Mapping Brood I Continues - Day 4

Mapping Brood I Continues - Day 4

Here's a quick update to let you know where we're at as far as mapping the Brood here in Virginia and West Virginia goes. Today was a bit of a wash out because it was nothing but rain until about 1:00 pm. But this gave me some time to get caught up on things like emails, writing and whatnot.

Yesterday, I stopped mapping in Franklin, W.V. and decided today that I would pick up where I left off and see just how far west the Brood goes. I headed west on Rte 33 out of Harrisonburg, Virginia. I decided that I would like to map where Rte 33 heads west then north into Petersburg, W.V..

So Starting from Franklin, W.V. I headed west along Rte 33. This area really seemed "iffy" so I decided to take some of the side roads. I turned off on Mauzy Rd heading south. It was cool, cloudy and overcast so accurate readings based on chorusing proved difficult but I did manage to find light M. septendecim chorusing as well as being able to take some photographs. Below is a photo of a lone M. septendecim female just kind of hanging out.

Mauzy Rd eventually turned in to Smith Creek Rd which I continued to follow. Unfortunately this ended up on someone's personal property even though my DeLorme Map and my GPS said otherwise so I had to back track the way I had come. This ends up eating a lot of time and one has a tendency to want to cover the distance by driving fast. This is when you have to be careful or you might end up like what happened to me the other day, with your car in a ditch.

The Mystery of the Strange Hair

While cruising along Rte 33 heading up a mountain, I decided to pull over to take a reading when I discovered this strange wad of hair resting on the corner of a support beam of a guard-rail. You be the judge. Is this the hair from a brown bear or something more sinister like maybe...ooooh I don't know... "Big Foot"?

Into Petersburg, W. V.

Eventually heading north on Rt 33 I was able to pick up Brood I at Judy Gap north all the way to Seneca Rocks but from Seneca Rocks north to Hopeville, W. V. it got really quiet. This part of Rte 33 rides along the eastern base of the Allegheny Mountains. I don't know if this is because the highway is too far in the valley and the mountains on both sides were very far away or something else. In any event, I will have to re-check this area during my remaining time. Perhaps I will take some of the side roads that skirt closer to the mountains.

Eventually, I did manage to make it all the way in to Petersburg - logging nothing but negative sightings along the way. I headed out of Petersburg via US 220 heading south. Shortly outside of town, I again began to pick up the calls of the cicadas again. I traveled along US 220 until I picked up Rte 33 again and headed west towards home in Harrisonburg, VA.

I'll end this article with some photos of a nice pretty flowering plant, of which I do not know the identification. If you know, please tell me by filling out the comment form below and leaving a comment. Thanks for reading.