More Bradford pear trees coming down

Ten downtown York Bradford pear trees will be removed this week, after being irreparably damaged in October's freak snowstorm. City forester Paul Walters checked all the trees, and found ten that couldn't be patched up with support cables or another form of band-aid.

From "The Pros and Cons of the Bradford Pear"--referring to some of the weaknesses of the Bradford pear, which have only become apparent over time. A combination of plant physiology and physics makes the Bradford very susceptible to wind and ice damage - in fact, it's rare to see an old planting that doesn't have at least one tree missing a substantial chunk of its limbs and trunk.

Walters said more than half the tree was damaged in many cases and others were rotted in the center, making them unstable. The trees will be replaced with another type of flowering pear tree called Cleveland Select, certainly not the Bradford pear tree, which has earned Walters' disdain. The Bradford pear, a native of China and Korea, has earned a reputation for being fragile.  Many branches grow from the trunk at the same place, making them susceptible to damage from high winds-- or a heavy weight, like snow hanging on leaves.

Spring ski conditions at Roundtop

 With temperatures nearly hitting 60 and no snow in sight, skiers have to survive in spring conditions, meaning slushy snow and soggy falls. But to many of the students who hit the slopes for the Presidents Day holiday, it was still snow, or at least, close enough.
Roundtop Mountain Resort is continuing to make snow whenever possible, but even the night temps aren't below freezing.  Some brave skiers were seen Wednesday in shirt sleeves, but only a few. Falling down on millions of tiny sharp ice cubes keeps experienced skiers in light jackets, if only to minimize the chance of being cut after a fall.

Tobagganing at Pinchot State Park

    Was wandering along the Pinchot Trail last week, taking pictures of some snow scenes at Gifford Pinchot State Park. It was a beautiful windless morning, a bright blue sky overhead, and light snow covering tree branches like icing on a cake. Winter scenes have always been a particular challenge to me, and I've never been able to capture a picture-worthy scene as well as I can see it.  So I keep working at it.

  There is just one set of partially snow covered footprints on the trail. A pair of bright scarlet cardinals are talking to each other on my left, a tiny chickadee or two hollering ahead of me, hopping from branch to branch. There's a whiff of a fox, and then its footprints crossing the 1.4 mile Pinchot Trail. There's a deer trail.

   To the right, there's something strange and out of place. A partial concrete foundation, and a line of  smaller vertical, concrete piers or pillars standing maybe two feet out of the ground. There was forest and woods all around, so whatever was built here was ancient, or at least, a very long time ago, I'm thinking.
  Took a few quick pictures, and marched to the park office where office manager Tammy listened for all of 10 seconds and explained very matter-of-factly-- like this is the fourth time today that she's heard this-- that the piers were the foundation for a short-lived toboggan slide. Tammy's worked at Pinchot Park for 30 years, and there's not much about the park she doesn't know. She drags research from files, plops it on the counter and goes through it like a family scrapbook.

   The toboggan run, she explained, was built shortly after the park was dedicated in 1961, named for former two-time Pennsylvania governor (1923, 1931) Gifford Pinchot. Of  local note, York County's George M. Leader was governor in 1958 when the park was planned, and construction for the  Pinchot Lake dam began.
   The toboggan run cost $20,000 to build and was completed October 11, 1963, ready for operation in January 1964. Almost a quarter mile long with a 72-foot vertical drop, the run used 95 concrete piers. The foundation was part of the machinery shed and there was also a concession stand for hot food.

   Rides cost 35 cents or three rides for $1. A hay wagon  transported riders back to the top of the hill. January 20, 1965 must have been loaded with tobogganers,  with 1,200 people paying. The next month, in all of February 1965, only 214 tobogganers slid the hill. In January, 1968, operations ceased. Tammy heard that because run was built on the south side of a hill, the sun melted the ice too easily, forcing closures.

   Park ranger Wanda Pritulsky took me on a quick search to find sleds that Tammy thought would still be around. They weren't in the shed, so outside we went, and found a half dozen sleds in a pile under the snow. About 44 years ago, the sleds stopped sliding and found a home here.

