I stopped for an overnight at the Breaks Interstate Park while traveling along the Virginia-Kentucky border last Thursday. Arriving tired then having to get back on the road relatively early meant my explorations were few. Still, the views were worth it all by themselves!

Birds were also copious. Wild Turkeys were busy eating grass seeds by the side of the road all afternoon, and the Overlook Trail (as promised on the brochure) was quite birdy. In addition to the Blue-headed Vireo pictured above, dawn treated me to a pair of Peregrine Falcons calling and swooping overhead.

Several trails were closed for a prescribed burn, so I took the only remaining route to the valley bottom. Camp Branch Trail is a mile round trip…easy as long as you don’t mind the steep climb on the way back. This area would be perfect for packing a lunch and spending all afternoon, especially since you have to drive a few miles from the main heart of the park to get to it (likely meaning fewer visitors than at the busy vistas).

I camped at site B-32, which was delightfully secluded (at least during the shoulder season when no one had booked the neighboring sites). All night, the breeze flowed in one side of my tent and out the other as the thousand-foot difference between ravine bottom and ridge top tempted air to move. In the end, I think it was this constantly flowing air that I’ll remember most.

As a bonus, here’s a video of my other camping morning of the trip: Yatesville Lake. I updated my previous post with some bonus photos at the end in case you want more pictures from my lovely vacation week!

Subscribe now

I’ve read that this has been the second wettest September in the last century in southeast Ohio. The flooded, washed-out, or tree-covered roads definitely reflect that, as do the swollen, muddy rivers.

(Yes, I did take the bike out just to explore the high river. Now that I live on top of a hill, I find floods thrilling…)

After being blocked by the tree across the road in the first video, I had to turn around and visit a different part of Forked Run than I’d planned. But I eventually reached the lovely mini-waterfalls, many of which I could paddle right up to at current lake levels. I love the way the rock shelters magnify the sounds of falling water plus adding a light show all their own.

I’m not sure if it was the aftermath of flood or the fact that the nights have started dropping into the forties, but Forked Run felt rather quiet in the wildlife department. Until, that is, I spotted a Green Heron hunting in the flood debris.

“What can you possibly find there?” I thought…just as it nabbed a frog and swallowed it in one gulp!

Subscribe now

" * This source file is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 *and* the MIT
* License. Please agree to *both* of the licensing terms!"

Whaaat?

filed an issue on a library, they implemented it using an LLM so now I won't be depending on any new versions of that library

kind of makes you wonder what is the point of particpating

I think this qualifies as a hole in 1

third bisection of the buried water line confirms that the leak is where it passes under the water tank

In retrospect, putting it under the water tank was a bad idea. The changing weight on the ground as it fills and empties probably means extra movement of anything around the water line.

Oh well, it will be annoying to need to trench halfway around the tank in tight quarters, but it's only 10 feet to repair this. A big win over needing to redo the whole 250 foot water line!

second bisection of my buried water line completed and I have the leak pinpointed to within 50 feet now

There continues to be a good chance it's leaking under the water tank. Which would explain my confusion earlier chasing this leak, the area around the water tank was always wet.. but the tank turned out not to be leaking.

Tomorrow is the equinox, and the fall into autumn does seem to be accelerating fast.

Migrants are everywhere…although I took the page “Confusing Fall Warblers” in Peterson’s field guide too literally as a young person and thus still can’t latch onto many IDs. The two pictured above, though, I usually get right. Common Yellowthroats (left) are just a little cuter than average due to being in a different genus from many warblers. And Tennessee Warblers (right) are the warbler version of a Blackgum, with few identifying features.

(Follow me for more terrible birding ID tips!)

Dragonflies and damselflies mostly look themselves at this time of year, but wings are growing tattered. Within a month, most adults will have died, leaving only their watery nymph stage behind.

(Be sure to click on the photo on the left to see the Lilypad Forktail in its full glory!)

If I think too much about the lack of diversity settling in soon, fall can be bittersweet. But, in the moment, the cooler temperatures and exciting visitors make this one of the most fun times to be outside!

Subscribe now

On the ferry after a week camping on the island. Car says it will arrive at the charger at 8% .. phone is 30%, power bank at 5%, laptop at 10%. ... I'm at 100%

1. Put it on your schedule

This is probably the hardest one for a lot of people, especially those of you who have young humans depending on you. I’m not going to give you much specific advice because my life is likely very different from yours. What I do: I set aside all day Saturday plus Sunday mornings to be outside.

