A walk in the Woods

Red Clover

Yellow Wood Sorrel

We were back up in the woods from Saturday through Monday. It rained on Saturday and Sunday, but today was beautiful. I took some flower pictures on our walk. The color on the red clover was especially nice. Lee has been battling a Robin trying to build a nest under the porch. I think the Robin is winning, but they are both persistent. However, the place will be rented through Memorial weekend and that will give the bird plenty of time to set up a nest. There have been a lot of birds lately we have two pairs of Indigo Buntings, which we think are prettier than blue birds, finches, an assortment of wrens, and a Northern Flicker poking at the yard. Lee doesn't have her 16 hummingbird feeders up at camp since we won't be around to fill them or protect them from the bears. Lee hasn't had any luck getting the hummingbirds to travel to her feeders in Wellsboro. I guess they didn't get the forwarding address.

Word on the bridge that is out in Leetonia is that it may be open before Memorial Day Weekend. We can all hope as the detour adds at least a half hour drive and the road is horrible going around. We met a friend on our walk this morning finishing up his turkey hunting for the morning. He said he didn't see a thing, but the weather was nice and it didn't seem like it mattered. 

Also good news, Snaggle Nose, the bear, made it through another year. He was photographed by John down at the Tannery on a game camera. Hopefully, he will send me a picture so I can update it. Snaggle Nose must be at least 10 and seems to be an expert on evading the hunters each year. He is the biggest bear in Leetonia now and all the others run when they see him.

Even though I am a short distance away in Wellsboro, I cherish the time to just drive up and be in Leetonia. I always feel home there. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

Spring has run away

More snow and cold

Does anyone know where the Spring has gone? We are in the single digits again this morning and got an extra inch of snow added to the pile that still hangs on the mountain. It is getting harder to believe that Spring is here when you wake up to 6 degrees. The forecast for next week isn't so grim. Somehow today it is supposed to get in the 40's and by the end of the week we are to touch 60. Please mother nature don't be lying to me. You have tempted me in the past to believe that Spring was here only to sprinkle me with more snow and turn my play ground into a freezer.

Everyone is counting the minutes until we can again move freely outside without heavy coats and boats. The summer birds are already here singing anytime it gets above freezing trying to lure Spring into making a comeback. The difference between up here and Wellsboro is as usual very significant. You would never guess there is any snow and ice here when you see mostly bare ground down there. I caution everyone not to drive on the unplowed roads without having chains with you. There is still a lot of ice and snow on North Face roads. The Sun is peaking through the bare trees as I write these words hovered over a heater. Let the warm up begin! Mountain girl, Paula logging out.

Rain and rising water

Apple tree in bloom

If you get this post by email you won't see the video go directly to Lost in Leetonia if you want to see it. We have gone quickly from snow white to brown to Spring green over the last couple weeks. The temperatures have swung as much as 40 degrees in a day. Our apple tree usually blooms on Mother's day and was a bit slow this year, but is making up for lost time.
It rained so hard last night it was deafening. I awoke to see the creeks along our house swollen and the new bridge getting a work out. Pine Creek made it to 9 feet but is now backing down if we don't get anymore rain. Wind came with the storm yesterday and took out our power for a few hours and of course there are a lot of people up at camps.
Summer is the time we lose the most power the most due to tree hitting the lines. The rain soaked ground makes the root bases easier to topple in a wind storm. I am getting my generator into top shape and ready for the weather.
I always forget how much work there is to do outside once the weather gets warmer. We have cut the grass once and it needs it again. It is also the time that I seem to find everything that is broken that needs repaired and the porcupines haven't helped. We saw a record 15 of them a couple weeks ago in about a 8 mile stretch. They chewed my gate and did a number on the wiring on my trailer to the point I had to rewire the entire trailer. Why can't they eat the trees and leave my stuff alone?
The bears are out more this last week. I have seen two close to the house and Lee saw three cubs coming up from Cedar Run yesterday. It is such a big change from Winter when it is quiet and cold. Now the birds are up chirping early in the morning and everything seems livelier. The trees seem to add an inch of new leaves a night and it is gradually becoming a dark summer forest again. This is the time of year to truly enjoy the woods and nature. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

Sunny Sunday

Top of Hill

Pine Forest

Moss on stone

Winter green(Spring Red)

The sun came out today to do serious battle with the rest of the snow and ice. I can now walk to the top of my hill without slipping and sliding it is wonderful. It amazes me how quickly the air warms up in the morning when it is sunny and calm. 

