It's officially coming in about two weeks, actually, which makes this seem like a perfect time to reflect upon autumn before it completely vanishes. And one of the best places I've come across to take in the beauty of any season locally is Tanglewood Nature Center and Museum.
(P.S. Check out their mailbox.)
Tanglewood is situated up on Harris Hill, so the views are fantastic, and is well-known for its nine-mile trail system through Gleason Meadows and Frenchman's Bluff, which is open from sunrise to sunset, year-round.
There are trails for all ability levels and of varying lengths. Which is lucky for me because when it comes to hiking, I like to opt for "Easy." Or better yet:
So, I ventured out a bit to take in some of the gorgeous foliage and sights on the grounds.
The good news where Old Man Winter is concerned is that even though all of this will be covered in snow soon, you can still get out there and enjoy some snowshoeing. Rentals are only $4-$5 an hour depending on if an individual is a Tanglewood Member, $12-$15 a day, and there are group rates available as well.
Burns up to 1,000 calories an hour.
And regardless of season, you can always go and pay Tanglewood's many critters a visit. If you've stopped in before, you're sure to have passed by Bernice, the sulcata tortoise.
She's the welcome wagon :)
I was introduced to several other residents by Tanglewood's Ian McLaughlin, including "The Queen of the Forest," Great Horned Owl Sophie:
Regal, indeed.
Sophie hails from Alaska, and I learned that she has more of a Western camouflage because it's mostly pine forest where she's from. Her kind eats small birds, rats, chipmunks, squirrels, and can take down a Great Blue Heron?
Before learning that, my money might have been on the heron.
Sophie's also an aggressive hunter and can fly silently because the tears in her feathers are in a criss-cross pattern; whenever wind passes through, it creates practically no sound. I sort of feel like she's the Chuck Norris of the animal kingdom, but that's probably just me!
Many of the animals here are rehab animals that wouldn't make it out in the wild, and in discussing the injuries some of these birds have, Ian likened broken bird bones to cutting a straw in half and trying to glue it back together. Tricky business. But Tanglewood provides the injured with a safe home.
Meet Lucy.
Lucy's kind eats snakes, and even small skunks. Apparently, though they have great ears, an owl's sense of smell is terrible, so they don't care if they get sprayed. (Which is more than I can say for myself a few weeks ago when a skunk held me hostage for half an hour on my back porch.)
If the prey is small enough, the owl will even gobble it down whole. "Have to eat quick in the wild," Ian noted. "There's a lot of competition."
Other Tanglewood dwellers include Paco the African Grey Parrot. These parrots can crack walnuts with their beaks. Paco really seems to enjoy peanuts, annnnnnnnd attention. Never has an animal, or any other living being for that matter, been as enthusiastic to get in front of my camera as Paco was.
There's also the nocturnal Jack the Hedgehog.
Aw. That's pretty much my attitude in the morning, too.
A scorpion, which is classified as an arthropod because it has bones on the outside of its body. There was all sorts of venom on its stinger.
Kid-Friendliness Factor of Zero
The spotted salamander.
Turtles!
And a couple of turtle buddies.
And Roger, the timber rattlesnake.
Timber rattlesnakes are native to this area (we're in the most northern region for them) and actually not very aggressive.
(I also learned that sunbathing timber rattlesnakes have gotten a rest stop on I-86 near Corning shut down in the past, most likely pregnant females who needed the warmth for their embryos.)
Also keep your eye out for the blind fish in the museum, they're really cool. They have sonar, but don't have eyes because they never had a necessity to see living in dark caves in Mexico.
Out of all the interesting animal factoids I learned during my visit, there was but one that I already knew firsthand, and it was about bullfrogs, which will eat their own species. Nothing will teach you that faster than a younger cousin with a tank full of bullfrogs that kept disappearing one by one.
Here was my biggest lesson learned at Tanglewood, though. There is just a tremendous amount of upkeep that goes into taking care of all of these animals. As Ian put it, you couldn't be even remotely close to germaphobic to take that on, and you have to love the animals enough to not care about how dirty they are.
There's cleaning filters, taking care of water dishes, refilling tanks when water evaporates, fixing lights that blow, preparing the right types of foods for different animals (some of that food is provided by organizations like Minier's Supermarket in Big Flats - Tanglewood has an impressive array of interns and volunteers who contribute to its mission in various ways), pulling the food at night to avoid fruit flies - it's a veritable slew of tasks you don't think about when you're just there to see the animals.
It's like this "turtle water" here. Ian mentioned water turtles as the most high maintenance, as their shells are always wet and fungusy, they carry a lot of bacteria, and whenever they grow they have to peel. Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Believe me when I tell you that when I passed this clean water a mere few minutes later, it was dirty again. It's a neverending cycle, but surely much appreciated both by the animals and all who benefit from learning about them at the museum.
If you haven't checked out Tanglewood's Events Calendar, you'll find it here. Upcoming events include two Astronomy Club gatherings (a Meteor Shower Party outside with a toasty bonfire, and a Winter Solstice Party/Potluck) as well as a Holiday Trail 5K.
We might be saying farewell to fall, but stop by Tanglewood sometime; you'll find activities for any season!
Tanglewood Nature Center & Museum
443 Coleman Avenue, Elmira, NY 14903
(607) 732-6060, http://www.tanglewoodnaturecenter.com/
