NEABSCO CREEK BOARDWALK - FIVE YEARS SINCE OUR LAST VISIT - PART 2

These are the signs in the parking lot and we looked at them before we began our walk.

I was curious about the name 'Neabsco', and we thought it was probably from the language of the indigenous people who lived in the area before the first English colonists arrived.  'Neabsco’ is derived from a Doeg village recorded as Niopsco by those early English colonists.

What I like about this boardwalk is that it is wider than most I have walked along, at 10 feet wide and 3,300 feet long. It has a two-level observation deck, a single-level observation deck and three overlooks. The decks and overlooks provide opportunities for outdoor classroom use, so that's nice to know.  I am assuming, however, that these classes are to do with nature and learning about the area, offered by the park authority. Or perhaps there are schools who take students on outings. Whatever the reason I would much rather be outside learning something than surrounded by walls.Weather permitting of course and couldn't see it happening with rain, snow or extreme heat and heavy humidity (speaking as not a stalwart). 

The following plant is a Wineberry, botanical name Rubus phoenicolasius. It is native to northeast Asia but has been naturalized both in Europe and North America as an ornamental plant, introduced to the eastern shores of the U.S. in the late 1800s, as a breeding stock for cultivating new varieties of berries. 

It is edible and the berries have been mistaken for blackberries and raspberries as these berries are also made up of clusters of small bright red berries. On closer inspection you will notice the plant's stem is covered in thick, stiff, red hairs, and these identify it as a wineberry, along with the reddish appearance of its stems caused by those dense red hairs. It also has silvery underleaf surfaces. And there you have it, a Wineberry. It is also found throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Delaware Valley. Not only for humans but deer, chipmunks, box turtles and birds all enjoy. Bears will gorge on them, as will many other mammals no doubt. 

We are approaching the entrance to the boardwalk.

Since we were here the first time, these designs have been added to each gate.

As soon as we entered we noticed on our right there were a group of friends who were fishing. They seemed to be quietly enjoying themselves.  No fishing is allowed from the boardwalk.

Just beyond the fishermen was the scene in the photo below, a cropped version. There seem to be beavers here as on the left of the above photo, we could make out a beaver dam. 

On the other side of the boardwalk is this scene.

That evening when I was looking at the photos on my laptop, I was just saying that we couldn't get a photo of any of the birds. We saw them flitting from tree to tree, even hopping around in the undergrowth, but we were not able to get a photo of any feathered friend.  As I looked at the photo above I saw a splash of red, and cropped it to get a clearer look. It was a male cardinal. It is something at least.

We did get our doggy fix for the day. This little pup was heading towards us. As soon as they got close, pup started pulling on his leash, tugging hard and eager to say hello. The lady kept a tight hold as I suspect she was afraid he would jump all over us and she was trying to calm him down.  (He looks like an Australian Shepherd.) 

We tried to allay her fears by letting her know we didn't mind at all. We would have interacted with pup, but we could see the lady was concerned he might be too much for us. We smiled, said hello and left them so that pup would stop tugging so hard.  But I ask you, would you look at that face? So adorable! I'm sure he will eventually be much calmer when meeting other humans. I think this was perhaps part of his training session. He was learning how to explore the world around him.

Dear little pup! They were leaving the boardwalk, training session over with.  We continued our walking.

Here's Gregg and you can see how nice this boardwalk is.  It is very well maintained. 

A photo of the two of us. This is where we had decided the humidity was too much and turned back. We had quite a long way to go before getting back to our car.

It was a lovely walk and I hope it won't be another five years before we get back. In our last photo we were heading home.

Thanks for coming along with us 

and I hope your day is a great one!