My Favorite WV Doorbell

I recently came across this doorbell in WV. It made me laugh and I thought you all would enjoy it too. This just proves how ingenious valley folks can be!!

The Pantherkill Report - Hummingbirds

Here is another installment of the Pantherkill Report from Dennis Havel.

"I have a hummingbird feeder hanging just outside the window above my desk and have been watching these neat little aerial speedsters close-up all Summer. I happened to mention this to a few people who proceeded to educate me on the finer points of Archilochus colubris, better known as the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.

These well-meaning folks told me stuff about the hummers that seemed more than a little implausible, so I turned to my trusty Googler to find the straight scoop:

Goofy Fact #1 - Hummingbirds have no legs.

Huh? Wha? This commonly believed myth is totally bogus and a little critical thinking should explain why. If this is true, why do hummingbird feeder manufacturers bother to put little plastic perches on the feeders?










This is a hummingbird foot.








Goofy Fact #2 - Hummingbird beaks are really a tube

"Bzzzzzzzt, Wrong! Thank you for playing. Don Pardo, what consolation gifts do we have for our loser?

Merv, we have this beautiful photo of a hummingbird beak showing the tongue lapping liquid just like a cat. No sucking through a mythical tube-beak here!"











Goofy Fact #3 - Hummingbirds migrate by hitching a ride on the backs of Canada geese.

Yeah. Sure. And, they get a complimentary beverage and in-flight movie!

The Canadian Goose migrates South to Virginia, North and South Carolina and flies at altitudes up to 29,000 feet where the oxygen is thin and temperatures are well below freezing. They are well adapted for these conditions having large lungs and lots of body fat. The hummer, being no bigger than a medium gherkin pickle, lacks lung capacity and body fat to survive at these altitudes.

In addition, the hummers migrate to Central America and Southern Mexico. They fly the entire route at treetop level and then across the Gulf of Mexico just inches above the surface.

If the hummer hitched a ride on a Canadian Honker, he'd have to change gooses at Richmond, Virginia and would probably arrive in Coast Rica without his luggage.

The most obvious fact that debunks this myth is that, while hummers do have feet, they lack thumbs with which to indicate their need for a ride.


Canadian Goose hitching a ride to Puerto Vallarta on the head of a hummingbird."

Thanks Dennis for this funny and informative post!

Pantherkill Meteor Crater

Here is another great bunch of facts from our Pantherkill reporter Dennis Havel. Very cool stuff!!

The Pantherkill Report

Panther Mountain is the impact site of a meteorite that hit 350 million years ago. It is outlined by the Esopus Creek and Woodland Valley Stream, which form an almost perfect circle around Panther Mountain.



Several years ago, when I was looking for property upon which to build my home, I decided Panther Mountain was a good bet because what are the chances of a meteor hitting it again? So, that's one less thing I have to worry about.

At one time Dome Oil Company had drilled a well into Panther Mountain and for a time was producing 50,000 cubic feet of gas a day. However, don't get excited. That's a little more than would be produced with a sausage and broccoli lunch.

A jet airplane crashed on Panther Mountain in 1957 and the wreckage can still be seen. No word on any survivors or if there were, did they get their luggage?

Due to eons of geologic forces that resulted in the meteor crater being formed into a mountain, there is a gravity anomaly at the summit of Panther Mountain. Schlep your bathroom scale up to the top and get a pleasant surprise. You'll find that you weigh about 1/10,000 of on ounce less. Good news for dieters, indeed!

- Dennis Havel

Blogmistress Note - There are hot links all through this post. If you would like to learn more about these facts just click on these links and you can go to other interesting related websites.

And here is one more site that someone just sent me on the same subject.
The Panther Mountain Crater

Thanks for sending us the great information Dennis!!!

Fun Facts about Patherkill Mountain

Here is another installment of the The Pantherkill Report from WCA member Dennis Havel.

"Things I have learned from Google:

Early Dutch settlers named many of the places in the Hudson Valley. The word "kill", as in Pantherkill, Catskill, Fishkill, is a Dutch word meaning "waterway" or "stream" and doesn't mean we have it in for felines and fish.

The elevation of Panther Mountain at it's peak is 3,720 feet above sea level or, 1,134 meters. Many maps publish elevations in meters. In comparison, the Kingston-Ulster Airport at the Rhinebeck Bridge on the Hudson is 149 feet above sea level The hamlet of Phoenicia is 840 feet above mean sea level. The peak of Panther is 2880 feet (a tad over 1/2 mile high) above mainstreet in Phoenicia.

Are there panthers on Panther Mountain? The folks at Cornell University inform me that no panthers have been sighted in the Northeastern U.S. since the late 1800's. However, there have been a few alleged sightings in Woodstock recently. A local "river adventure" outfitter claims to have spotted one some years ago, if you want to take the word of a guy who rents out old inner tubes to people from New Jersey for as living. :)

How did Woodland Valley get it's name? From all the trees made of wood, growing out of land, in the valley. Duh!"