McConnells Mill State Park, Pennsylvania. Popular with hikers for it's rugged trails through the rocks and sheer drop offs down to the river. This beautiful weekend will almost certainly bring about the need for a rescue or two from the rocks by emergency personnel.

I have had quite a few favorite trees. When I lived in Baltimore I had the most beautiful crepe myrtle that I planted in my backyard and it grew differently from yours, raven. It was more like a "birch" type tree in the way the branches were more "airy" and not nearly so dense. Maybe because it was younger than yours? I don't know. But I loved it and I hated leaving it when I moved back home. I tried a few times here, but sadly this climate is just too harsh for anything more than a crepe myrtle bush to grow. My picture is of the red maple I had in my front yard. Great color in the fall and lots of nice shade for the house. Unfortunately the utilities company always trimmed the front of the tree severely and so all the growth was on one side. I began to worry that it would fall on the house in a storm. Also because of that tree, I had a gazillion ants that turned my front lawn into a sandy mess. It had to be about 90 years old and when it was cut down a couple of years ago, the entire trunk was a black hollow filled with giant black ants!!! My thinking was that the cost of cutting it down was cheaper than my deductible if it fell on my house. It was beautiful but it was dying.

A good friend gave me this for a birthday gift. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to keep it going. But, I did enjoy it for many months.

On the trail yesterday. We had just passed the point when I remembered today's theme. Twisted around to snap it. Click to see.