Dallastown/Red Lion: June 2008 Archives

A zebra swallowtail takes a quick sip from a clover flower in Newberry Township. The smallest of the swallowtails in the area -- called swallowtails because of a "tail" trailing from both wings--the zebra is not nearly as common as the others, including the spicebush, tiger or giant swallowtails. The caterpillar feeds entirely on young paw-paw bushes. (Photo by Bil)

Not the football team. (Sorry, I'm a Cowboys fun!)

Hubby and I did another of the county parks Eight for Eight hikes yesterday, this one along the shores of Lake Williams in Kain County Park.

This was a bit less strenuous than the last hike in terms of hills, although we had some pretty good inclines. We also had quite a few more people than last week, including a group of Boy Scouts.

Among the nature spotted: A zebra swallowtail moth (the first one I'd seen; it was beautiful!) Enough minnows to sink a boat. And one very special piece of York County that I wasn't expecting...

Bill Styer and his reptiles are a big part of Repile Week at Nixon Park, but 4-year-old Jake Sampson of Salem, Va., wasn't quite sure he wanted to experience the 75-pound Burmese python in this photo by Bil Bowden.

What I forgot to say was that it was the beginning of "Reptile Week" there, which continues through Sunday.

So, hubby and I had a fun (and free, and environmentally friendly, AND good exercise) date Saturday morning, courtesy of the York County Parks Department.

We've decided to take part in the parks' "Eight for Eight" hike series, which leads you through - you guessed it - eight of the county's parks in 2008.

Saturday's was a two-hour "ridge to ridge" hike in Nixon Park. It was the second in the series, though we'd missed the first one. I would HIGHLY recommend future hikes to you all, but first, let's look at some lessons learned.