I spent the day in Black Moshannon State Park with my small Forest Geography class, collecting data from about an acre plot of trees. Lots of the canopy has been opened up in this forest (and all around the area) from a plague of gypsy moths that eat and kill trees, so that combined with the overabundant hungry deer population has allowed ferns and groundcover to explode. Eventually, since the deer are eating all the young saplings, the mature trees might not be replaced after they die and the forest could become a vast fern field. Interesting. It was a gorgeous day to be wandering about in the forest, but I am VERY GLAD this was our last Saturday excursion. I'm looking forward to having two day weekends and being able to actually see my boyfriend again!! [All these field trips have been bringing me back to last fall's S.I. family days, except this time I am getting pretty good at plant identification! The only prairie plants I can still pick out comfortably from class last year are compass plant and goldenrod, but I can now identify lots of the Eastern trees by merely looking at their bark. Useful skills? I don't know. But kind of fun.]
Fridays in State College mean the big downtown Farmer's Market and running in the golf course! Past all the pretty stone houses that I wish I lived in, with their multi-colored shutters.
The path is pretty and the mountains rising in the background make me wish I were a golfer so I could better appreciate these golf courses. [But I am not a golfer. DEFINITELY not HA!]
The best part about the run was that TODAY I have not felt my hip at all. That's a first!!