran the elective I tried to have a section or two of the garden for a vegetable garden for the kids to maintain. With no one maintaining it over summer between school years the vegetable garden patches are lost among the rest of the plants. What brought me to the garden this time was that it was the end of the school year and I wanted to add my class's compost collection to the compost pile.

The path I usually take to walk through the garden was over grown when I arrived the other day. The alternated path took me over the water that runs through the garden. If you look carefully in the first picture you can see the bit of purple flowers that caught my eye.  You can see it the little dip in the garden that is where the water collects when it rains. I wouldn't say it is big enough to be called a creek, but it is enough that you have to hop over it to get the back main part of the garden. 

The plants may not seem like much from the distance, many are about waist height on me. I don't think I would let the younger kids I work with run through it now since most of the plants would be taller than them and I would lose sight of them. 

Along the edges of the garden, especially near the dip in the ground, I could see some interesting flowers of different colors. The one I could identify was that purple flower, you can see my attempt to take close ups of the flower with my phone on the left. The flower is a type of iris. I like the colorfulness of it. It is days like that one when I walk through the garden when I miss having one.  Right now all of my attempts to plant things from seeds has only given me sprouts but no plants from that. My geranium is the only plant that I have had for a few years that is still growing nicely, hopefully it will flower again soon.  While I may not have my own garden it is nice to be able to see other ones near by. Hope you also get to see what your neighborhood gardens have to offer this spring, Meet Me Outdoors.

Lake of the Isles Park - Minneapolis, MN

Beginning of this year's summer road trip traveling along the Mississippi River starts in Minneapolis, MN. Minnesota is known as the land of 10,000 lakes so I walked around Lake of the Isles Park which is part of Minneapolis Chain of Lakes Regional Park. 

It was a really nice walk even as it reached midday summer heat. I made sure to bring hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and took water, which is important.

Between the walking path and the lake was perimeter of wild flowers where I saw some butterflies fluttering from flower to flower and other pollinators like bees. I saw some monarch butterflies and an Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly. Only the one that I was able to take a picture of was a monarch. Look for the triangular shaped thing in the center of the picture.

As I walked around the lake there were some rent a canoe spots and we watched as one group prepared themselves to start their canoeing experience.  There are two paths around the lake, one for those on foot and the other for those who are on bikes. The lake I walked had a very funny shape to it unlike another in the chain of lakes that is more circular.  The shape of Lake of the Isles when I mapped my waking was more like a duck head shape.  

The road trip continues following the river Southwards. I am looking forward the adventure. Go see what you can find at your local parkes, Meet Me Outdoors.

Field Trip to Ladew Gardens

Today, I went on a field trip with fellow coworkers to Ladew Gardens. Ladew Gardens has a wide variety of gardens and many topiary displays as well as a Butterfly House full of local butterflies. Our group was divided into two with half wandering the gardens first and the other half went to the butterfly garden.  I was in the wander the gardens group.  With map in hand and my big sun hat and sunblock on it was time to explore with my group.

The gardens were made up of garden rooms which were highlighted by color, plant or theme.  The topiaries throughout the gardens had themes as well from one garden room to the next.  Some were still getting trained so you would see a frame and a topiary still growing to fill it. The first image is of the Hunt Scene you can see the hound dogs on the left and 'hopping' over the fence is a man on a horse. Off frame is the fox topiary.  The second photo is from the Sculpture Garden. See if you can figure out what some of the topiaries are supposed to be. Not easy, is it?

After exploring the rest of the gardens it was time for my favorite part, the Butterfly House.  All around the enclosed garden are host plants as well that if they find eggs or caterpillars on them the staff may clip them and bring them inside.  As the main plants are being eaten by the caterpillars they would bring in some clippings from outside so the ones planted in the garden can have a chance to recover.  Throughout the Butterfly House you can find butterflies in all stages of life from egg to adult and the docents are happy to point them out to visitors.

