Appalachian Trail, Vernon Boardwalk Section, 24 September 2008

This beautiful section of the Appalacian Trail in Vernon, NJ, was the setting for our outing today. The trail here is through a grassy wetlands, elevated on a well-maintained boardwalk. There is also a true suspension bridge. You can bounce and sway on the span looking down at the fast-moving stream below it. This bridge was our goal.

Unlike our walks at Goosepond, we weren't wanting for our Orb Weaver spiders. Within 20 feet of our walk we spotted several of these insects and their own unique signatures. Many of these spiders had gotten lucky; they were feasting on their web-covered prey.

As we walked along to the first little bridge to look for turtles, we spotted pairs of mating dragonflies laying their eggs in the still water. These particular fire-red dragonflies stayed as pairs, the male holding onto the female as she repeatedly dipped her abdomen, dropping an egg into the water each time.

When we reached the suspension bridge Suzanne pointed out the white rectangluar blazes of the Appalachian Trail, the largest volunteer project in America. We took a few minutes to ponder the thought of walking from Georgia to Maine along this trail.

On our way back to our cars we paused at the Jewelweed bush, finding and squeezing the explosive pods to release the seeds of this annual. "Jewelweed pops," as the kids call them, are fun and functional... the flowers are the favorite source of nectar for the hummingbird. We encouraged our children to spread the seeds, looking forward to seeing more next year.