Starting Super Bowl Sunday at Tyler Arboretum

Some people wait an entire year with great anticipation for this day – Super Bowl Sunday!  This is a day where people gather around television screens in their homes, in restaurants/bars, and even in airport lounges to see two teams battle it out (and the odds are that neither team is one that you were rooting for during the season!).

Knowing that I would be glued to my TV for the Super Bowl game and commercials, munching on chips and dips and all sorts of other unhealthy snack foods, I took advantage of the mild weather this morning and took a quick stroll on the Scenic Loop at Tyler Arboretum.  If you haven’t been out in the winter months, I strongly encourage you to get out and stroll.  You don’t need to have a pair of snowshoes or cross country skiis to head out and enjoy Tyler.  The Scenic Loop was perfectly clear today and filled with others such as myself enjoying the outdoors.

Below, I’ve included some photos from my time outside this morning.  Something I really like about the winter is the ability to see across the Arboretum – the sightlines are just impressive.  Be sure to get out and snap your winter views! Although, Punxsutawney Phil tells us that we have six more weeks of winter to “enjoy”….

I’m also going to brush up on 14 fun facts provided by the Smithsonian Institution about Sea Hawks and Broncos – everyone loves to learn new science facts at a Super Bowl party, right?  Such as – there is no actual thing as a “seahawk.”  As to who I’ll be rooting for?  (Hint – I used to live in Colorado before moving to Pennsylvania).

Completing the Million Mile Run on the Scenic Loop

On the Scenic Loop, with Fort Tyler in the background.

Apparently, I like taking on challenges.  I’ve challenged myself during this sabbatical year to learn more and engage with Tyler Arboretum, I’ve challenged myself to blog about my experiences at Tyler – and now, I’m challenging myself to walk 100 miles in the month of September for Alex’s Lemonade Stand (with the help of the Scenic Loop!) for the Million Mile Run.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand has started a challenge to “go the distance to find a cure for childhood cancer.”  Typically, their fundraisers and awareness events focus on the traditional lemonade stand.  But for the month of September (Childhood Cancer Awareness Month), the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is asking everyone to walk and/or run one million miles (collectively, not individually!).

So my husband and I signed up as team GK United to do our part and accept the team challenge of getting 100 miles to contribute to the total.  My husband walks a couple of miles each day just to get back and forth to work, so I needed to find my walking spot to get my miles to reach our goal.  I could not think of a better place to walk than Tyler Arboretum!

I’m starting with the Scenic Loop, Tyler’s ADA accessible trail I know I will not get bored with anytime soon.  I have walked the trail several times, and today I was finding even more to look at.  I noticed I was joined by butterflies and found some different species of caterpillars crawling across the paved path (the earthworms – not so successful on their journeys).  Even this little guy (about 3 inches long) to the left was on the path – and would not move out of my way!  It was fun to see other visitors enjoying the Loop, including crossing paths with one of my fellow faculty members from Penn State Brandywine.

Since the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is asking us to track our miles, I pulled out my GPS watch (a Garmin Forerunner 305) and started tracking my distance, starting from the Visitor Center.  I found out that if I start at the Visitor Center, walk towards the pond to pick up the Scenic Loop and start to the right on the trail, keeping Fort Tyler on my left side… I can do two laps on the Scenic Loop and head back to the Visitor Center to complete a total of 2.5 miles.  Next time, I’ll swing through the Rhododendron Garden to add a little more distance (and an excuse to spend more time outdoors!).  Hopefully, I’ll see other people trying to get to a million miles on the trail as well.

Have you met Owlexander? He was at the Tree House Festival!

The tree houses are such a hit at Tyler Arboretum, it only seems fitting that there be an annual festival to celebrate – well, tree houses!  When you first heard about the Tree House Festival, maybe you were like me.  I originally thought to myself, “I’ve already seen the tree houses – what could possibly be different this time?  Why should I go?”  Well, if you did not make the trip out to Tyler today, be sure to mark your calendar to attend next year – there is something for everyone, things that you do not get to see at Tyler every day!

