Magee Marsh 2014

Since I am stuck indoors, snowing outside and a level 2 here in Ross County....I thought I would share our trip to Magee Marsh last year....We already have plans for our 4th trip this May.  It is a wonderland of birds...all kinds of warblers...Even if you have never done any bird watching before...you won't be disappointed here...

There is a great boardwalk through the woods that are loaded with warblers and a few other surprises.  Easy walking and there are benches every so often for resting or visiting.

There are very nice people that will help you ID the bird you see...It is very exciting.....










So let's begin the birding!!!!!

Sitting in the parking lot can be fun...people put orange half out and the Baltimore Orioles love to come to them to eat....

Bay-breasted Warbler........

.......Black-throated Green

Blackburnian Warbler....................

.....Canada Warbler

Cardinal.............

......Cat Bird

Chestnut-sided Warbler..........

......Great Egret

House Wren........................

.....Magnolia Warbler

Palm Warbler.......................










Even sometimes the birds will land right on the board walk.....

Prothonotary Warbler.......

Red-winged Blackbird........












                                            Whip-poor-Will  

......Wilson's Warbler

Yellow Warbler.....................

 This is just a few of the many Warblers and other birds I saw on the Boardwalk....Some I haven't ID but still enjoy seeing them.....that first day we saw about 25 different birds....what a thrill.....

 After the boardwalk, we walked along the beach area of Lake Erie......

A Sandpiper...but I don't know which one.....

.....Ruddy Turnstone










There was an Eagle's nest in the parking lot area this past year....It was roped off but plenty of room to park and watch the family.......

Look close at the bottom picture....by the stick..is the head of the baby....

The Woodcock nest was empty...but in 2013 ...we got to see the Woodcock nesting in the parking lot...

They are almost impossible to find in the grasses....took me a while to find her....I love to watch them walk.....
Also in 2013 we saw the Owl nest...(in 2012 the nest was along the boardwalk, )  This one was just off the beach area....

Peeking out at us ...Great Horned Owl...I think...But there are other areas to see besides Magee Marsh area and it is so beautiful there.
At Metzger Marsh in 2013 we came on hundreds of Swallows flying around us and it was such a thrill...the never hit us....

I could spend hours telling about and showing pictures of the wonderful birds and nature we have seen...so if anyone is looking for a short get away in the spring....put this on your list....I know you won't be disappointed....our first visit was just for the week-end and now we are staying 5 days!

Everyone stay warm and remember Spring isn't to far off....I hope my blog has taken you away for a few minutes....till next time!

Ohio State House

Since this weather has been so cold, one can't get outside for very long...(well this one can't get outside for very long!!! LOL)  But a friend took me on an indoor adventure!

We went up to see the "Campaigns, Elections & Voting Gallery".  When you first go in past the security guards.....
This map of Ohio is on the floor....

A close up of our County of Ross.....

View of the area one walks through to get to the exhibit....

 This stain-glass seal hung in the Rotunda's dome from 1920 to 1965. In 1989 it was discovered in a closet in the men's room in the Senate Building..The Seal was restored in 1996 and placed here for everyone's enjoyment.

This exhibit on tape recorders and dictaphones shows Bob Hope in the advertisement.











Some old ribbons from inaugural planning committees.

These next pictures shows the history of the Vote!

Very interesting....

There were other exhibits which were very interesting...this one on the Medal of Honor.

You could search all wars and see lists of the recipients...below is our recipient from Ross County...Richard Enderlin....If you want to see his medal...go to the Ross County Historical Society Museum...they (he has two and the story is very interesting) are on display in the Civil War room of the museum.

Another neat exhibit was of Great Ohioans....below it looks like a picture but the image changes going through the countless  Great Ohioan.

                                                     

                       
When we got back to the entrance we decided to take a tour....it is free and was really neat!
He took us first out to what use to be outside before remodeling.....an elevator and staircase was added.....

 Our Docent with the bicentennial bell behind him...Every county received one.

The wonderful elevator that took us up....










                                A view of the staircase....

                               A view through the skylight....

                          Hallway headed to the Senate room.....

                                                   The Senate Room.....

                               
                                               These are the books of all the Ohio laws.

           
                                        This is for VIPs to sit.....

                                    The chandeliers are original...when they were candles and gas, the smoke from them would darken the ceiling.

                                       Longaberger Basket Co. donated these baskets to replace the spittoons that use to sit in this place.....

Our Docent then took us to the Rotunda ...the beautiful floor and ceiling!

The Dome....

With my zoom on my camera I was able to get picture of the center of the Dome...a Canal Boat.

 The beautiful floor...

Then on to the House of Representatives.......

 We could only view from the balcony where anyone can come in to view the House when in session.  To get a tour on the main floor, your House Representative gives you that tour. But I could see everything from the balcony.

                           When there is a vote on anything, the box with the red, green buttons is what the Representatives use to vote....

                           Then this picture will show how the votes went...it also shows who didn't vote and who didn't attend.

                                                          The balcony area

The beautiful pillars and even the vents are beautiful!

                                    This is on the main Chandelier ....

The Stagecoach...I just can't imagine 9 people riding in this......

Milestone.....I will have to keep my eyes open to see if I can find one along the old routes...

The tour was about 40 minutes.  I just gave you some highlights but if you get a chance...go up and spend a couple of hours at the Statehouse...One thing I didn't not know was that Lincoln payed several visits to the Statehouse and also laid in state in the Rotunda after his assassination.

Hoping for warm, warm weather soon....till next time, enjoy your day!