We left in the late morning. That gave me enough time to get in a good early morning training bike ride.

After picking up some groceries, we arrived in the mid-afternoon to explore parts of Spring Lick (a creek) with the kids. I caught a crayfish which I showed to them. I was looking for arrowheads. Still never found one.

That night, we spent a lot of time at Joyce and Jimmy's campsite. A lot of people showed up...more than I felt comfortable with. I counted 23. No masks but at least it was all outside.

Norma, Daphne, and I got ready to do some hiking. Upon loading up the car, I noticed a katydid on the antenna.
I believe this is a Common True Katydid. The ovipositor at the end of its abdomen indicates it is a female.
It didn't mind being handled.
Here we hadn't even left the driveway and we were already seeing wildlife. I took this as an omen for a good day. The weather was certainly cooperative. Sunny skies, cool weather, and low humidity.

Our first destination was the Rock Maze.

From the parking lot, we walked north on a wooded trail. Along the way, we found what I believe was a viscid violet cort mushroom.
At the southern end of the maze, we saw a large boulder with a tree root growing up one side, second photo, first column.

I found what I originally thought to be a waxcap mushroom but I was later told it was a amanita flavoconia (yellow patches) mushroom.
We entered the maze, where tall boulders are often separated by a short distance, creating a natural maze-like feel.
Many of the rocks, like the ones on the left side of the picture below, have deep crevasses that seem like they would be a good place to find bats. I shined my headlamp in them but only found bugs.
I spotted a hickory tussock caterpillar, shown in the top photo of this page.

It is best to leave a big backpack at home. You'll never get through places like this while wearing one.
Daphne loved racing through the maze.
The cool rocks and shade made this a great place to visit in the summer. But I also think it would made a good snow and ice hike.

I climbed up on some of the rocks but the vegetation was too thick to get good perspective from above. Looking straight down gave me the most scenic views.
Coming down from one of the rocks, a muddy area gave way and I landed pretty hard on the side of my ankle. A week and a half later, it was still bothering me.

Here's a shot that Norma took of Daphne and me.
We spotted several white coral fungi growing. They always make me think of fractals.
Rhododendron grows thick in this area. Visit in July if you want to see them in bloom.
Here is a mushroom I could not identify. One person on Facebook through it might be a Armillaria while another guessed Gymnopilus.
The colorful plant shown below is an Indian cucumber-root. According to Adirondacks Forever Wild - Indian Cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana),
The root of this species is edible and tastes somewhat like a cucumber.
I think a lot of people have never heard of the rock maze. It is a very special place. Part of me wants to keep it a secret to only share with people I really like while another part wants to tell the world about it so everyone can enjoy it. Since I'm posting this blog, I guess I'm leaning towards the latter.

Our next hike was on the Snaggy Mountain Trail in Potomac-Garrett State Forest. Here, we hiked 4.3 miles on Snaggy Mountain Trail, Snaggy Mountain Road, and the Watchable Wildlife Trail. It was a moderately scenic hike...not something I would recommend.

We saw several milkweed tussock caterpillars. I think a clever person could knit a lookalike.
The jack-in-the-pulpits were ripe, third photo, first column. According to New England Living Today - Are Jack-in-the-Pulpits Poisonous? | Jack-in-the-Pulpit Facts,
The plant's leaves, berries, and corms contain calcium oxalate, which is a chemical compound that takes the form of tiny crystalline structures. Getting this on your bare skin can cause irritation, and ingesting the plant raw can be dangerous, sometimes resulting in choking or blisters.
Norma found this shiny rock. We know some about animals, bugs, plants, and fungi but almost nothing about rocks and minerals. Maybe that will be next year's task.
I encountered a rosy maple caterpillar. Not the prettiest thing but the moth that it turns into is quite colorful.
Wildlife is more often seen near the water. So when we took a spur trail to the Watchable Wildlife Area, I was expecting to see something. But no. There are plenty of animals in Garrett County but I think there are a lot more along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. At least we got this nice view.
Here is our route. We parked at the trailhead.

