Friday, September 27, 2013

Advancing Autumn, Close Up

A single day off necessarily dedicated to errands and such. And as is usual in that situation, I ambled through Nature on the way to the grocery store. I cut through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park and got these macro shots of Fall blooms and berries. Enjoy!

Calico Asters, with Goldenrod in the background
New York Asters
Barberry
White Wood Asters
Winterberry
© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Autumnal Equinox

Today is the Autumnal Equinox, the start of my favorite half of the year - Fall and Winter. My favorite things symbolize this time - Earth colors, falling leaves, fires, candles, and then snow (oh yeah, and pumpkin ale, too!). Today was a singleton day off for me and thus an errands day, but I managed to get some early Autumn shots while out running said errands. Enjoy!

A daytime view of the Harvest Moon, a couple of days past the full
Staghorn Sumac leaves are starting to change
Barberry approaching its seasonal glory
Calico Asters, another Fall flower
Bush Honeysuckle (called Woodbine in England) with its seasonal red berries

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Up On the Meadow Trail Again

I walked around on the Meadow Trail again this morning. I have a thing for meadows; they're rich in plant and animal species, and their look can change dramatically in the course of the growing season, with a different set of flowers blooming almost monthly from March to October. Today I decided to take wide-angled shots focusing on the rolling nature of the meadow. Enjoy!

Looking east
Looking southeast
Looking southeast
Looking northwest
Looking northwest
Looking northwest
© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Saturday Scenes

Some things that caught my attention while out and about in Shippensburg on weekly errands.

Seneca Ave. between King and Orange Streets
Branch Creek running under the causeway by Ripple Field
White Wood Asters (a sure sign of approaching Fall) in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park
An old, dilapidated barn off Penn St.
© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Monday, September 09, 2013

Roads

Two of my favorite poems about roads, illustrated with pictures taken on a leisurely stroll on the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail this morning. Enjoy!

"Roads Go Ever On" - J.R.R. Tolkien 


Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.

Roads go ever ever on,
Under cloud and under star.
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen,
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green,
And trees and hills they long have known.

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone.
Let others follow, if they can!
Let them a journey new begin.
But I at last with weary feet
Will turn towards the lighted inn,
My evening-rest and sleep to meet.

Still 'round the corner there may wait
A new road or secret gate;
And though I oft have passed them by,
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun.


 "
The Road Not Taken" - Robert Frost


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


Photos © 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Thursday, September 05, 2013

Walking Up Baltimore Rd.

Today's hike started with a cut through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park, with special attention paid to the Meadow Trail because one end of it is at the Assembly of God church on Baltimore Rd. From there I headed toward South Mountain on said road. The planned destination was a small pond way up Baltimore Road labeled on all the maps I've seen as "Chambersburg Reservoir". I found such a small body of water being called a reservoir intriguing. Unfortunately, it's also non-existent; all I found when I got to the spot was a very thin, shallow, and rocky Burd Run and something of a soggy meadow off to the creek's side. Either Chambersburg planned a reservoir on that spot and never got around to building it, or the dry Summer has shrunk the the "reservoir" to that soggy meadow. I go with the second option; the falls at Caledonia State Park are also non-existent this Summer, so a dried-out reservoir makes sense.

In any case, I have pictures of a meadow and mountains for you, as well as shots of an interesting house and some Jerusalem Artichoke from up on the mountainous part of Baltimore Rd, as substitutes for the missing reservoir. I've posted a few of the best shots here; you can go to the web album to see the rest and/or watch the slide show after the pics. Enjoy!

Walking along the Meadow Trail
Approaching South Mountain on Baltimore Road
Looking north across the Cumberland Valley at Blue Mountain from Baltimore Road
Heading home along the Meadow Trail



© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger