PHOTO ART: In a previous column, we highlighted a story about
the Appalachian Art Studio in Ridgway featured in the current issue
of Pennsylvania magazine.

Also showcased are two photos taken by nature photographer Rocky
Holland in the Wildlife section of the magazine.

Rocky is from Kane, but he’s no stranger to most of us. His
photos have run in many magazines, as well as The Era from time to
time.

An up close, detailed photo of a red-tailed hawk opens the
spread, staring down Rocky who was perched on an old archery stand
to get a glimpse of the hawk’s nest. He snapped the shot of the
hawk as it flew down “to let him know that it was time to leave,”
the caption reads.

Another McKean County denizen immortalized by Rocky’s camera is
a flying squirrel, snapped as it was working its way down a tree
after it jumped out of a screech owl box.

The caption reads that Rocky was on a ladder 25 feet off the
ground when he was surprised by the squirrel. He got the shot only
after he retrieved his camera and climbed back up the ladder.

The detail on these photographs must be seen to be believed,
such as the individual brown and white feathers of the hawk, the
whiskers on the squirrel and the raised bark of the tree trunk.

ONE MORE: Imagine having a turkey fly through your windshield
while you’re hitting about 65 mph.

That happened to a woman on May 17. We saw this e-mail report
from the Cattaraugus County sheriff and couldn’t believe our
eyes.

At around noon on that date, a woman from Ashville, N.Y., was
eastbound on Interstate 86 when she struck a turkey that flew in
front of her truck. Or, to be more precise, “The turkey went about
halfway through the windshield.”

ANOTHER TURKEY?: Era Associate Editor Mike Schreiber saw
something similar to that happen Tuesday night while coming back to
Bradford from a county commissioner meeting in Smethport.

Mike tells us that he was traveling in the Ormsby area when a
turkey – or something that looked like a turkey – flew into another
person’s window.

“It was a huge bird,” he said, adding the bird shattered the
woman’s windshield.

The lesson of the story? Look out for turkeys. Or better yet,
duck.