snakes and skunks and owls oh my!

Today was the Tail On The Trail walk event at the Rt 33 Boat Launch. The D&L runs thru it. Bonnie was sick so had to cancel. We don't know what happened to Dawn. So it was just me and Lydia.

We arrived just in time for the animal demo from Wildlands Conservancy. They brought along a ball python, a skunk and a barred owl. That's me holding the snake. He was a little cold, so he stayed balled up.

The skunk was entertaining. He wanted out of his cage. As soon as she unlatched the door, he didn't come out. Silly skunk. Then, when he realized he was free he tried to make a run for it. This fellow is 40 pounds and only a year old. He's had the good life. Why in the world would he want to go back to nature? Besides, he had his stinker snipped. He wouldn't last a week.

The owl was impressive. He had a broken wing, but that didn't stop him from trying to fly off either. He can squeeze 200pounds of pressure with his talons. Needless to say, the skunk went away before the owl came out. Or the owl might have thought lunch!

Both nocturnal animals have been trained to be awake during the day and sleep at night. Totally against nature. But easier for the caretakers. The owl is about 17. They've had him 15 years and he was full grown when he arrived. That's about 2.

 Before we started we took our pix wearing our matching shirts. But you really can't see them. This was some of the swag we received for doing the challenge. So was the magnet on Lydia's car.

Then we headed down the boat ramp to hit the trail heading towards Freemansburg. Another group headed towards Riverside Park. It didn't matter, it was  two miles each way. The third choices was both sections for close to nine miles with the parking lot and boat ramp.

It didn't take long for Lydia to start shooting pixs. And look! She multi-tasks. Shooting with one hand, talking on the phone with the other.

The first part of the trail, maybe a half mile, was narrow. One person wide. The rest was wide. We walked two miles out and two miles back. The total was closer to 5 miles with the boat ramp and the size of the parking lot.

Then it was off to Hugh Moore Park for the Canal Museum and the locktenders house. We had our tickets from August that we needed to use up. This is the last weekend of the season. I'm my mothers daughter. Tickets do not go unused. Between the walk from the lot to the museum, and the walk from the museum to the locktenders house, and then the walk to the field to see the mules, we added another 1.6 miles.

then, when we arrived home, we took Big A for his walk. All in all it was an almost 7 mile day.

Tomorrow Bonnie and I are headed to Snyder County. We'll do that Volkssport walk, and the Northumberland one, and check 2 more counties off our books. Of course, they may never be filled. 14 counties don't even have walks!