You’ve got to feel for the poor peregrine falcons in Pittsburgh. They were all the sensation when they began nesting in Pittsburgh in 1991, but recently, they’ve been shunted from the limelight by the return of bald eagles to the Pittsburgh area. The Audubon Society is excited to announce that, in addition to the Hays Bald Eagle Nest WebCam that’s been running for the past
Read the Full Article →Visit a Museum Everything old is new again when you visit a museum, especially for the youngsters in your family. OK, so you’ve been to them a gazillion times, but this time, see it through the eyes of a child. There’s so many museums in the area, we’re sure you’ll learn something at one of them. Play Board Games Have a good old-fashioned Family Game
Read the Full Article →As the snow falls steadily and begins to accumulate, you scan the television, scroll through websites, or turn your ear toward the radio, waiting. Then there it is. What you’ve been waiting for: the cancellation. It’s a snow day! A perfectly legal excuse for changing your regular routine and enjoying one of winter’s special gifts. While the rich may fire up their private jets for
Read the Full Article →In Pittsburgh, We Sled Ride We know Pittsburghers have a unique way of speaking. Apparently, even when it comes to describing having fun in the snow, Pittsburghers are a bit unusual. While it’s perfectly normal for people to go “sled riding” here when we get a snowfall, it seems that most of the country goes “sledding.” Whether you call it sled riding or sledding, there’s
Read the Full Article →This Christmas, you may want to leave the partridge in his pear tree, and instead give a gift to the birds by taking part in the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count. For more than 100 years, volunteers across the United States, Canada, and many other nations in the Western Hemisphere, have participated in this bird census, counting species in a 24-hour period. The
Read the Full Article →Nothing smells more like Christmas than the scent of a freshly cut tree, and for making holiday memories, nothing surpasses loading the family into the car and visiting a nearby tree farm or nursery to chop down your own tree. One thing to keep in mind when visiting a tree farm is to dress for the weather, paying special attention to footwear. You may want to wear
Read the Full Article →How can you be sure that the activity you’ve carefully planned for your family will be a winner? You can’t really be sure until after the event. However, you’ll know you’ve picked a winner when, a week or a month later, someone in your family comes up to you and says: “Let’s do that again.” The following lists of fun family activities for you to
Read the Full Article →Golf or Miniature Golf Though golf can be a frustrating game when it’s is not going your way, the consolation is that it gets you out and exercising in idyllic settings. It is also a great inter-generational sport. With so many country clubs around Pittsburgh there’s bound to be one right near you. Swimming Swimming is a great bonding experience. It doesn’t get any better
Read the Full Article →It’s that time of year again. The air is cooler, the leaves are changing, and darkness descends earlier. The time of year when the scratching of a branch against your bedroom window easily turns into the decaying finger of a Zombie; when silver clouds passing across a full moon provoke visions of werewolves; and shadows falling across the floor inspire thoughts of lurking monsters. At
Read the Full Article →Opinion When my son was a toddler, he used to watch Barney. While I found the purple dinosaur a bit annoying, each year when the days begin to grow shorter and the cicadas commence their symphony, ironically, I find myself singing a Barney song called “I Like Autumn.” That’s because I do like this season and, for a number of reasons, I think it is Pittsburgh’s
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