Fritillary

I have tried to capture some of the butterflies and caterpillars in pictures. (If it is out of focus: blame the camera. It doesn't like accept where I want it to focus so it tends to have the background in focus and the object I center the focus box on a bit blurry.) To identify what was in the butterfly house they had some signs around the marking the plants and the type of butterfly that would use it as a host plant.  There was a pamphlet that was available to help ID some of the common butterflies in the garden. For those at your home gardens and you can get a good picture of them there is a good website for North American butterflies and moths.
Some of you may notice that a few of the butterflies are missing part of their wings as shown in the picture of the fritillary on the right. This is part of their defense, if some predator comes by they may only get a bit of their wing while the butterfly can flutter off and escape being eaten. The swallowtail butterfly, named because of the little tail bit at the bottom of their hind wings, has that small section of the wing for that reason. 

Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar

Ladew Gardens is great for families, kids and school groups alike. My group went as part of an exchange, they had some of their staff visit the Science Center and we went to visit them at their gardens.  For those who know me may remember that not too long ago I also worked at a couple different butterfly gardens. Ladew's was unique in that they only do local butterflies. So you won't find any tropical ones that would have to be shipped in from butterfly farms.  I really like that everything they had in the Butterfly House was something I may see in my own backyard.  Many of which I have seen before and some were new to me.  They even provide a list of caterpillar host plants and what caterpillar only likes those plants so you can add those to your garden. Just be sure that they are pesticide free and get local plants to your area. 
There was a nature walk path that we didn't have time for, I still had a great time exploring the topiary gardens and seeing the butterflies.  Go visit explore a local botanical gardens near you, Meet Me Outdoors

Monarch Butterfly

Look what I found - Jellyfish!

I am trying to get back into walking during my lunch break. I was walking along Baltimore's Inner Harbor and decided to take a look and see what is in the water. I first saw a few ducks then farther down I noticed something different. For a short moment I thought it was a plastic bag, then I saw it move.  It was a jellyfish. 

Last time I saw a jellyfish in a harbor was when I was in Boston when there was a large group of them. 

I only saw three of them when I was on my walk today. Two were near each other and one was farther down the way.  I recently learned that a group of jellyfish is called a smack.   

It was definitely a surprise to see something other than ducks in the harbor.  In doing some research I found jellywatch.org that is a citizen-science site where people can add their sightings. It also is full of interesting information about jellyfish. Learning new things every day, Meet Me Outdoors.

The Garden Needs Some (a lot of) Work

I was checking on the garden at the Sunday school after being away for the summer.  My friend was nice enough to take a picture of me while I was standing in the garden.  I was standing on tiptoe so she could see me better. I am not well camouflaged in my bright pink shirt.

Yes, most of what you are seeing is weeds. There are some baby fruit trees in the mix that are surrounded by fencing, but mostly weeds in there.  At this time I don't think I feel safe letting the children into the garden, mostly because anyone shorter than me... will be lost. I was having a hard time finding a place to stand having to step on plants to make my own path. 

One idea was to let the children just pick the flowers around the edges of the garden and we can work our way into it. Knowing the nature of children they will not say at the edges and likely would get lost in the field. 

I could take a weed hacker and cut it down to size, most likely would let landscapers do that.  A greener option is to rent goats and let them eat the weeds leaving me with a lovely garden and some natural fertilizer.  Not sure I have the budget for that.  Strap some tennis rackets to my feet and trudge out a path like I am snowshoeing... not so easy.

If I figure out a way to hack out a maze path in the garden like the corn mazes that are popular in the autumn, that would be awesome.  If anything I might see if there is a good corn maze in my area and trek out to one with some friends.  Find a corn maze near you and join the adventure, Meet Me Outdoors

Out by the Water at Kent Island, Eastern Shore, MD

Went out to the Eastern Shore, MD and saw a pretty sunset and some really cool wildlife.  There was an osprey nest, a heron, and ducks. (Yes, more ducks...) 

It was really peaceful by the water.  I could see out toward the Chesapeake Bay with Baltimore beyond the horizon.  It was a great evening with my family eating out on the deck watching the sunset and seeing the animals.

The osprey nest had been made on a post that was put out especially for them. They build the nest though.  My family was passing around binoculars to see them better from the deck.  Apparently the baby osprey are nearly fledged and ready to fly off soon so it was nice to see them still in the nest.

When we saw the heron I wanted to get a closer look so I quietly walked down to the dock and tried to get a few pictures. At first it just stood where it was, but it eventually flew off, I caught it on my camera but since it was dusk the lighting was low.  It blended in well along the shore line after landed farther away from the dock, but I could see it in the distance. Of course the camera on my phone doesn't do well in the dark. I will try to add more pictures when I can. Enjoy summer, Meet Me Outdoors.

