Happy Halloweekend, friends. Here’s our itinerary:
Boo: Locals say these locations are haunted. Walk through some of Philly’s spookiest legends, and hikes beyond the city.
Farms pivot: Why farms are turning to jujubes, chestnuts, and other unusual crops this fall.
An uncertain future: Dioramas gave the public a window into distant parts of the natural world. What will become of them now?
🎃 Weather conditions will be a real treat, perfect for leaf-peeping and other autumnal activities.
— Paola Pérez (outdoorsy@inquirer.com)
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Given Philadelphia’s long and rich history, ghouls and ghosts are part and parcel for the city.
Is Benjamin Franklin’s ghost haunting Library Hall? That’s none of my business, thank you very much. However, I am drawn to the legend of Washington Square Park, a beloved bright, green space with a dark past.
We may frolic and enjoy lunch on a bench there today, but it was a burial ground in the 1700s. Frightening nighttime sightings have been reported among the trees since.
Read on to learn about the ghost of Leah, plus four more spine-chilling tales.
👻 Keeping it kid-friendly? Consider the Philadelphia Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo, the Morris ArBOOertum & Gardens, and spooky mini golf at Franklin Square from our events roundup.
Beyond Philadelphia
The outdoorsy app AllTrails highlighted some “terrifying” trails to explore, including two in Pennsylvania and New Jersey:
🥁 The Billy Yank Trail and Devils Den at Gettysburg National Military Park have seen reports of ghosts, including a barefoot soldier and the sound of a beating drum in the trees at dusk. A state tourism official and self-proclaimed skeptic told The Inquirer she swears she saw a ghost herself in Gettysburg.
😱 The Apple Pie Hill Fire Tower via Batona Trail in the Wharton State Forest is located at the edge of the Pine Barrens, aka the home of the Jersey Devil. The persisting, scary legend traces back to the 18th century, and caused a mass panic around Philly.
News worth knowing
A 48-foot-tall pile of industrial waste in Port Richmond is finally getting cleaned up. The Inquirer’s environmental reporter Frank Kummer explains the cleanup process.
17 Pennsylvania companies were given exemptions from federal clean air regulations by President Donald Trump’s administration, according to a recent New York Times report.
After the abrupt closure of the Academy of Natural Sciences, it’s unclear what will happen to its delicate dioramas. The Inquirer’s Rosa Cartagena explains the costs and risks involved in preserving the endangered specimens.
The Climate Prediction Center recently issued its annual winter forecast. Snow totals are up in the air, but forecasters say to expect a mighty strange winter in Philly.
🌳 Your outdoorsy experience
Here’s my colleague Chloe Pantazi-Wolber on a recent fulfilling family adventure in the wild:
My 2-year-old, Nico, almost always requests a “ride” to avoid walking outside. If our toddler isn’t in his stroller, my husband and I are constantly carrying him, including on the few hikes we’ve taken as a family.
But it was a different story when we set out to see Hawk Falls on a recent weekend in the Poconos. We stopped along the trail in Hickory Run State Park to admire the 25-foot waterfall (in the company of a few other leaf peepers), take in the scenery, and snap a family photo. Nico was somewhat interested in the falls, but mostly explored the stones and dirt. And when it was time to turn back, to our surprise, he started walking with us! He took his time, treading cautiously over uneven ground and mud — it was a sunny, crisp day, but had rained heavily the night before — and started running at one point, excited to scoop up leaves and rocks (and more dirt).
It was lovely to see him enjoy nature, and find confidence in his footing on tricky terrain. A delightful end to a trip celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary.
Delightful. Thank you for sharing with us, Chloe.
📮 Email me, dear reader: What are you doing in nature these days? Send me your story (with a photo, if you have one), and you may see it featured here.
🎤 I’m passing the mic to my colleague Jess Rohan.
Philadelphia-area residents heading to fall harvest events may find new things to pick this year as farms diversify their crops.
Farmers are finding creative ways to cope with the spring frosts that decimated many mid-Atlantic fruit tree harvests — including apples, a fall-picking classic.
“Growers across the state are pivoting their fall on-farm and at-market activities to include more pumpkins and sunflowers this year,” Carla Snyder, a Penn State Extension program manager in agriculture, wrote via email. — Jess Rohan
Keep reading to learn how local farms are pivoting to new fall picking options to stay afloat.
In related news: Gov. Josh Shapiro and other officials recently announced Pennsylvania’s first strategic plan for agriculture in an attempt to help farms survive economic hurdles.
Paola’s picks
🌅 A cool tool: A new website called “Skygrade” shows sunset quality forecasts. James Pettus said he made it because he was “tired of missing cool sunsets.” So real.
🪺 A fluorescent breakthrough: For the first time in 34 years, a cassowary laid an egg at Australia’s Adelaide Zoo.
🛰️ A livestream: I’ve been enjoying this peaceful feed that lets you watch Earth live in 4K from space. It’s a camera system mounted on the International Space Station as it orbits the planet. (It’s also a live channel on Prime Video.)
⚰️ A discovery: Philadelphia’s Wissahickon Park is apparently home to a Roman sarcophagus.
🧑🌾 An activity: Go over your autumn garden to-do list.
A hopeful view
The quaint East Point Lighthouse, set on the Delaware Bay and amid 7,600 acres of wetlands, reopened to the public earlier this month.
It’s located along a key migration path for horseshoe crabs and monarch butterflies. One of New Jersey’s oldest lighthouses, Maurice River Township Mayor Ken Whildin said it was “not only a beacon of light, but it’s also a beacon of hope.”
👋🏽 We “fall” back in time on Sunday. Don’t forget to change your clocks.
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