Eagles’ Landing Getaways

09/22/2026

Have you heard about the changes this year?

New regulations require ALL state game lands users NOT engaged in hunting, trapping, or fishing to wear fluorescent orange from October 1 through January 31.

Users are required to wear a minimum of 250 square inches of fluorescent orange on head, chest, and back combined OR a fluorescent orange hat.

Here are some extra tips for enjoying state game lands this fall:

- If you have a pet with you, we highly recommend a vest, harness, leash, or bandana.

- Backpacks can limit your 360 degrees of visibility. Add a bandana or covering to your backpack to ensure you're seen.

- Even if you’re horseback riding, you’re REQUIRED to meet orange requirements, regardless of safety equipment being worn. It’s suggested to have orange on your horse as well.

Our goal is to ensure ALL users, hunters and non-hunters alike, are as safe as possible on state game lands 365 days a year!

For full details, check your 2026-27 Hunting & Trapping Digest or visit our website at bit.ly/PGCDigest.

As a reminder, be respectful when using public land as other outdoorsmen and women may be nearby. Be mindful of current open seasons and be aware of your surroundings.

09/03/2026

Ahhhh going back to the 90s sounds so good right about now... so does a 10 cent wing 😅💸 Head over to Apple Valley Family Restaurant on September 15th for a step back in time. 😍

09/01/2026

08/24/2026

Join us for our annual FREE Meadow Party at the Van Scott Nature Reserve on Saturday, September 19th!

The day will include live animals with A.N.A Critters, a monarch butterfly program, guided trail walks, wildlife and conservation-themed relay games, yoga, and water ice available for purchase from Nothing But Fruit.

Visit https://delawarehighlands.org/events/meadow-party/ for details and to RSVP.

The Meadow Party is free and open to the public, but please register in advance if you plan to attend!

08/14/2026

The goldenrod just started a six week countdown 🌾

There is an old farm rule that has been passed down for generations, and it holds up better than you might expect. When goldenrod first blooms, first frost is roughly six weeks out. According to the Farmers' Almanac, this old folk rule is surprisingly accurate across much of the United States, and there is real biology behind why it works as well as it does.

Goldenrod is not blooming on a whim or reacting to a warm stretch of weather. It is what botanists call a photoperiodic plant, meaning it flowers in response to shortening day length rather than temperature. As nights grow longer heading into fall, goldenrod picks up on that shift and triggers its bloom cycle right on schedule. Frost arrival is also tied to the same underlying seasonal clock, cooling nights and a lower sun angle, which is exactly why two things that seem unrelated on the surface, a wildflower blooming and the first hard frost, end up following a fairly consistent timeline relative to each other.

This is different from a lot of garden folklore, because it is not really predicting the future so much as reading a calendar the plant already has built into it. Temperature can shift bloom timing slightly year to year, with a hot summer nudging goldenrod to open a touch earlier and a cool one delaying it, but the six week gap between first bloom and first frost tends to hold up reasonably well as a rule of thumb rather than an exact science.

There is a bonus to this old rule too. Goldenrod is not just a seasonal clock, it is one of the most valuable late season nectar sources in the entire garden. It fuels monarch butterflies fueling up for migration and gives bumblebee queens the reserves they need to survive winter, all while quietly counting down toward the season's first frost.

Goldenrod is native and hardy across nearly the entire country, from USDA zone 2 through zone 8 depending on the species, so this is a countdown almost any gardener nationwide can watch play out in their own yard. If you spotted that first gold bloom this week, it might be time to start thinking about your last tender plants and when to bring them in.