Animals at Night

Tonight as I was walking from my car to my house I saw five deer. I saw the first one crossing the street, one trotting down the sidewalk away from me and three others a few houses down the road. It got me thinking about other animals I have seen at night when walking from my car to my house over the past month or so.

My first odd animal encounter was maybe a month ago when a fox ran right by me going around my car then up the road.  I watched as it crossed the road to the median then into the brush.  I then heard a squeak from the bush and out ran two foxes and they chased each other down the street.  I have seen one of the foxes since then crossing the street on a later night.

My next animal was with a bunny.  I saw it hop up my driveway and into my backyard a few weeks ago. Another day I saw one hop across the path I was walking to my door. It stopped behind a plant and posed for a picture... Ok, so maybe not posed per se but it did freeze in its position as I took the picture.  One adaptation of rabbits is they stand motionless and hope the predator doesn't see them. They also have coloring that helps them blend in with their surroundings.  (Bonus points go to whoever can find the bunny in the picture.)

In looking for activities to do with my nature class that I teach on the weekends I found something called "fox walking". Fox walking is a barefoot walking technique that helps you focus not on the ground but on your surroundings.  I read that for every deer you see, you likely passed ten others.  I was sure this time to look not just at the first deer I saw tonight, but to see if there were others. Sure enough when I surveyed the area I saw the other four deer.  Look around you next time you are outside and don't let animal encounters go unnoticed, Meet Me Outdoors.

A Train to Maine

Trying a new perspective for travel today. Instead of simply flying up north to Maine I decided to take a train.  I am looking forward to watching the landscapes change from city to rural and everything in between.  

The pics are blurry because I am on a moving train. I am enjoying the scenery as I go. From creeks to small towns to views of a bay with boats sailing through, even a glance at New York City all of which are missed when flying over and only seeing a patchwork of land below.

This vacation is about slowing down and exploring the last bit of northern part of the East Coast, USA that I have yet to see.  No real plans once I get there but for me that is part of the adventure.  Take a break from you busy life, Meet Me Outdoors.

Robinson Nature Center

Recently I visited the Robinson Nature Center in Columbia, MD.  There is a great exhibits with lots hands-on and interactive features, which is great for all ages.  A section that talks about the local wildlife through the Chesapeake area as well as how the land was used where the Nature Center is located. 

While many who know me would think my favorite part was the NatureSphere, a digital planetarium and dome-style theater (and don't get me wrong it is up there as a favorite) I really enjoyed the nature trails out around the Nature Center.  The building has a roof garden that rolls off with lots of flowering plants to the tree cover where the trails are found.  Among the garden and flowers I found butterflies.  The two you see in the pictures are of the swallowtail family.  They get that name because their hind wings have a little drop shaped part similar to the tails of the swallow bird. The swallowtail butterfly is the largest butterfly in the United States.  Most swallowtail butterflies are found in more tropical climates.  The two common ones you see in the US is Tiger Swallowtail, with the yellow and black stripes, and the Spicebush Swallowtail, with the colorful dots along the bottom of its hind wings. Other butterflies which seem to not want their picture taken are the little white ones.

 Butterflies are pollinators going from flower to flower spreading the pollen around as they enjoy the nectar for food. The second picture has another pollinator buzzing around the flowers, can you see it?  It's a bee! The nature center actually has a bee hive that you can see into as the workers come and go.  No worries, the hive is fully inclosed but outside in the gardens you can watch as they collect the nectar to bring back to be made into honey.

The trails weave through the forested areas, over and around creeks and along streams. Trails are all less than a mile to explore and are nicely labeled with little trail markers (blazes) of either a hiker or an arrow. 

Whether you are inside exploring the Nature Center's exhibit area, seeing a show in the NatureSphere or simply exploring nature itself this is a great place to do it.  Find a nature center in your area and have an adventure, Meet Me Outdoors.

Welcome Signs and Road Signs

This is a look back at some of the places I have been on my recent road trip.  While I created separate blogs for some of the big stops and finds I wanted to compile some of it, and can go back and add other highlight days in the future as my memory untangles the past 2 weeks.

