Shippensburg Corn Festival 2015

Today was the annual Shippensburg Corn Festival, and I requested the day off from work so I could do a photo shoot of the festivities. King Street is blocked off from Spring St. to Prince St. (much to the frustration of truckers, who tend to cut through downtown to get from I-81 to the PA Turnpike and vice versa) and is lined with craft and food booths. There are also three stages where musical acts perform, one right across the street from me in that little gazebo I keep taking pictures of.

As far as products offered in the booths, it gets a little more disappointing every year as the influx of people selling tourist-style junk made in China seems to increase. Still, there are plenty of real, down home handcrafted items for sale. I took a lot of pictures of the booths, but I'm only going to show a general representation here. Ditto on the musical acts, which ranged from Folk to Jazz to German Oompah to Caribbean; I took pictures of other acts, but in this post I'll just show you one, since it was right across the street at the end of my wandering time. If you want to see the rest, click here to see my Picasa album of the event. For now, fill your eyes with homespun color and take a walk down King St. with me!

King Street was packed even at 8:00 AM, when the festival opened

My favorite booth every year - handmade brooms. I still haven't bought one, though

Handmade seasonal wreaths and decorations

There was lots of handcrafted furniture

And of course there were all kinds of homemade food items

The handcrafted doll booth got lots of attention

And here's folksinger Jay Smar across the street at the gazebo, playing guitar and singing coal miner songs...

... and clog dancing while he fiddled and sang "Turkey in the Straw"...

... and played claw hammer style banjo...

... to a delighted and very attentive audience. 

After Jay Smar's concert I went across the street to home to process all the photos I took today. Please click here to visit my Picasa album of the event and see more crafts and musical acts. Enjoy!

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Contrasts

A dry and sunny day with strong contrasts today. I went walking and saw various white flowers growing in shaded locations and decided black & white photography was the order of the day. 

An unidentified vine growing in the Dykeman Spring wetland; the flowers smell very sweet

Honeysuckle growing in the Dykeman Spring wetland

Queen Anne's Lace growing along the Meadow Trail in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park

Daisy Fleabane growing along the Meadow Trail in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

In Transition

Late August, and Summer is fading into Fall as the season approaches the end of its cycle. Most of the Summer wildflowers have turned to husks or down, and the later season flowers are at their peak. Some Fall wildflowers, like Goldenrod, have started to appear, but the bulk of that flowering is yet to come. Even the berries seem to be winding down, although the wild grapes are just ripening.

Meanwhile, up on the upland meadow, the butterflies and grasshoppers are everywhere. And Wade is getting in another haying; he was out today gathering what he'd cut so far. The grass is very dry; since early July there's been little or no rain, and there's no rain in the 10-day forecast. Local farmers are worried, Wade included. Here's hoping!

Spotted Jewelweed in the Dykeman Spring wetland

Wild Grapes growing by the north duck pond

Some late Raspberries still hanging on by the north duck pond

Reflections on the north duck pond resemble a Monet painting

A Meadow Fritillary butterfly and a Halloween Beetle on Goldenrod in the upland meadow

A Clouded Sulphur butterfly on fading Red Clover in the upland meadow

Hay wagons in the upland meadow waiting to be filled

It's haying time on the meadow again!

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

August Weather Arrives

We've been spoiled lately; it's been cooler and dryer than usual for August around here. But that came to an end today; even though I woke up to pleasant, cool lower 60s this morning, by the time I was done with laundry and was heading out the door to take my meandering walk to the grocery store both the temperature and the dew point were rising rapidly. It was a hot walk through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park at 10:00 am, especially up on the meadow. Come along on the walk with me.

One of the swamp boardwalks on the Dykeman Walking Trail

I never get tired of shooting this stretch of the creek in the park

The north duck pond was a mirror today with no breeze disturbing the surface

The upland meadow from the east end. We need some rain; the grass is getting kinda crispy up there!

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

A Walk on a Gloomy Day

Rain is on the way, a cold front moving through tonight. So it's overcast today, just the kind of light I love to shoot in. Here are some of the sights from my walk through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park on the way to the grocery store this morning. Enjoy!

The marsh boardwalk entrance into the Dykeman Spring wetland area

A very busy Bumblebee on some Joe Pye Weed in the wetland

A very friendly Mallard hen on the north duck pond, who followed me around the whole time I was in the area of the pond

My pew in church, on the north duck pond

English Ivy carpets the floor along the Upland Trail

Looking out over the upland meadow from the east end on the way out of the park

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

An Aimless Wander

A beautiful day - temperature in the 70s, dry, and a nice refreshing breeze out of the northwest. I had no agenda today; I just went out the door and let my feet go where they wanted. Here's what we found on the way.

The tiny park next to The Widow Piper's Tavern, a historic building

The Sunflower patch behind the Church of the Nazarene

A broken window in an abandoned building on Neff Ave.

An ivy-covered garage on Neff Ave.

Part of the garden around the local Presbyterian Church

And home again, looking across the street at the gazebo park

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Scenes on a Summer Morning

It's August now and the Summer is getting on. Things are dry; after June's rains July has been more rain-less than usual here, and August looks to be the same. Still, the ponds are full, the streams run, flowers bloom, the bees and butterflies attend to the flowers, and the swooping Swallows attend to the bees and butterflies. And the Black Cherries are ripe; walking time is feasting time this time of year!

Orange Jewelweed blooms along the paths in the Dykeman Spring wetland

A Green Leafhopper on a Multiflora Rose branch in the wetland

A seat by the pond

A Monarch butterfly on Milkweed next to the above bench

A view from the top of the upland meadow

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger