Not Every Visit to Our Reserves is an Organized 'Outing'
by Doug Bauman
The other day I rode my bike around Murrysville. First I rode by the McGinnis Reserve on Hunter Drive. Then I rode down Wallace and down Twin Oaks Lane right by the Tomer Reserve. Twin Oaks Lane is one of my favorite places to ride. Then I rode up Mamont Road and via Steele and Hilty to Wiestertown, where I found a few chestnut seeds. They are just beginning to 
come out of their jagged shells. Soon I was whizzing down the road toward the Walter Nature Reserve. I stopped there for a short visit. I visited the location of the grove of Paw Paw trees; every year I keep hoping, but I still have not been able to see any fruit up in that dense vegetation. Next to the path I observed some mushroom. I took out my camera and took a few pictures of the fungi in various lights, sun and shade. One mushroom looked like a creature from Star Wars! On my way back I rode by the King Nature Reserve off of Crowfoot. Well for me this was a short ride, one filled with joy with my desire to combine bicycling with observing and photographing nature!