A suggestion from a friend of mine that I got before the road trip was to take a picture in front of each "Welcome to..." sign along the road.  While we did start in Vancouver and went through Seattle, WA, we didn't get the "Welcome to Canada" or the "Welcome to the USA" signs, otherwise, each state is shown for the first entry, as some we left and returned.  With that in mind... here it is:

Since we went through Route 66 for part of the drive we had to get a pic with the sign as well.  It was not an easy sign to find, especially since it was getting dark out. This was just at sunset.

While at first I thought stopping to take a picture at every welcome sign would be a bit of a hassle, it turned out to be quite fun.  Looking back through all of the pictures of me standing on the side of the road pointing out the welcome signs did make me laugh, but mostly because my friend kept taking my picture at an awkward moment when I was goofing off waiting for the picture to be taken. I'd recommend this road sign journey for other road-trippers as it is not only a great way to stretch after lots of driving but it also shows a record of where you been.  Let the good times roll, Meet Me Outdoors.

Driving through the middle of nowhere...

Many days of this road trip that I am on have been spent driving through the middle of nowhere. From Spokane, WA to Salt Lake City, UT have been filled with roads that go through mountains and trees and more mountains. Some areas we went by have lakes, rivers and even farms.

These are just to give an idea of some places we drove through. While I couldn't tell you where half these pictures are from it has been an interesting time driving through and seeing the beautiful sights.  We soon discovered that calling out every cow, horse, tree and mountain can be tiring after the first ten that you see.  However, a quieter game of road trip bingo is sometimes needed for the sanity of other riders.  Sometimes its just easier to pick up a camera and record what you see, of course taking time to just enjoy the sights and sounds is just as good.  The road trip continues, Meet Me Outdoors.

Vancouver

Fountain in front of Lonsdale Quay Market

 First full day in Vancouver started off with SeaBus ride to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.  The first picture is of the entrance to the Lonsdale Quay Market.  There are lots of great shops in the market: food shops, trinkets, even some toy shops. We, my travel buddy Kevin and I, got some apricots and apples from the fruit stand because they were both locally grown. The apple was from Okanagan... around 180 miles from the market, not bad for local.

The view from North Vancouver is rather nice even for a cloudy day.  On the first night we had walked around the convention center which is seen in the second picture on the lower left as the white sails. 

At the edge of the Quay is this look out tower.  For those of you who know me well, you would know that I would never in my right mind climb to the top of that thing... and you are still correct. I got to the top floor of the building it was attached to while Kevin climbed up more to get more pictures of the city and harbor.  Directly behind me from this picture of the lookout platforms is a large crane that blocked most of the view but with creative image selection we got some good pics.

They were setting up for a concert in the park area near the fountain as part of Summer Fest.  We didn't get to stay for the concert because were planning to go meet some friends across town and had to catch the SeaBus back. 

Fountain from above

This is a view of the fountain from where I was on the top floor of the market.  From ground level you can see details of the mosaic but from above the whole under water theme becomes more apparent. We used the fountain for a picnic bench while eating the apples and apricots and enjoying the view of the city between the crane.  It was a great way to start the day in the morning.  We saw lots of families walking about and enjoying scenery as well.

Walking along the harbor we came across various garden patches like this one on the right. Many have some historical connection in relation to unity among nations.  The plaque below the statue shows flags of both Canada and South Korea for this particular.

One of my favorite stops walking along the water has these carved Greeting Figures of the Squamish Nation.  They were at the entrance of a pavilion greeting visitors to the Trans Canada Trail.  The next few pictures show them from various angles.  Each of the carvings have a lot of great character.  The plaque on the first picture explains what each carving represents. This pavilion is located in the west of the Lonsdale Quay where we got off the SeaBus.

Black Squirrel

After leaving the Lonsdale Quay we took the SeaBus back and with a series of trains we arrived at Central Park in Burnaby, Vancouver.  This is where I saw my first black squirrel! Of course it didn't feel like posing for a picture, so you can see it running away in the picture here on the right.  I think I counted three by the time we got left the park. There were also gray squirrels at the park but those I can see any day.

Over all it was a great day in Vancouver, lots more pics that didn't make the cut but I may post them at a later time.  Next stop Seattle... Meet Me Outdoors.

