Tropical

We have a warm front sitting right over us, and it has stalled and will stay stationary for several days. Which means that we are stuck in a tropical soup - temperatures get into the upper 80s (around 31º C) in the afternoons, which may not seem so tropical to some, but when the dew point is in the mid 70s (23º - 24º C) that indicates some fairly saturated air; it leads to unpredictable downpours and thunderstorms, especially once the sun heats things up a little. One local TV station's meteorological department labels any dew point 70º and above as "oppressive". I can't disagree! When you walk out the door, even in the early mornings when the temperature is in the balmy low 70s, you're still soaked in sweat within 5 minutes. It's not weather that I enjoy.

The effect of this weather on the foliage and flora around here is to make things even more lush. And of course the later wild perrenials are starting to bloom as well, and the weather has given them an extra little oomph in color and growth. A walk through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park this morning proves my point. Enjoy!

Threatening clouds over Shippensburg, PA

Yarrow growing along the Dykeman Walking Trail

Moth Mullein in the Dykeman Spring wetland

On the Walking Trail north of the railroad tunnel

On the Walking Trail in the heart of the wetland

A baby Painted Turtle, about the size of my thumb, on the trail in the wetland

Deptford Pinks growing on the fringes of the upland meadow

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger