October Snow

On October 29th we had a surprise early snowstorm, of several inches.

Some trees still had green leaves.

Morning after

Crum Woods

We visited Crum Creek and Swarthmore College with the Natural Lands Trust on Oct. 24th. Natural Lands Trust has done some consulting here.

Sewer reconstuction is degading the creek. We also learned about the deer problem, and how they have constucted test plots to see the effects of the deer control measures.

Japanese knotweed. We learned about invasive species. Glad that we do not have this one, but we do have English ivy climbing up trees.

Amphitheater steps

Our leader at the amphitheater

Our last stop was the Wister Education Center and Green house. We were blown away by the greenhouse.

Empty Sky and New York

Sailboat passes the NY skyline

Water taxi

The New York skyline as it appears today and the Empty Sky Reflective Memorial in New Jersey.

Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty

On Tuesday, a group from Foulkeways went by bus and boat to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

Main building on Ellis Island

Baggage room

Jug of warm milk for the children

Wall of Names and NY skyline

Avoiding speed bumps

We got around the first one.

The 2nd was a dilly.

Whoops! Did not make it around the 3rd one.

Stuck in the mud!

Autumn

Some lovely autumn color can be seen at Foulkeways.

Autumn meadowhawk. This small dragonfly is seen in the fall, maybe even until December.

Shady Ramble

There are five crows that haunt my neighbor's bird feeder.

Green Ribbon Trail

This beautiful morning we walked along the Green Ribbon Trail of the Wissahickon Watershed. Access was beyond the Upper Gwynedd municipal office.

Pearl crescent. We saw five species of butterfly, but heard only a few birds.

A beautiful view of the Wissahickon Creek.

Chicory. We saw many fall flowers including asters, Bidens, and brown-eyed Susan.

. Stream crossing, where we turnwed around.

This is the end, or the beginning of the trail. We retraced our steps back to the car.

Bee Weigh In

The hives are weighed to see if they are heavy enopugh to get them through the winter. The hives are going dormant, the drones are thrown out, and no more young are being raised. The hives will all need to be fed sugar water to get them ready for winter. Frost will be here soon, and there will be no more flowers to supply nectar.

The bees are fed a mixture of 2 parts sugar to one part water to get them ready for winter.

In one empty feeding tray we find the bees are attempting to fill this "empty" space in the hive.

Screen, which provided ventilation in the summer, are removed for the winter.

A mouse guard is attached to each hive. Mice like the idea of a nice warm hive in which to spend the winter.

Mud dauber nest

Honey

This morning we gathered to prepare our honey for sale. Here it goes from jug to jar.

Checking to see if the bottle is filled to the line.

Topping up.

Caps go on.

Honey will be for sale in October, for $9 a bottle. Increased cost is due to adverse weather, which meant the bees had to be fed.

It's October

Just in case you did not know it was October, take a walk down Main Street.