Follow Your Curiosity

Early Monday morning around 1am, I stayed up intently watching NASA TV as the newest rover, named Curiosity, land on Mars beginning its 2 year mission.  I remembered that Mars is still visible in the evening sky so when I did the SciCast for the Maryland Science Center I mentioned the mission and where to find Mars this month in the sky.   Listen to the August '12 SciCast to learn more.

Here is the transcript from the SciCast:

Early morning on August 6^th, at 1:31 am Eastern Daylight Time, the newest Mars rover landed safely on the Martian surface.  Mars Science Laboratory, or Curiosity, is a large car-sized rover now located inside Gale Crater where it will begin a 2-year mission. The goal of the mission is to assess whether the landing site ever had, or still has, environmental conditions favorable to microbial life. 

To find Mars in the evening sky this month look toward the south western part of the sky and you will see 3 bright objects near the horizon. The star Spica, of the constellation Virgo, is the lowest twinkling bright object. About 3 finger widths above Spica, is the planet Saturn which has a yellow color and will appear as a non-twinkling point of light. Making its way between Saturn and Spica is the planet Mars, which also appears as a non-twinkling pink point of light. 

One way to confirm that you found this threesome is to look for the Big Dipper in the northwest, follow the arch of the handle to the bright red star Archturus then spike down to Spica.  Above Spica are the two planets. At the beginning of the month these 3 will appear as a triangle with Saturn as the top point, Mars on the right and Spica on the left.  On August 13^th and 14^th Mars will have moved in between Saturn and Spica forming a line.  After the 14^th of August, Mars continues to move more to the southwest creating a mirrored version of the triangle from the beginning of the month. 

 

Go outside and look up. What can you find in the night sky? This weekend August 12-13 is the peak for the Perseid Meteor Shower, look to the north eastern sky after midnight to see this event.  Later in the month, the Moon will be near Saturn and Spica on August 21st, and near Mars 22nd.  Spend the next clear night star gazing and enjoy the view, Meet Me Outdoors.

Star-Spangled Sailabration

The Tall Ships have arrived to Baltimore's Inner Harbor.  The Star-Spangled Sailabration is the start of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner.  They arrived a few days ago but I haven't been able to check them out until last night.  On the website you can find out when and where you can tour some of the Tall Ships and naval vessels that are docked along the harbor. I walked along the harbor with couple friends of mine and got a couple pictures of the ships. 

(If you are playing scvngr and are at the harbor you can do the "Ships Ahoy!" challenge and earn points as part of the B'more Outdoors trek.)

These are some of the ships that I saw.  They come from all over the world, each have various flags draped from the masts and if you come in the evening you can see them all lit up as you can see in the second picture.  I thought it was funny that this one had a pirate flag, too.  There are also the dragon boats you see in the picture that people can rent and get a closer look of the ships from the water. 

The Tall Ships will only be in the Baltimore harbor until Tuesday June 19th when they will set sail to their next destination.  The Parade of Sail will begin at 7 am when the navy vessels will depart, at 11am the Tall Ships will depart. The last of the ships are said to be out of the harbor by 1pm on June 19th.  Don't miss your chance to see these magnificent ships.  Meet Me Outdoors

Ciclovia 2012

Today is the day for Ciclovia 2012 here in Baltimore.  This year 3 miles of streets are being blocked off from cars from Roland Park to Druid Hill Park.  You can stroll, ride a bike or even enjoy the festivities and activities at the Roland Water Tower. 
Here is the flyer and route map:

• Ciclovía Flyer
• Route Map 

More info go to: http://www.rolandpark.org/Ciclovia.html  I hope to get a chance to walk the streets with other Ciclovia participants.

Not in Baltimore? You can still enjoy the spring season by taking a nice stroll or bike ride through your neighborhood.  If riding your bike, remember to wear a safety helmet. Perhaps on your adventure you will discover something new just by taking a slower pace and exploring.

Enjoy the day, Meet Me Outdoors

Topsy-Turvy Seasons

This winter has been very mild in the Baltimore area. I have only seen it snow twice and it never stuck.  Not that I am complaining, but it would be nice to have a proper winter.  I miss making a snow person or a fort out of snow for protection during a snowball fight.

