Fall Tree Planting

We added 13 more trees to Phoenixville's urban forest...

and noticed that the Firebird looks completed (or nearly so)...

Carving Pumpkins

Boat Trip Down the Schuylkill River

Olszanowki Farm

We went to the pumpkin farm to take a hay ride, pick pumpkins, and run through the corn maze...

St. Peters Village

We took our German exchange student, Peter, hiking at St. Peters Village...

Valley Forge Deer Management Tour

An ecologist at Valley Forge National Historic Park gave us a tour and discussed the impacts of the deer culling project. Although you don't see deer in the park much anymore, the forests are starting to recover. These photos show the difference between the forest regeneration in an area that has been fenced for 20 years to keep the deer out compared to an unfenced area...

French Creek State Park

We took our annual fall hike with the Gibbons...

Phoenixville Blues Festival

Ashley and Alex came up for the blues festival. Good times and good music...

and Kade got a cool hat...

Canoe/Kayak Trip on the Schuylkill River

We loaded up the jeep and trailer and went boating on the Schuylkill River and Canal...

Scaly

Kade saved his money and bought, Scaly, an albino corn snake...

Here is a fairly gross video of Scaly eating.

Island Beach State Park

After 10 years in southeastern PA we finally made a trip "down the shore." Kade and I went to Island Beach State Park for the day.

The southern end of the island was very quiet and not crowded...

Unfortunately, it the swimming area was far more crowded than what we are used to given that we have got to the beach in North Carolina for our whole lives...

Next time I think we will stay down at the southern end and deal with not being able to rinse off. We still had a good time...

Claytor Lake State Park

We had a great time visiting with the family...

Boating...