2. Get ready the night before

It’s astonishing how long it can take to get moving if I have to pack my lunch and gear, put my kayak on the car, and queue up directions and podcasts. Alternatively, if I know where I’m going the night before and have everything prepped, I’m likely to reach my destination at least an hour sooner. That early morning hour is often the very best one.

3. Make sure you’re comfortable

I used to go home once I ran out of food or water or got cold or wet. So now I pack more than I think I’ll need, including a meal and snacks, water, a poncho, a sun hat, plus lots of layers in cold weather. Also, plan bathroom breaks in whatever way makes sense to you.

4. Avoid annoyances

For some of you, mosquitoes or mud are real deal breakers. For me, the biggest thing that pulls me out of the moment is people nearby…tricky since weekends are when many people go to parks. So I get up early and often drive 45 minutes to a lake where very few other people go. That’s my way of avoiding annoyances — what’s yours?

5. Trick your brain into flow

Even if you’re entirely prepared, you still may end up going home early if your brain gets stuck in a rut. My hacks to keep myself on track include:

• Mindfulness practice ten minutes a day during my move-quickly-outside time Mondays through Fridays. I pay attention whenever my brain wanders from the present, and that makes it easier to really be where I am when I have more time to spend outside. (I’m in the baby-steps stage of this, but it still helps.)

• Quick tricks in the field include reading a chapter on my Kindle or doing a lesson on Duolingo. Both can often knock a thought-train off its rails and remind me of the wonder of where I’m at.

• Turning the day into a mini treasure hunt works when I’m really having trouble focusing. The simplest treasure hunt is “take at least a hundred photos.” This year, I’ve instead often demanded that I find at least ten Odonata species.

6. Slow down and look closer

If you’re outside and you don’t immediately see something awesome, it’s easy to say, “this isn’t a good spot; this isn’t a good day,” and just go home. But if you slow down and look closer, you’ll almost always see something great. Don’t see something great? Slow down more and look closer yet. For example, the watersnake above turned out to have a mosquito on its chin (click the image to see!), and the pattern of its scales against beetle-gnawed wood fascinated me.

7. Expand your interests

If all you’re intrigued by is colorful birds and you don’t see any colorful birds in the first hour, you’re likely to go home. However, if you also love jumping spiders and weird plants and water droplets on feathers and the sound wind makes when it moves through trees, then you’re bound to be inspired fast and frequently. The more often your brain feeds you happy chemicals, the longer you’ll stay out.

8. Lower your standards

If your goal for each outing is a new life bird or a Niagara Falls-level landscape, you’re not going to be happy most of the time. On the other hand, if noticing down feathers drifting away from a preening Green Heron makes your day, every moment will be full of wonder.

9. Let yourself immerse

This one probably goes without saying, but turn off phone notifications, put your device in airplane mode, or go somewhere with no reception. The modern world loves to pull you out of the moment.

10. Bask in the beauty

Those of us who love facts can get stuck in the ID rut. “Oh, that’s a Bold Jumping Spider. Moving on.” But if you stop and watch a species you’ve seen several times before, you might notice how the beastie waves its little legs at you and how brilliantly its mouthparts sparkle in the sun. Soon, you’ve spent several minutes with one little creature and have really gotten into the flow.

How about you? I bet you have your own hacks to make sure you spend plenty of time in the field. Go ahead and throw your advice in the comments and I’ll use them on days when I need that extra push to get out the door (then to ignore the pull of couch and home).

Enjoy your time outdoors!

Subscribe now

Island hopping

Sturgeon's law, of all things to add nines too?

Minutes waiting on charging: 20
Minutes waiting on ferry: 90

It was such a startling experience to find this Carolina Mantis stranded on a branch sticking out of the water twenty feet from shore. She swayed side to side in that typical mantis way, trying to get a better depth perception on objects around her. I started taking her picture with my closeup camera, but the LED light must have attracted her (or maybe she was sick of her branch). Either way, she’d soon jumped aboard!

I put down the mantis-claimed camera, picked up another…and the mantis made her way from the front of the boat to my paddle then walked directly up that until she was staring straight at me. If she were a cat, that would have been a Subtle Hint^TM that she wanted to go ashore. So I poled those twenty feet as best I could, keeping her part of the paddle dry.