Currently it is supposed to be late winter. However, one look outside it would reveal a different story.  There are daffodils popping up, cherry trees blooming, and temperature up in the mid-70s.  It's like spring decided to come early.  Either that or winter is playing hide and seek.  I know that other places in the country either got more than normal amounts of snow, or much less.  What about where you are? Did you have any topsy-turvy seasons in your area?

No matter if you have 2 feet of snow that is still hanging around or it feels like it is practically summer out you should still go outside and have a good time.  I walked along the roof of my office to get a few extra moments in the beautiful weather. Hope to do more walking around outdoors, maybe even up to Federal Hill Park during a lunch break.  A picnic at the park would be great way to spend it.  Meet Me Outdoors.

Pick-Your-Own at Baugher's

Last week I went to a Pick-Your-Own farm that was near me called Baugher's Orchard and Farm.  I originally wanted to do apple picking but that season is over here so I went pumkin picking which was just as fun.  There were lots of families and groups of people of all ages taking part in the adventure of finding a pumpkin to call their own.

It starts with a hayride out to the fields, once there you are set off to find your pumpkin.  There were a variety of pumpkins: big, small, orange, green, white even tan colored.  (The farm's market had some oddly shaped pumpkins even a multi-colored one.) Interestingly enough, a pumpkin is a fruit as it is the part of the plant that holds the seeds like an apple or tomato. They had some trivia cards up for while you wait for the hay ride to take you out there.  Thought I'd share the wisdom.  Another interesting fact is pumpkins are 90% water.  Cool stuff.

I went with some friends to the farm to share in the adventure.  The day before we were going to go it snowed, I still wanted to go and a couple of them were willing to join me.

While most of the pumpkins were a little buried under a thin layer of snow, I was set on finding a perfect pumpkin. You can see the snow in most of these pictures, if not the mud that followed its melting.

By the time we got there, most of the good pumpkins of the big and orange variety that people typically associate with, and use for Halloween carving were picked.  Left behind were some that were broken and some small decorative type pumpkins.  I ended up finding a part of the patch with some small white and orange pumpkins which I thought would be great table decorations for the holidays so I picked it out and brushed off the mud.  As there were a bunch of these in the area my friend grabbed one of his own as you can see in the picture on the right.  We also found some tiny orange ones that looked just as festive.

The adventurer in me wanted to explore more of the pumpkin patch so I got a few more pictures of what I found.  Glad I wore my mud friendly shoes because there certainly was a lot of it as we walked through the patch.

There were lots of families there and one way that Baugher's made the patch even more exciting was setting up a simple slide of large tubing and some hay bales that you can see of the distance of this photo on the left.  When we got closer we saw there was a bit of a mud puddle at the bottom and some carefully placed pumpkins so the slider won't land in the mud.  Needless to say, as big of a mud lover as I am, I was not about to slide down that. It was cold out, and cold and wet don't go well together. But I did see that some adventurous kids did go down, hopefully stopping at the bottom before getting to the mud part. Below is part of the patch that had a bunch of the large orange pumpkins that are great for carving.

Also at Baugher's was a petting zoo.  Most of the animals were typical farm animals like pigs, chickens, sheep, goats and turkeys, though we did come across a lama.  The lama was nice enough to pose for a picture.

After the trip to the pumpkin patch and the petting zoo on the farm we stopped at the market to buy some more fresh from the farm treats.  I got some apples, acorn squash and a spaghetti squash.  I still need to figure out what to do with those, so on the hunt for recipes.  My friends picked out some dried fruit packages and a pie from the market. 

There are lots of Pick-Your-Own farms out there so no matter where you are you can join in the fun.  All you got to do is wait for the fruit or veggie to be in season for picking then go for it.  Some have for strawberry, cherry, peach and apple picking but you have to come at the right time of the year.  For example if you want to go to pick strawberries you would need to go in the spring time, for peaches go in the summer time, apple season is near the end of summer through the early parts of fall.  Each farm will tell you when to come for the pick-your-own items, and some will have markets with the items fresh from the farm that they pick for you.

While the picking season my be over for my area of the world it could still be open for you.  Or perhaps it's just getting started.

Enjoy some farm fresh produce, Meet Me Outdoors.