   What was most remarkable about this treasure hunt was that the woods so quickly reclaimed the toboggan run. The run wasn't dismantled until April 1974 and Mother Nature quickly covered up most of the signs.
   
  

Ann Rutledge is the 'snake lady'

Ann Rutledge of Dallastown is known as the 'snake lady of Nixon County Park', so it's not surprising that she finds the crawling critters 'fascinating'. She learned while on the job-- all volunteer time-- since she knew nothing about snakes when she moved here from Baltimore County 10 years ago. She was president of the Historical Society of Baltimore County for a time, and did heavy research into the Lincoln Assassination before becoming the principal snake handler at Nixon. She volunteers every Thursday, and will be awarded a 1,500 hour award for her work at the parks during an upcoming Volunteer Appreciation event.

She works with three snakes, including the one pictured here, named Skim, a native milk snake, a copperhead and a black snake. She also watches over a non-native three-toed turtle.  Dispelling myths about snakes, showing visitors that snakes aren't scary or slimy, but rather very clean animals is sometimes the most frustrating part of her job. She lets visitors see up close the snakes' exquisite color and markings. And that they are generally good to have around.

Skim is a member of the king snake family, and will eat other snakes, including the venomous copperheads.

From the web site- The Eastern Milk Snake suffers from one of the myths about snakes, that it milks cows. That belief/story plainly is not true. Also, people sometimes kill Eastern Milk Snakes because of their resemblance to the Northern Copperhead Snake.
Actually, the Eastern Milk Snake is a beneficial animal, especially on farms. It actively seeks out and feeds on mice and other small rodents that infest barns and other farm buildings.

Up in the sky, it's Planefinder!

Whenever I hear or see an airplane outracing its sound in the sky, I wonder where it's headed, where it's been.   Aren't you a bit curious about why the plane is headed to Dallas, Las Vegas or Los Angeles? How are the passengers going to spend their time once they arrive? There is SO much to do...

Or conversely, why would you purposely fly to Topeka?


Welcome to my world, where my new toy is Planefinder, a nifty little site that shows all the planes overhead, their departure points and destinations and altititude. Have it on both the home desktop and the Iphone, and it'll take me anywhere I want to go.

At night, it's especially interesting. In the sky, we see a plane's blinking lights. Point the camera toward the lights, and Planefinder will show the pertinent information. Because we're so close to major international airports -- JFK and Dulles for example-- planes from all over the world cross York County. Last night, a plane full of folks was heading to Japan and another to Australia. And Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Dallas and Seattle.

Most of us won't have the opportunity to fly around the world for fun or adventure. Many won't leave the eastern U.S.  Thanks to the internet, I can check Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow (UUEE), or Dusseldorf (EDDL) in Germany or Charles de Gaulle Airport (LFPG) in France or wherever and be there before the plane arrives. 

And from there, use your imagination to explore the sights (websites), and dream about the scenery, the food, the people and the adventures.

It's not the same, of course. But it's a kick to dream about destinations we'll never see in person.

34 degrees is a chilly Polar Bear Plunge

About 1,600 brave souls tested 34-degree Susquehanna River water Saturday in a Polar Bear Plunge for the York County Special Olympics.

Sixteen groups of 100 people wandered into the water and were allowed by safety personel a three-minute swim, but few stayed more than a minute or two.

Now, we all enjoy a personal challenge, but freezing my body in nearly freezing water doesn't qualify.  Better them than me, I say. It's incredible to me that old people like me don't shock their ticker into a heart attack.

Thanks to all the swimmers.  The Arc of York County and Special Olympics are worthy, needy and helpful organizations that need all the financial help they can get.

The high ankle sprain de-mystified

The pesky 'high ankle sprain' is one of the big stories of Sunday's Super Bowl. Apparently I was the only one on earth who didn't know what it was, and how it was different than the sprained ankles we all had as kids. So, WellSpan physical therapist Missy Glass explained it.