As soon as land appeared, she jumped into a tree and was gone.

You’ll notice I said “she” — the short wings are a dead giveaway that the mantis I found was female. And those same short wings mean female Carolina mantises can’t fly once they reach this stage of their lives.

So maybe she really did want to be taken ashore?

I’ve often wondered if I’d know a Carolina Mantis isn’t the more common, invasive Chinese Mantis when I finally stumbled across the native. While I’ve seen a few immatures that I wasn’t able to distinguish, the moment I saw this adult I was positive she was something new.

In addition to the short wings on the female, one feature to look for in both sexes of the Carolina Mantis is the dark spot in the middle of those wings. The species also tends to be smaller than the Chinese Mantis, although my female’s presence was strong enough that I didn’t really notice that in the field.

One thing I got wrong: the beautiful patterning on this mantis isn’t quite as diagnostic as I’d at first assumed. Instead, mantises match the coloration of their surroundings each time they molt. Clearly this one molted atop a twig.

The fourteen minutes I spent with that female felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience…then the next day I saw two more Carolina Mantises (including a male who seemed to be stealing from a spiderweb). Turns out this is breeding season and mantids are particularly visible right now — go out and look!

Subscribe now

Driving 10 hours to the beach. Then a ferry. Then putting up a tent hopefully not in the dark.

Receptionist claimed that if I self paid for a doctors visit it would he insurance fraud.

Sigh, now I have to write a letter to their board suggesting they not mislead their patients.

(I assume it would violate an agreement they have with the insurer, which is no excuse for that behavior)

Retrospective: I visited Carter Caves State Park once in November 2025 and twice in May 2026.

Carter Caves isn’t Mammoth Caves. I mean, the two parks are in different parts of Kentucky and are run by different folks (state vs. federal), so that’s a given. But they’re also different enough that I think many people would be disappointed if they went to Carter hoping for Mammoth (and vice versa).

The Carter Caves caverns are much smaller, much closer to the surface (which means more critters!), have vastly fewer human visitors plus smaller tour sizes even at peak times, boast less awe-inspiring formations, and offer self-guided options.

My favorite part: Laurel Cave (upper right photo)! You have to get a permit, and access is only allowed when bats aren’t hibernating (May 1 to Labor Day, can be closed during heavy rains). Those caveats aside, Laurel Cave is the very best underground option for awe-seeking introverts. You can go at your own pace and sit as long as you want in the dark. Plus, the cave is a straight shot that you can stand up in most of the time, so it even works for beginners. Horn Hollow Cave is open year-round but isn’t quite as beginner-friendly, so I didn’t take my husband or sister (wild-cave virgins) there. But Horn Hollow is on my list!

What about the cave tours? They’re good, but you’ll be moved along quickly and won’t have time to commune with the spiders, crickets, salamanders, and bats. I’ve been to Cascade Cave (which walks you through three caves with lots of water) and X Cave (upper left photo, not quite as amazing but cool in that you can see a dry cave and a wet cave intersecting). I really got a lot out of the Cascade Cave tour guide’s spiel about living and dead caves and the demonstration of how to use UV lights to see if a formation is still growing.

Is there fun for non-cavers? Yes! I particularly enjoyed the awe-inspiring beauty of Smoky Bridge (first half of the video) and Box Canyon Trail (where I took all of the lower tier of photos). There’s also an amazing waterfall near the entrance of Laurel Cave where I could have sat for hours (second half of the video).

Is there paddling? Yes! On a drizzly morning in early May, my sister and I had the small but wild Smoky Valley Lake all to ourselves for several blissful hours. There are also naturalist-guided paddling day trips through what sounds like a really neat canyon-like creek…but ours was cancelled due to drought.

Would I go back? Since I’ve been there three times in last seven months, that’s a definite yes. Carter Caves does get busy fast as the year warms up, though, so I’d probably once again grab the sweet spot just as the self-guided caves open…or go in the winter and up my game to Horn Hollow.

quite a change from when it was under construction 2 years ago!

fixed my electric lawnmower -- my guess was right, and a off balance blade was causing the motor to think it was overloaded at low idle

my rural neighbors have started asking me about solar and whole house batteries

Interesting to see what people are getting up to with vibe coding and then reverting that in the next release without any indication of what bug it introduced.

In other news, replaced a git-annex dependency and sped it up by about 400%