Overview: ​Celebrate the 276th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth with Volunteer Naturalist Fred Losi by learning about the wildflower that was named after this great president.  We will explore the floodplain along Tinker’s Creek in search of this and other early spring wildflowers.

We had perfect weather, a great group of enthusiastic people, and great timing of the hike with the flowering of Twinleaf, Jeffersonia diphylla.

• Frank's Photos
• Fred's Plants of the Day

I hope to see people on the Spring Bird Walks, which start tomorrow.  For this series and other Bedford hikes, please visit my Bedford Nature Calendar.

I hope everyone is enjoying spring!

Overview: ​Join Volunteer Naturalist Fred Losi on this hike up a wooded ravine leading to the buckeye trail.  This will reveal beautiful Tinker’s Creek upstream of the core of Bedford Reservation.

What a great day we had exploring the historic location of the Forbes Dairy Farm!  We explored the Forbes family history, the physical layout of the farm and how the park came to dedicate this beautiful addition to the Cleveland Metroparks.

• ​​Frank's Photos
• Fred's Photos
• Fred's Photos when Scouting
• Forbes Woods Research
• Forbes Woods Notes

Additionally, when we hiked to the connector at Hawthorn Parkway, we were able to see the old Bedford Walker China factory across Tinker's Creek, with it's water tower and large brick chimney.​

I sincerely thank members of the Bedford Historical Society for helping me research and prepare for this hike.

Overview: ​Enjoy hiking with Volunteer Naturalist Fred Losi to explore the winter landscape of Sagamore Creek, including visits to two waterfalls.  We will look at the how plants and animals are coping with the cold temperatures.  Please dress for expected harsh weather conditions.

Unlike last month, the weather cooperated perfectly.  The week's polar vortex presented an icy landscape everywhere, both Sagamore Creek and the falls.   Everyone had a wonderful experience visiting the two different frozen waterfalls on this Woodlands adventure!  Navigating the slippery surfaces was certainly a challenge, but everyone succeeded and enjoyed.

• Frank's Photos
• Fred's Photos

Overview: ​During this hike with Volunteer Naturalist Fred Losi, we will enjoy Eastern Hemlock trees, visiting a location where they are in great numbers.  Spectacular ice formations are hoped for in Tinker’s Creek itself, surrounded by a beautiful winter forested backdrop.   Please dress appropriately for potentially frigid winter conditions.

We had a great time exploring the area by Powers Mills, both for the historic exploration as well as to celebrate a great tree, Eastern Hemlock, Tsuga canadensis.  We were able to get to a ridge above Tinker's Creek that has literally hundreds of hemlocks in a small area, including trees both young and old.  This tree creates very unique habitat friendly to many fern species that we greatly appreciate.

We look fondly of this tree in Bedford Reservation and dread when Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) makes it way to diminish the winter beauty of the day.

Thanks to Frank for sharing these pictures of the outing.

Overview: Explore the new Astrohurst Park of Bedford Reservation on this late autumn hike with Volunteer Naturalist Fred Losi.  We will see how nature is reclaiming this golf course and discussion local history of the property, part of the town of Little Egypt.

We had great time on Saturday exploring the new Astorhurst Park of Bedford Reservation.  We discuss history, nature, and had spectacular views of Tinker's Creek.

• ​Astorhurst History
• Frank's Photos
• eBird Observations

For more information on the history of Little Egypt, please see my March Nature Blog.

Overview: Views of Deerlick Creek Valley and the Tinker’s Creek Gorge are features of this hike on the last weekend of autumn.  Hemlocks and white pines are clearly visible now that the leaves have fallen.  We will visit Poet’s Cave and other interesting places in this scenic area. 

We had a great time yesterday exploring the region around Deerlick Creek including Lost Meadows Falls, Fishbowl Falls, Old Quarry Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Poet's Cave.

