LIFE IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

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Audubon Pennsylvania, a division of the National Audubon Society, has selected Phil Wallis, former president of the Natural Lands Trust and founder of the Keystone Conservation Trust, as its next executive director. Wallis will be based at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove in Audubon, Pa., but also be a presence in Audubon's Harrisburg office.

A native of southeastern Pennsylvania, Wallis has held leadership positions with several conservation organizations over the past 20 years.

Continue reading "New director for Audubon Pennsylvania" »

By George Weigel/The Patriot-News

Q: I have a catmint that has grown to be 4 feet by 5 feet and is starting to impede the growth of a 'Knock Out' rose bush. Is this growth typical, and how can I best manage this plant?

A: Catmints can get a bit big and floppy, but that's bigger than usual. Sounds like yours is ready for dividing, which is best done in early spring before new growth begins.

Continue reading "Gigundo catmint" »

I had the chance to sit down with Sharon A. McCarthy, president of the U.S. Society of Wine Educators and vice president of wine education with Banfi, at the Hilton Harrisburg. We talked about wine trends.

Green wines are, of course, a growing category. Roses are booming. Seems everyone likes a nice pink wine and the fact it pairs well with any type of cuisine, including spicy fare, makes it a no-brainer.

Continue reading "Riunite Lambrusco Makes Return" »

Gary Huether Jr. is working on an ambitious project as he spearheads three restaurants including Cafe Atlantis and two branches of Arooga's grille House & Sports Bar. All three restaurants will be certified green through the Green Restaurant Association.

Continue reading "3 'green' restaurants planned for midstate" »

Each soaking rain at this time of year encourages a burst of mushroom growth throughout the woodlands of Pennsylvania.

Mary Linkevich, communications director at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary on the Berks-Schuylkill county line near Kempton, has been noticing the wild mushrooms popping in some of the wetter areas of the mountain.

Continue reading "Wild mushrooms popping across Pennsylvania" »

From Sandy Hook 127 miles south to Cape May Point, the Jersey Shore is a summer playground of beaches and amusements where generation of families have created memories. More than 14 million visitors annually enjoy the sun, sand and surf.

"Jersey Shore: Vintage Images of Bygone Days" (The Globe Pequot Press; $18.95; 212 pages) by historian Emil R. Salvini recounts in text, photographs and illustrations the glory days of the Atlantic Ocean seaside resorts. The book is a great armchair trip to yesteryear.

Continue reading "Book recounts historic bygone days of Jersey Shore resorts" »

Before your next move, you might want to check out Walk Score, an online tool designed to help house and apartment hunters find neighborhoods that are walkable. This week, the site re-launched with new rankings, guides and maps that allow users to compare cities and neighborhoods within them. Continue reading "Calculate your neighborhood's Walk Score" »

A mountain lion has not been hit and killed by a truck on Mill Creek Road near Lake Raystown in central Pennsylvania. It's just the Internet hoaxers up to their same old tricks. The cougar shown in photos being forwarded and forwarded and forwarded through the e-mail universe are the same photos of an Arizona cat that resurface from time to time in the latest rumor mongering.

Also, as usual, the Pennsylvania Game Commission takes it on the chin by those who want to imagine Pennsylvania mountain lions into existence. "One doesn't think about big cats being in this eastern part of the country," the critics are noting in the e-mail. "Game commissions have denied it for a long time."

Not to insist that there are no mountain lions roaming free in Pennsylvania, maybe even hooking up with one another to produce wild litters, but there is no evidence that any of those cats are native to the state or found their own way here. Actually evidence points to the cats being escaped or intentionally released pets or otherwise formerly captive animals.

Continue reading "Mountain lion at Lake Raystown, NOT" »