When I woke up this morning, I once again thought about hitting the Schuylkill. A light drizzle that started falling ended any idea of that. I haven't been back to Bake Oven Knob since I started this project at the beginning of the summer. This also gave me the opportunity to get some photos I needed of another site that was on the way. Driving out I found that I definitely made the right decision as the rain was coming down steadily at times.
No surprise the parking lot had bottles and cans strewn along the edges. The good thing was this was the biggest pile and the lot took no time at all to clear. I have pointed out before that I am not alone in cleaning up the trail to the knob. I have met several individuals that do so. It is cleaned often, but because of the amount of people that go to this site it is always a problem. The Game Commission does patrol this area more often as of last year, yet it seems the amount of trash has not diminished. I would like to once again thank those others who help to keep this area clean and the Game Commission for trying their best to eliminate the problem.
Penny was very eager to get to the Knob. Not sure why, she was really pulling me along.
I never did get to see what it looked like with no graffiti at the top. The Game Commission did organize an event and did cover all of the tagging that had accumulated over the years. I had wanted to go up and see the site after they were done, but I just did not have time. Now more people have once again painted in bright colors their names and messages. Anyone who sees this should be mad. Like the rivers this is our shared resource and should be left in a natural state for everyone to enjoy.
If by chance you read this blog and know the individuals who did this, please contact the Game Commission.
The view from the Knob. Even on a dreary day it is still spectacular.
Out on the Knob I met Kenny Fowler. He currently works for the Lehigh Gap Nature Center and spends up to ten hours a day at the Knob identifying and counting migrating birds that fly by. There are multiple locations where daily counts like this take place along the Appalachian range. The information that is collected is very important to avian research. This data is collected and compiled every year. Not only can it show how many individuals are using this flyway each year, but also the trends of the annual migrations, the time of day birds/species are flying and any correlations to weather and flight patterns. If you go to Bake Oven Knob in the near future and you too meet Mr. Fowler, thank him for the work he is doing. It is important and after seeing him out there in the cold rain I know he is dedicated to it.
These tiny bird dots were identified by Mr. Fowler as Sharp-Shinned Hawks. They were the only bird activity while I was out on the Knob.
This fungus was shining bright on this dreary gray day. I think this may be the same species I photographed the other day, just a larger specimen.
A good distance off of the main trail, no other trash was around it and I am surprised I was even able to see it.
It may look like Penny is sniffing out trash, she is not, there just happened to be a piece of trash around where she was sniffing.
This site is just past Bake Oven Knob and I had only been there a couple times before. With the amount of beer cans and bottles this seems to be another popular party site. It is not easy to get to, the terrain is not easy to traverse and I can't imagine why anyone would decide to get drunk here.
Another area where people associate crevices with trash cans. I would like to point out they are not the same thing. Trash cans help get trash to either a recycling center or landfill, putting your trash in a crevice fills a potential dwelling of another creature and just isn't cool. The photo on the left is what I first saw when I crawled into this small space. The photo on the right is all of the trash I pulled out of the smaller crevices tucked away in the back of this space. All trash was removed except for the broken glass.
A Wood Frog that was crossing the trail on my way out. Always be mindful of the tiny creatures, you never know when one will cross your path.
Before going to Bake Oven Knob I did stop at one other site. I was hopping to find another species for photos, but instead I found a Slimy Salamander. To me it was just as good, but not what I needed. It is always best when you find a salamander under a rock to move it before putting the rock back in place. If you go to move a Slimy with your bare hand you may get a surprise. They secrete a sticky substance and this substance will be deposited on your hand. Generally all a Slimy needs to move out of the way is a slight nudge on the tail.
If you would like to continue to see the trash being taken out and the posts to keep coming on this blog through 2016 you can make a contribution at: gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash
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