I walked to the top of the hill to take a shot over the trees as you see in the first picture there is something starting to happen a little haze of growth coming over them in a few spots. It will be a while to see any sort of leaves, but for now the winter is over.

Light filters down in the pine forest in a special way in the second picture and gives you almost a magical feeling when you walk through it. The only colors right now are the green of the pines,the red hue of buds and wintergreen, and the green of the moss on the ground, which is very responsive to any first light of Spring and almost glows when it first starts to grow.

The Wintergreen or Bayberry in the last picture has a very different reaction to the new warmth. All winter it stays green and then in the Spring turns this bright red. The berries are a wonderful breath freshener and I never forget to pop one in when I walk by one of these plants. 

If you look you can still find snow on the North sides of the mountain and ice clinging to the rocks slowly and stubbornly refusing to leave. But I decided I had enough ice and snow pictures for the year and wanted you to feel Leetonia's move to Spring. I even saw a few yellow flowers along the road when I drove to Leetonia yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me or they would have made the blog. Spring is one of my favorite times of year. The grass is low, the bugs haven't arrived and you can watch the forest change daily coming into a vibrant living expression of all the energy the sun sends to it. Today is a good day to enjoy a walk in Leetonia or anywhere in nature. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

Is it Spring?

Leetonia Road early morning

Wilson Point Road

This morning the weather started at 20 for my morning walk to the top of Cedar Mountain. The sun rose quickly into a clear blue sky and shone brightly by the time I got up to Wilson Point Road. By the time I got back to the house it was 39 and made it all the way to 50 for the high of the day. The roads vary from dry and dusty to a small amount of snow and you shouldn't have much trouble driving through any of the State Forest roads with caution. I would imagine with the warm temperatures most of the snow will be gone by the end of the weekend. 

On a sadder note our feral cat has gone missing the last three days. We had an invasion of raccoons, who got into the cat food in the garage opening the metal container I kept the food in, crushing the food bowl, and leaving teeth marks in the metal can of cat food. We heard them making noise and when we got up didn't see the cat. I haven't found the cat dead anywhere, but if they chased him off in the middle of the night he may not have met with a good end as Lee saw a bobcat outside the kitchen window the other day. We also have owls, coyotes, and fox who would gladly make the cat a midnight snack. It is sad to see the cat porch empty each day and now with three days gone by and no cat it isn't looking too hopeful for his return. Life is rough in the mountains of Leetonia and the cat was lucky to have found free handouts for the winter. I will update you all if he returns. 

We are looking forward to real Spring and weather above freezing and hopefully some numbers in the 50 and 60's. If you are coming for the weekend it should be nice until Sunday when rain is forecast. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

Wood Prediction according to the porch

Firewood on left front porch

Firewood on right front porch

In the 11 years we have lived up here we have never used more firewood than the front and back porch can hold. As of today these couple stacks of firewood are all that is left on either porch. This year's firewood use has been different as it is continuing to be as cold in March as it was in February. Last year it was unseasonably warm this month getting into the 60's and 70's and we ended up with firewood left on the porch. I have noticed that for every 30 degrees drop in temperature we use an additional cart full of  firewood. So when it is 65 we use basically none, when it is 35 we use 1 cart full, 5 degrees 2 cart fulls, 25 below 3 cart fulls. So with the temperatures ranging from single digits to 25 we are using twice as much wood this month as normal.

Now I may have totally confused you as to my point. But we are due for a fast warm up if the wood on the front porch is to last. So I am sticking my neck out here and saying the probability of a quick warm-up is definitely in our favor due to the porch prediction. We can go through the rest of March this way, but April will need to see some 50 plus weather to balance out the use of firewood. 

Now for those of you worried we will freeze once the porch is gone, have no fear, we have other wood stacked away from the house. However, the wood miser is very jealous of the pile and will not easily use it. We do like the wood to be gone during summer month that is stacked close to house due to the bugs in wood affecting our house and just the moisture of having the wood stacked against wood siding isn't good for it. I will let you all know if the porch predicts the end of the heating season accurately this year...it hasn't failed us yet, so I am hopeful. Let the heavy coat and boot days end, the mountain girls are ready for Spring. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

Where did Spring Go?