• Fred's Photos
• iNaturalist Observations
• eBird Checklist

Overview: ​Join Volunteer Naturalist Fred Losi as we view the colors of autumn in this rich and diverse area of Bedford Reservation.  We will view large tulip trees, cucumber magnolias, sugar maples, hickories and tupelos and visit sandstone quarries and other features along the way.  Bring a camera to capture the beauty of the day.

We had a great autumn hike!  Even though only sassafras and cottonwood presented the only obvious leaf color sources, the ferns and mushrooms entertained us instead.  See the photos below to understand the forested beauty that we noted on this pleasant outing.

• Frank's Photos

We visited two sandstone quarries, Cleaveland and Wagar.  History was another subject of focus.

• History of the Cleaveland Hill Farm and Quarry

For more fern detail, visit the link below.

• Ferns of Northeast Ohio

Below is the route that we followed, in case you want to repeat again during other seasons.

Overview: ​Volunteer Naturalist Fred Losi will guide an in-stream exploration of Deerlick Creek.  Three beautiful waterfalls will be explored: Fishbowl, Bridal Veil and Quarry Falls.  Wettable footwear is advisable for walking in the creek.  Some trail hiking included.

We had a fun group on Saturday's adventure in Deerlick Creek.  It included visits to many scenic locations in remote Bedford Reservation including Poet's Cave, Tumble Rock Glen, Fishbowl Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and the confluence with Tinker's Creek.  Here are some links to photos and other interesting items of interest.

• Frank's Photos
• Fred's Photos
• Fred's iNaturalist Observations (a few were from before the hike)

I thought you would also enjoy seeing some of Joe Jesensky's artwork from around 90 years ago.

• Tumble Rock Glen
• Old Quarry Falls

Overview: Join Volunteer Naturalist Fred Losi on the 34rd annual in-stream exploration of the ‘green grand canyon’ of Bedford Reservation, the Great Gorge of Tinker’s Creek.  Wear wettable shoes and clothing as we will traverse the stream, floodplain and nearby habitats of this remote area of Bedford Reservation.  View massive shale and sandstone cliffs, waterfalls and pools, and secluded groves of mature floodplain trees with lush ferns and wildflowers.  Bring a light lunch, snacks, camera and binoculars.

What a great day!  The storms of the week passed by the Tinker's Creek watershed, permitting a most enjoyable outing.

The reunion of many Woodlands of Bedford participants over the last 35 years reminded me of how lucky I am to be continuing this hiking tradition.  I owe infinite thanks to both Chuck Thomas and Carl Casavecchia for establishing the program.  I hope everyone enjoys the photos as much as I did.

• Frank's Photos
• Fred's Photos (includes some of Chuck's too)
• Fred's iNaturalist Observations (includes a new discovery, Obi-wan-Canobea)

Overview: We will immerse ourselves into the beauty of native ferns on this summer hike led by Naturalist Fred Losi.   Along the way we will visit Tinker’s Creek, it’s gorge overlook, and learn some local history.  Be prepared to carpool to a few locations during this program, a joint outing with the Native Plant Society of Northeastern Ohio.  All are welcome; No registration is required.

We drove up from Hemlock Creek Picnic Area to the Gorge Overlook.  The weather was perfect and the group was very interested in exploring the woodlands for ferns.  This was a joint program of the Cleveland Metroparks and the Native Plant Society of Northeast Ohio.

We visited both the Cleaveland Quarry, shown here and the Wagar Quarry, to the south.  Both had interesting ferns present and some history to discuss.  For a list of ferns seen recently in the local area, here are my iNaturalist Fern Observations.  Those observed were but a subset of the ferns we can find in our region.

• Ferns of Northeast Ohio

Above are two field guides that I recommend.  For those that want to dive deeper into ferns, the American Fern Society is a worthwhile group to consider joining.
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For some of the avian friends that visited us, see pictures of both the Acadian Flycatcher and the Scarlet Tanager.  They both provided excellent views.  I would like to thank Anna for sharing her pictures from our outing for me to post.

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful time!