Animal Life...

     One of the wonderful things about this area-and I admit I don't report on them enough-is that one occasionally sees wild life near town that simply does not exist in more populated places. So as I sat in the parking lot of Walmart waiting for the light to change, a bald eagle flew directly over the car, flying as unhurriedly as if it were in the wilds of Alaska. That is not a common sight but neither is it rare, for they nest right on the edge of town, feeding in the Allegheny and Conewango rivers. This individual likely was returning from the latter to the mountains right behind the store. On the 24th I had to restrain the dog from chasing another porcupine, which are abundant locally and one of which had stuck her face with quills about five years ago. Apparently she did not remember the experience for I had to yell several times to call her back, otherwise she would easily have caught its slow moving form and suffered the same consequence. We also see deer and black bear in town and coyote anywhere, and the streams contain native trout. Fortunately, two life forms that are rare in Warren are ticks and mosquitoes, which is surprising given the abundance of water. It is possible to go an entire summer without seeing more than two or three-and I am not one to sit indoors during the warm months!