Tag Archives: wildlife

Looking back on 2023

Posted on January 2, 2024 by John M

During 2023 our hiking group went on 92 hikes for a total of just over 400 miles, averaging about 4.4 miles per hike. The distance per hike was similar to last year’s, but the reduced number of hikes inevitably lowered … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Hiking, Photography | Tagged C&O Canal, Civil War, Great Falls National Park, nature, outdoors, Potomac River, Rappahannock River, Shenandoah Mountains, Washington DC, wildlife | 1 Comment

Crying Out

Posted on January 28, 2023 by John M

A hawk crying to its mate along the Potomac River near River Farm, Virginia.

Posted in Hiking, Photography | Tagged Potomac River, wildlife | 1 Comment

Looking back on 2022

Posted on December 31, 2022 by John M

During 2022 our hiking group continued to burn up the trails! We went on 108 hikes for a total of around 500 miles; averaging about 4.6 miles per hike. That’s not much different overall from last year, but this year … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Photography | Tagged C&O Canal, Civil War, Great Falls National Park, nature, outdoors, Potomac River, Rappahannock River, Shenandoah Mountains, Washington DC, wildlife | 6 Comments

Bluebirds

Posted on June 9, 2022 by John M

A young bluebird at our bird feeder billing with its parent and getting a bite to eat.

Posted in Birds, Photography | Tagged Bluebird, wildlife | 2 Comments

Looking back on 2016

Posted on December 30, 2016 by John M

Looking back, it has certainly been a busy year for hiking! Our hiking group grew by 1,779 members, from 6,796 to 8,575, and we met for 103 events during 2016, hiking a total of 450 miles at locations throughout Virginia, … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Photography | Tagged azaleas, Billy Goat Trail, Buzzard Rock, Carderock, Dupont, Georgetown, Great Falls National Park, Kalorama, National Cherry Blossom Festival, nature, old town alexandria, outdoors, Patapsco Valley State Park, Rock Creek Park, Shenandoah Mountains, Sky Meadows, Virginia bluebells, Washington DC, wildlife | 7 Comments

Lake Frank and Meadowside Nature Center

Posted on June 30, 2016 by John M

Last Saturday I took a day off from group hiking to explore Lake Frank, in Montgomery County, Maryland, for a hike our group is doing this coming Saturday. Lake Frank is only about 10 miles from the I-495 Capital Beltway, … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Photography | Tagged Lake Frank, Meadowside Nature Center, nature, outdoors, Pioneer Homestead, Rock Creek Park, Valient Covered Bridge, wildlife | 3 Comments

Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary

Posted on June 17, 2016 by John M

On Wednesday I drove out to Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary to take a look around for a hike we’re doing this coming Saturday. Jug Bay is due east of Washington DC and very close, only 12 miles from the I-495 … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Photography | Tagged Black Rat Snake, blue heron, Jug Bay, Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, nature, osprey, outdoors, Patuxent River, River Farm, Spiderwort, Swamp Rose, wildlife | 3 Comments

Two Falls

Posted on May 22, 2016 by John M

This past Friday I drove out to Shenandoah National Park to reconnoiter an upcoming hike near the Harry F. Byrd, Sr. Visitor Center, in the Big Meadows area of the park. The planned hike is a counter-clockwise loop, about 5 … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, History, Photography | Tagged bear corn, black bear, Chipmunk, Dark Hollow Falls, fishers gap, nature, outdoors, Rose River, Rose River Falls, Rose River Fire Road, Shenandoah Mountains, wildlife | 2 Comments

A hike in Patapsco Valley State Park

Posted on May 13, 2016 by John M

Last weekend we took a nice hike up in Maryland, at Patapsco Valley State Park, just south of Baltimore. For the first part, we crossed the river on a suspension bridge and hiked a 1.25 miles upstream on the Gristmill … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, History, Photography | Tagged Bloede Dam, Cascade Falls, nature, outdoors, Patapsco River, Patapsco Valley State Park, wildlife | 3 Comments

Keep moving

Posted on February 18, 2016 by John M

One of the downsides to winter is that you just have to get out there and keep moving, but you often spend more time getting dressed for and getting to a hike than you do actually hiking. (Actually, this applies … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Photography | Tagged cardinal, Chantilly Battlefield, Civil War, Lake Audubon, nature, Ox Hill Battlefield, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Rocky Run, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, wildlife | Comments Off