Mohican State Park & Pleasant Hill Dam

On June 10, we visited Mohican State Park in Loudonville, Ohio so my husband could do some fishing on the Clear Fork River and so I could take some photos. I captured the usual landmarks – the covered bridge and the Pleasant Hill Dam. There were many great blue herons fishing in the area which seemed to indicate that there were quite a few fish to be had. My husband caught many sunfish and was rewarded by catching his first brown trout. Sadly, while catching that brown trout, his fishing rod broke. Luckily, he brought a backup rod and continued to fish. Right before catching the brown trout I saw movement in the wooded area near the trail to the dam, and was surprised to see an American Mink who posed for a minute for a photo before jumping into the water and swimming away. Here are a few photos from our visit.

(Note: Sadly, two teens drowned in the dam spillway area this past weekend. The water levels were far higher than they were when we fished the area. There are warning signs posted in the area and even when water levels are low, the area directly outside that spillway can be highly dangerous and should be avoided. )

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Cuyahoga Valley National Park & Scenic Railroad

We spent some time yesterday at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We hiked a few trails and only scratched the surface of all the lovely sights in this huge park. The boardwalk hike to Brandywine Falls takes visitors down into the gorge to the falls by a series of stairways and walkways that snake around some rock layers which jut out over the walkway.

We also visited the Brecksville station area, where we hiked the trail along the Cuyahoga River and the Ohio & Erie Canal. After the hike, we waited for the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad to arrive. Here are a few photos and video.

Here’s just a short loop of the train’s arrival:




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The Grosbeaks Are Back

Like clockwork, the rose-breasted grosbeaks return. They always appear in early May at our back yard feeder by an oak tree when the oak leaves are just emerging. Here’s a photo of a female rose-breasted grosbeak who spent a good part of the morning at the feeder.

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Fly Fishing & Scenic Beauty

Earlier this week, we took a trip to Virginia so my husband could do some fly fishing. The day of fishing was guided by Brian Trow of Mossy Creek Fly Fishing, located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. We fished in the private waters of Smith Creek at the lovely Susie Q Farms. Brian is an excellent guide and knows the waters well so my husband caught many fish. I was thrilled at the beauty of the area around the creek, which was bursting with the color from flowering trees and wildflowers, plus the soft greens from leaves emerging on the trees. Here are some photos of the scenery and a short fishing video. (Click on any image for a larger view.)

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Thunderstorm Over Lake Erie

We decided to go for a walk at Mentor Headlands State Park on the dunes trail. The sun was shining as we entered the parking lot but we noticed a patch of dark clouds looking over Lake Erie to the west. We were on the dunes trail for only a few minutes when we heard loud thunder and turned to see that the dark clouds had ballooned into a very large thunderstorm. Here’s a photo, taken from the dunes trail, looking west.(Click in image for a larger view.)

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Red-Shouldered Hawk In Flight

My husband spotted a pair of red-shouldered hawks sitting in a tree in the front yard. As I tried to get a photo, one of them flew over to a neighboring stand of trees. Here are photos of this beautiful bird as it flies by = slightly blurry from its motion.

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At The Icy Eastlake Pier

We visited the Eastlake Ohio seawall and fishing pier this morning. The temperature was 11 degrees and it was cloudy and breezy. The walk to the pier was treacherous because of ice. However, the Lake Erie water near the pier is unfrozen due to the warm water discharge from the Eastlake power plant. It’s normally a good place to see birds when it’s cold; unfortunately, it was even too cold for the birds. We saw few ducks and a handful of gulls, all which were out of the range of my long lens. We did see a lesser black-backed gull among a few herring gulls. Otherwise, it was an uneventful visit. There was some steam coming off the water but it only made the scene look even more frosty. Here’s a photo. (Click on image for a larger view.)

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