Lance Ripka

Nothing beats a peaceful morning by the water in the Keystone State! 🦢✨ Caught this Canada Goose mid-stretch among the lily pads today. While they are a common sight across Pennsylvania, watching them display their impressive wingspan in the quiet morning light never gets old. Whether they are defending their territory or just drying off after a dip, these birds are true icons of our local wetlands. Keep your eyes on the water—you never know what "common" beauty might surprise you!...

There is something transformative about being in a wetland at the crack of dawn. On Sunday, April 26th, at roughly 6:40 AM, the air in Julian, Pennsylvania, was a crisp 41°F. While most of the world was still hitting snooze, I was tucked into the brush at the Soaring Eagle Wetland (formerly known as the Julian Wetlands), waiting for the local residents to wake up. For birders in Central Pennsylvania, this spot is a hidden gem in the Bald Eagle Valley. The low mist over the water and the quiet...

Welcome back to the second and final installment of my backyard transformation! If you missed Part 1, we laid the groundwork, but today is all about the "heavy lifting"—getting that stubborn stump out of the way and prepping for some new life. The Great Stump Struggle Let’s talk about the stump. It was a bit of a situation, to say the least. I started out with the basics—a hatchet and some hand trowels to dig around the root system. While the hatchet is a classic for a reason, it quickly...