12-of-12: August 2011

What a day!

We had a plan (picked out a couple good geocaches to go after) 

and then our plans got all turned around.

But that didn't seem to matter, we had a great time and took some amazing shots!

We also broke the rules for the 12-of-12 this month...

Two of us were snapping photos (the hubby and I).

We took a TON of shots (171 for the day)...

  and we couldn't edit them down any further.

So we figured, since we're making up our own rules today....

  and since there were two of us, you get 24 photos!  :)

If you want to get more info on the 12-of-12, 

visit Chad Darnell's site, he's the one who started this fun little project.

So where did we go and what did we do?

We spent this afternoon "lake hopping" around New York's Southern Tier.  

We traveled through Cattaraugus & Allegany Counties, at first looking for geocaches... 

then just looking for cool places to visit.

BTW... for each photo below, you can see a full-size version by clicking on it.

To hunt our first cache, we stopped at the Harwood Lake MUA (Multiple Use Area).  Harwood Lake is a 34-acre man-made lake used for flood control in Cattaragaus County.  The website says there are mowed paths... but except for this first entry into the park... there wasn't much mowed.

Trail?

Once beyond the tunnel of brush, we found this guy...

Eastern Kingbird

The nicely mowed trail soon ran out...

I'm 5'4... these Joe-Pye Weeds were HUGE!

And we could no longer see a path to the cache we sought.  

So, we bushwhacked through the tall weeds till we came to an opening...

and found Harwood's Meadow

A gentle Monarch Butterfly

and Bumble Bee

on thistle

What's this?! A dog on a bale?

loving the tickle of the grass

... finally arriving at Harwood Lake!

The skies weren't really than ominous - just the clouds playing tricks.

  We had blazing sun not moments before the 1st photo was taken.

From here, we visited Lime Lake in Machias, NY.  The lake is almost entirely inaccessible to non-homeowners, so we were only able to catch a glimpse of the area.
Be sure to view the full-versions of these next three shots... SO MUCH DETAIL you don't want to miss!

Dragon Fly

Lily with Honey Bee

Two bees or not two bees

 We skipped the geocache in Lime-Lake, thus ending our caching plans.  

So we pulled out our trusty map and said "Where should we go next?"

then... "Hey! What's this place???"

We had found the Hanging Bog Wildlife Management Area

... and off we went.

On our way, we met these beauties...

... then we arrive!

 Hanging Bog Wildlife Management Area, New Hudson, NY

Look closely at the letters of this sign...

What's a Hanging Bog, you ask?

 After parking the car, we walk over to the bog.

About a million frogs go flying into the water as we approach (I'm not kidding).

The Hanging Bog

Bog Frog - got one!

Lily Pads

We wandered around the bog for a bit, then decided it was time to head for home.

This last shot is of Rushford Lake in Rushford, NY.  

It's another lake that is hard to get to unless you own lakefront property in the area.  

But if you take Slusher Hill Road out of Hanging Bog WMA, you'll get this awesome view.

Rushford Lake

 

That was our final stop of the day - our lake-hopping adventure coming to an end.  

Thanks for sharing our 12th with us.  Come back next month and see what we're up to then!