For the kids, there was a wealth of educational and fun activities.  It was fun to see kids engage with the multiple stations for hands-on arts and crafts.  I wish I was half as creative as these Tyler volunteers that were leading the crafting tables!  And I appreciate how environmentally-friendly the craft activities were – one of the tables had a copy of the book The Lorax (he speaks for the trees, you know!  There is even a website to learn more about The Lorax Project).  If kids weren’t making crafts, they were getting locked in to ropes and harnesses to climb one of Tyler’s trees (under the watchful eyes and guidance of Oakwood Tree Care Professionals, of course).  It looked like SO much fun, I wish I could have climbed!  But my eye was caught by a crowd gathering behind the barn, so I went to investigate.

As I walked closer to the group of onlookers, I could finally see what all of the gathering excitement was about – it was a collection of hawks and falcons on display!  Rarely do I get the opportunity to get so close to these beautiful birds, and the “keepers” of the creatures were there to share facts and figures and to answer any questions from the group.  Kids wanted to know why some feathers were shorter on the tail than other feathers, while adults were asking if the species were native to Pennsylvania.  I could have stood for over an hour just at this spot to watch the movements and hear the “screeching” of the birds, and to listen to all of the information shared with my fellow onlookers.  Meet two of my favorite new bird friends (the Gyrfalcon and European Eagle Owl) below!

This is a Gyrfalcon, a bird typically found in northern North America, but it does come down to Pennsylvania in the winter to search for food.

Meet Owlexander! This is a European Eagle Owl (also referred to as a Eurasian Eagle Owl), one of the largest owl species in the world. He is only a few months old but fully grown – and has claws that you do not want to get close to! This creature is not native to Pennsylvania.

After getting saturated with facts about the raptors (and taking many, many photos!), I decided to take the time to walk the newly-dedicated Scenic Loop path.  I wasn’t brave enough to walk on the day of the dedication, which happened to be the hottest day of the year.  But since today there was a break in the heatwave we have been experiencing (only 88 degrees today!), I wanted to give the Loop a try.  What a really enjoyable walk!  Even on a hot and sunny day like today, there are enough trees along the pathway providing periodic shade as a break from the sun.  Today was a fun and educational day – looking forward to more of these kinds of days at Tyler!

Celebrating the Scenic Loop

Not even the hottest day of the year could stop a toast to Tyler’s new Scenic Loop! This paved pathway begins at the pond and gently loops through the Wister Rhododendron Collection, then to the Pinetum, the Giant Sequoia and the Stopford Family Meadow Maze before returning to the pond. What I find exciting about the Scenic Loop is that now some of the most beautiful parts of Tyler are accessible to those that would not have been able to move along the gravel and dirt pathways.

A special dedication was held to thank the generous donors that made the new Scenic Loop possible: Bill & Judy Strine, Jerry & Lucille Francesco, Ross Myers (from Allan A. Myers, Inc.), and Matt Houtmann (from G.D. Houtman & Son Inc.). A toast to celebrate the opening was given by Guy Messick, President of Tyler Arboretum’s Board of Trustees.

This is a celebration of community – a celebration of those who contribute to this great organization that find the nature in the arboretum and the resources that we have are something worth preserving for generations to come. So let me just briefly say thank you for all of your support. You are in this room because you are believers and supporters of Tyler…

After the toast, we headed down to the beginning of the Scenic Loop for the final stage of the dedication – the ribbon cutting. After the ribbon was cut, the Scenic Loop was ready for visitors!

The official ribbon cutting to kick off the Member’s Ride, Roll and Stroll event!

The first member on the newly-dedicated Scenic Loop – and the first scooter to ride the Loop!

Even bicycles were welcomed today on the Scenic Loop. Board member Jim Flandreau was the first one to go for a spin and complete the Loop by bicycle.

The ability to “ride” and “roll” on the Scenic Loop was a special event – bicycles, scooters and rollerblades are not allowed on the Loop every day. But Tyler’s Executive Director Rick Colbert confirmed for me that the Arboretum will be opening up the Loop again in the future for riding and rolling. I will have to think about what wheels to bring with me for the next time – looking forward to it!