VALLEY FORGE PARK ALLIANCE

Break Out Those Binoculars! Tips For Winter Birding In Valley Forge Park

Winter can be can absolutely wonderful season to bird, or an absolutely awful and uncomfortable outdoor experience. The key is being aware of the environments you

The first is the vast and beautiful meadows and hills. These open spaces are fantastic for viewing northern harriers, short-eared owls, and red-tailed hawks. However, these spaces are exposed and you need to be prepared for the weather, especially the wind that may whip across the fields of the Grand Parade or the exposed hilltops of Northern Outer Line Drive.

The second environment is the forests throughout the park. In these spaces, you may see red-shouldered hawks, Coopers hawks, yellow-rumped warblers, and plenty of woodpecker species. In these spaces be aware of fallen branches and spots of mud or ice along the trail, as they are not as exposed to the sun as some other spots.

The last environment is near the water, in particular the Betzwood/Pawlings Road Trail starting at Sullivan's Bridge. This environment is fantastic for winter waterfowl like bufflehead, ruddy ducks, common and hooded mergansers, and American coots. Be prepared for various trail conditions depending on the weather and be prepared for cooler temperatures when you get near the water in late winter

In all cases, be sure to always be prepared with the proper shoes (boots to keep toes warm), winter coats, gloves, hats, and sometimes hand warmers so that you can enjoy the spaces as much as possible and fully appreciate the beauty of winter. Binoculars are always a plus but not always required to enjoy the birds outdoors. If you're like many of us, stuff a granola bar or other dry snack in your pocket so that you don't run out of steam. If possible, a water bottle or small thermos with your hydrating drink of choice is recommended. In Color Birding will be hosting a walk in Valley Forge in January and/or February of 2023.

Please visit @incolorbirding on Instagram or www.incolorbirding.org/events for information.

Bird walks with the Valley Forge Park Alliance will resume in March 2023.

Wharton Esherick Museum

Exploring Architecture At The Wharton Esherick Museum

by Holly Gore

Over the past year, we've been excited to pilot a new offering here at the Esherick Museum: the Campus Architecture Tour This special topic tour is perfect for architecture enthusiasts or repeat guests looking for a different experience of Esherick's creations and is offered on select weekend days. This 1½ hour tour includes the Esherick Studio interior, expanded grounds access, and a rare look into the 1956 Workshop — our first step towards transforming this space into one that is open to the public.

Esherick began his Studio in 1926 as an Arts and Crafts homage to the Pennsylvania bank barn. Working with skilled tradesmen and locally-sourced sandstone, he kicked off what was to be a forty-year project of creating a building that was a total work of art as well as a home and workspace. Subsequent expansions and alterations to the Studio show Esherick's interest in designing modernist spaces to challenge conventional expectations of architecture. Also evident are his regard for the craft of building and interest in breaking down the barriers between art and everyday life.

her work on the project, her significant contributions are unmistakable. The Workshop floorplan modeled on the hexagonal cells of a beehive, reflects her lifelong exploration of “inhabitable geometries.”

The 1956 Workshop is an artist-architect collaboration whose rigorous geometries capture light and views from the wooded hillside on which it is set. The primary designers were Wharton Esherick. his close friend Philadelphia School architect Louis I. Kahn, and Anne Tyng, one of the first women architects to emerge from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and who worked with Kahn for over two decades.

For Kahn, the chance to work with Esherick as an artist-client and collaborator was its own reward. He contributed his labor to the project free of charge, only billing his friend for out-of-pocket expenses. In this way, Esherick accessed the wealth of resources that Kahn's office had to offer, including the design acumen of Anne Tyng. Though Tyng was not formally credited for

After Wharton Esherick's death in 1970, his daughter and son-in-law, Ruth Esherick Bascom and Mansfield (Bob) Bascom, converted the 1956 Workshop into a residence. In 2020, the building became available to the Museum and now serves as critically needed office space. Our ambitious campus expansion, currently in the planning stages, will create a new Visitor Center to house our administrative functions and allow for greater public access and interpretation of the Workshop. In the meantime, the Campus Architecture Tour offers Museum guests a behind-thescenes look into the Workshop interior, prior to its planned renovation into a gallery.

The Wharton Esherick Museum is experienced through guided tours that must be reserved in advance.

The museum is closed in January and February.

Visit whartonesherickmuseum.org to make your reservations and learn more about our tours and programs.