The sun is up this morning but the temperature is 9 degrees, not a very good showing for the second day of Spring. We haven't been able to break the cycle of repeated small amounts of snow each week so many of the roads on North sides of mountain and in higher elevation are still covered in snow and ice. We got about three inches two days ago followed by freezing rain giving the snow a crunchy top. During times the temperatures or sun get the road above freezing it quickly turns to slippery mud gathering on your tires and wheel wells thickly then freezing at night so that moving your tires can be a challenge the next day.
At this point everyone is ready for some real Spring that lasts. The contrast between this year and last where we hardly had a winter is making this one seem very long indeed.
At least today the sun is out giving us hope that it will warm up quickly and take the single digit temperature away. I haven't been down the road towards the Cedar Run direction in a while so I am not sure how bad it is. I am hoping to make a trip down that way in the next week if things improve. Trout season is just around the corner so whoever is in charge of Spring needs to start waking up. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

Spring and Huckleberries

Here is the view from the top of our hill as you can see the trees are starting to leaf out. There is still a long way to go before the forest again turns dark green and shrouds the mountain floor from our eyes.

All of the small plants are blooming the wild strawberries and the wild blueberries or huckleberries. I have many large patches of huckleberries on the side of my hill and when they are bearing well they are a pleasant summer treat. Of course we have to share them with the birds and the bears, but that is part of living in the mountains of Leetonia.

Today started with a cold 27 degree frost, but the sun is promising to warm up into the 60's. I am off to work at a cabin near Cedar Run and will enjoy the peace of the woods interrupted only by my sawing. Have a great Leetonia day! Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

Spring Flowers

The flowers are blooming around the mountain. This picture shows a large Azeala bush down near a camp at Cedar Run. The daffodils are in full bloom and the trees are starting to open up.

The only trees blooming are the Fire Cherry on the sides of the mountain. They look like little white puffs when you look from the top of the mountain over the entire valley.

Today, I woke to a beautiful blue, sunny day. But thunderstorms are promised to us by this afternoon, so I will need to get all my outdoor things done this morning. Have a beautiful Leetonia day. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

Spring is Back

This is a flower called Colt's foot called because the leaves resemble colts feet. Typically around 6 to 8 inches high. It is one of the first flowers seen in Leetonia commonly along the edges of the road.

The plant has a reputation as a cure for coughs. An extract of fresh leaves can be used for making cough drops or hard candy or its dried leaves steeped in tea.

The weather was beautiful today reaching near 60 degrees and it looks like we will stay dry and sunny for the next few days. What a welcome relief to the doldrums of rain, snow, and clouds we have been tolerating for the last couple weeks.

Easter in Leetonia

Easter Day in Leetonia, I searched for the Easter Bunny everywhere: out by the camp sign where the crocuses closed up huddled against the cold; down by the creek where the branches formed icy finger tips dipping into the spring; and lastly by the Grandmother Tree, we affectionately call, "Oni",meaning born on holy ground, and no Easter Bunny. Not a furry little fluff anywhere to be found this morning.


I can't say I blame the Easter Bunny, working on such a cold day is certainly above and beyond the call of duty and yet part of me hoped I would catch a glimpse of the elusive creature. I spoke to my friend, "Oni", our 200 year-old white pine and asked if she had seen the Easter Bunny.

"No, my granddaughter," she replied, I have only seen the loud Blue Jays perched upon my branches this morning. Perhaps their cawing chased the Bunny away."

"What do you think of this cold, grandmother?"

"The cold does not bother me, young one. The sap that flows through my bark adjusts to the temperature. The animals are complaining more. Have no fear the warm weather always comes."

"Well, I am off to look for the Easter Bunny, grandmother, have a good day."

"You too my walking seedling."

I kept looking after leaving Grandmother Oni, and then I understood. The Easter Bunny is white and its snowing. The Easter Bunny is probably right in front of my face and I didn't see it. Maybe even in one of these pictures. Well if you see the Easter Bunny in one of these pictures or I see the Easter Bunny later I will get a picture. Have a chilly, Leetonia Easter!

Leetonia Cabins 2nd Day of Spring

See if one of these pictures is your camp today!

Spring has Sprung in Leetonia

Spring is here!!!! Today we spotted the first Robin in the front yard. Of course it didn't stay long enough for a picture. So you are getting the picture of the deer that just completed eating the sunflower seeds I put out for the birds. They seem to know exactly when to show up. The birds are not pleased with the intruders and will sometimes dive bomb them.

The Robins seemed interested in picking up the straw on the front yard. Can they be thinking nest already. That is a very optimistic thought, considering the calender doesn't even show Spring for another week. We've had snow as late as May so they better be ready to keep the nest warm.