Mount Nebo Wildlife Management Area (WMA) was our third hike for the day. The weather was so nice, Norma, Daphne, and I just wanted to spend as much time outside as possible.

We saw an Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spider (Micrathena sagitatta).
Its flat body initially made me think it might be a very exotic tick.
There are not a whole lot of monarchs where we live in 2020 but we saw quite a few in Garrett County.

Seed dispersal is something I learned about in seventh grade plant science. I was reminded of this when I saw this thistle plant.
There was a big pond at the WMA with a beaver lodge, shown on the right.
September seems to be a good month for finding writing spiders. I've been seeing a lot.
Here's Daphne and I at the turnaround point.
Norma spotted this closed bottle gentian flower in bloom.
Here is our route.

Norma and I were up before dawn so we could get an early start and visit Cranesville Swamp. Unlike the other hikes, this one is not in Garrett County, Maryland but rather right across the border in West Virginia.
This Nature Conservancy preserve covers nearly 1800 acres. Its moist, cool climate provides suitable habitat for many northern species. The bowl shape of the swamp traps dense, cold air as it moves down from the surrounding mountainsides. Plants in the wettest part of the swamp decay slowly and form layers of peat - over three feet deep in places!
- from information signs at trailhead

On a sign at the trailhead, I noticed that "pets" and "smoking" were put in the same category. Can't say I'd ever seen that before. We intended to do this hike the day prior but decided to do it the next day instead, since we had Daphne with us at the time. While we hiked, Daphne stayed at Hazel's house. It just wasn't the same without her...Daphne, not Hazel.
The early morning sun shined through the tall pines, on the Blue Trail.
I saw a double canopy spider web. Not sure what the purpose of that is.
Speaking of spiders, I saw another writing spider. It was covered in dew.
The southern half of the Loop Trail is comprised of boardwalk that passes over a bog.
Cranesville Swamp is a boreal peat bog relic left behind from the Pleistocene Epoch. The swamp formed 15,000 years ago during the last Ice Age, when glaciers inched close but never reached Maryland. The climate warmed and the glaciers retreated but many of the boreal plants remain to this day. Nestled in a mountain valley bowl known as a frost pocket, colder conditions still prevail enough for plants to whisper of the past.
- from Maryland Department of Natural Resources - Cranesville Swamp

Just off the boardwalk, Norma found a northern pitcher-plant (Sarracenia purpurea).
Plants such as this survive the acidic, nutrient-poor peat soils at Cranesville Swamp by capturing their own fertilizer.
- from Maryland Department of Natural Resources - Cranesville Swamp
Below is an overhead view of a cluster of northern pitcher plants.
Plants are a major source of carbon. Peat bogs are carbon sinks - they store more than they release. The Nature Conservancy rebuilds and maintains bogs. This helps remove carbon from the atmosphere, slowing the effects of climate change.
- from information sign on trail
Also along the boardwalk, I found a round-leaved sundew.

Roundleaf Sundew's leaves are adapted to catch and consume insect prey.

Insects are trapped by the sticky droplets at the tip of the longer, outer tentacles. The plant responds by folding the tentacles around the prey. Plant response depends on what is being devoured, with more rapid response when the victim is actively struggling.

The prey is digested when the shorter hairs on the inner surface of the leaf secrete a mucilage containing digestive enzymes and an anesthetic that debilitates the prey.

The captured insect becomes digested into soluble materials that are absorbed into the leaf cells and later distributed to other parts of the plant.

- from Adirondacks Forever Wild - Wildflowers of the Adirondacks: Roundleaf Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia)

We walked back on the White and Yellow Trails.

Near the entrance road, I found a monarch chrysallis. Sadly, this one didn't make it.
Here is our route.
Since we got such an early start, we had plenty of time to help Hazel for the next few hours. I cleaned her gutters while Norma cleaned her blinds. Both Norma and I cleaned her windows.

We ended the day visiting Norma's sister, Laah, and her family.

It was an easy but long drive home. Not much traffic.