Grab your water bottle and let’s get outside.
First, meet Dolly: A vacant lot in Philadelphia is reborn into a pocket park.
Then, Donatello: My colleague discovers a star turtle at Palmyra Cove Nature Park.
A landmark business: Learn how a steam-powered canoe ride along the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers inspired the American boating industry.
☀️ Your weekend weather: Like the late great Roy Ayers sang with his band, “Everybody loves the sunshine.”
— Paola Pérez (outdoorsy@inquirer.com)
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Once just a “muddy, grassy lot,” a space in Elfreth’s Alley has been given new life.
Enter Dolly Ottey Park, a small public space that honors the preservationist who helped save the historic cobblestone street from demolition.
🌳 Features: Newly planted trees, flower planters, wild grasses, crushed stone, and a bench for visitors and walking tours.
🎨 More to come: A mural is in the works, and other enhancements are expected down the line, according to Job Itzkowitz, executive director of the Old City District.
🎉 Grand opening: Dolly Ottey will debut on 11 a.m. Friday, ahead of Elfreth’s Alley Fete Day on June 6 and the city’s Semiquincentennial celebrations.
Get more details on the new park and the 300-plus-year history surrounding it.
News worth knowing
Local advocacy groups pleaded with Philadelphia City Council Thursday for permanent funding for parks, saying the city’s green spaces should not depend on “love and duct tape.”
Ahead of celebrations for America’s 250th birthday, the borough of Downington is moving its Fourth of July fireworks show to protect newborn bald eagles nestled in trees at Kerr Park.
The famed poet Walt Whitman once called South Jersey’s Laurel Lake “the prettiest lake in either America or Europe.” This month, it was formally dedicated as a nature preserve.
🐢 Your outdoorsy experience
Last week, I shared some cute portraits of an Eastern box turtle in Philly. Upon exploring a Philly-area park, my colleague Joe Berkery found a reptilian friend of his own among other wildlife:
Getting in those 10,000 steps on a nature trail is a whole lot nicer than pacing around the living room floor. Mother Nature has been moody lately, so we weren’t going to let a clear, warm day go to waste.
There’s a hidden natural gem at the foot of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge on the Jersey side called Palmyra Cove Nature Park. It’s about the best cost-free family outing available. There are several guarantees when visiting Palmyra Cove: Wildlife abounds, butterflies are plentiful, birds are everywhere. On a hot day (it was 82 and sunny on our most recent visit), a huge canopy provides enough shade for even the most heat-sensitive hiker. While there, a stroll to the bank of the Delaware River is highly recommended. The views of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge are postcard-worthy.
Every trip to Palmyra Cove is a little different. We have gone into the woods and encountered as many as 25 deer along the trails. Other times, maybe four or five. Families of wild turkeys call Palmyra Cove home. Herons, ducks, geese, all sorts of birds can be seen bathing in the tidal cove (the big pond visible along the trails).
But we’ve also seen other interesting critters. Shake some fallen tree branches and there’s a chance you’ll see a snake (don’t worry, there are no rattlers). We’ve spotted lizards, frogs, ground hogs, even an occasional fox. Even the bugs are cool. We spied a bright red insect crawling along the trail recently that looked unlike anything we’d ever seen in the backyard. After looking it up (modern tech is invaluable), we discovered it was a velvet ant, which isn’t an ant at all. It’s a wasp.
On our most recent visit, we encountered the usual wildlife: deer, turkeys, butterflies, migratory birds. And it never gets old. But this time, we made a new friend when we took our customary stroll to the riverbank. We spotted what appeared to be a turtle shell partially buried in the dry sand. Taking a closer look, sure enough, it was a turtle shell.
At first, we thought it might just be the shell, but zooming in a little tighter, we saw our little turtle buddy blink and raise its head. Very much alive. The little moments in life are precious. We were big fans of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in our house, so we decided to name our Palmyra Cove star Donatello. Donnie was the Ninja Turtles’ inventor and this little one was clearly trying to invent some extra camouflage.
Can’t wait to return and meet some new pals.
What a thrill! We love Donatello. Thank you, Joe.
📫 Want to tell us about your favorite moments in nature? Have you visited Palmyra Cove before? Send your story in an email (pictures, if you have them, are welcome). You may see it featured here.
🎤 Now I’m passing the microphone to columnist Elizabeth Wellington.
In the years after the Revolutionary War, Philadelphia was the place to be for riverboat technology.
And it just so happened that in April 1785, Connecticut-born inventor John Fitch — whose previous jobs included apprentice to a clockmaker, silversmith, and surveyor — found himself in Warminster developing a steam engine strong enough to power a boat.
According to the Craven Hall Historic Site: Home of the John Fitch Steamboat Museum, Fitch took his plans and a model 23-inch boat to Ben Franklin, George Washington, and other members of the Continental Congress in 1785. He hoped he’d be able to secure some investment funds.
The Founding Fathers were impressed, but didn’t bite. Washington, it turned out, put his support behind Virginian James Rumsey, who was working on similar technology.
Dismayed yet determined, Fitch built a steam engine from scratch.
On Aug. 28, 1787, Fitch demonstrated his steam-powered apparatus — a canoe propelled by two sets of paddles mounted on both sides — on the Delaware River and the Schuylkill to delegates of the Constitutional Convention. — Elizabeth Wellington
That demonstration will be celebrated Saturday at the Independent Seaport Museum. Read on for more on the historic venture that picked up steam in our waterways.
Paola’s picks
🐟 An activity: Free fishing, kayaking, biking, family fun, and more at RNP Fish Fest this Saturday (free).
🖼️ An artsy thing: If the sky outside your window was a Rothko, which would it be? This cool site picks one for you.
🧺 A prediction: The Roots Picnic will be poppin’ this weekend.
🥵 A shoutout: Our friends across the pond have endured a record-breaking heatwave.
🪿 A poem: “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver.
👋🏽 Happy trails!
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