Here is a common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) with a beautiful orange stripe in its pattern.
The Fivemile Creek is often clogged with wood debris near its confluence with the Allegheny.
Wild cucumber (Echinosystis lobata) can be found in the scrub forests along the river.
Frost aster (Symphyotricum pilosum), also called hairy white oldfield aster, is plentiful late in the year, one of the last to succumb to frost.
Many low farm fields along the river are subject to annual flooding in the early spring.
The intriguing but very toxic false hellebore (Viratrum viride) is conspicuous on the forest floor in the spring.
Beginning in 2011, I will be making an annual trip to the Allegheny Valley to conduct archaeological research. I will be setting aside a few days each trip solely for nature pictures, so there won't be such a long hiatus between posts.
