Today's Walk

I decided to walk out into farm country on Possum Hollow Rd., out past my brother's house and up to I-81, and came back into town on Olde Scotland Rd., where I cut over to the woods on the other side of the railroad tracks to visit the old filling pool along Gum Run. The filling pool is a leftover from the days when trains ran by steam power and periodically had to stop to fill their water tanks. The old tracks ran along Gum Run; they're gone now, but the old pool is still there, way back in the woods and very picturesque.

Stripes and swirls of color in a field along Possum Hollow Rd.

The Mennonite farm across Possum Hollow Rd. from my brother's house

A Mourning Dove in a front yard along Possum Hollow Rd.

Wenger Feeds' grain silos along the RR tracks off Mt. Rock Rd.

A path in the woods near the filling pool

The old filling pool

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

A Short Walk

After I dropped off my rent with my landlord's business manager this morning I went for a short walk into the country - up Roxbury Rd. to Old Mill Rd., then over to Bard Rd., to N. Earl St., and cutting behind the old Hoffman Mills to follow the creek the rest of the way back to King St.; altogether about a mile and a half. For me, that's a very short walk. But I got some nice views and a couple of hills to climb for the exercise, so it was worth it!

Looking north from the top of Old Mill Rd.

Middle Spring Creek looking upstream from Bard Rd.

And looking downstream from the same bridge

The barn at Willow Run farm from Bard Rd.

A patch of Wood Anemone beside the creek

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Wandering Aimlessly

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." — Bilbo warning Frodo about taking walks, from The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

 

I had to go to CVS to pick up a prescription refill, and I decided to use it as a jumping-off point for a bit of a camera shoot/wander afterwards. I had no idea where I was going, I just decided at various points which way I would turn. So I ended up on a brief stretch of the Rail Trail and then a brief foray into farm country north of town. It was a cold walk (temps in the 40s with something between a breeze and a wind) but an enjoyable one, and I got some good shots along the way.

A chilly Mockingbird on the Shippensburg University campus

My favorite mother-daughter pair of Jerseys on a farm by the Rail Trail

Walking on the Rail Trail

An Old Order Mennonite buggy on Britton Rd.

A farm along Britton Rd.

A pair of cows on Mud Level Rd.

Burd Run and spring house at Newburg Rd.

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Visiting Cows

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic I'm on leave from work because I've been deemed too vulnerable because of my age and pre-existing health issues. So I've been sidelined until this finally runs its course and they lift the stay at home order. Luckily, I'm not confined indoors; taking walks outdoors is allowed according to the guidelines, so for the foreseeable future I'll have plenty of time to wander the country and take pictures. Today I decided to go up to Fogelsanger Rd. and the Rail Trail to visit some of my favorite cows, in the course of which I also captured some other Spring scenes.

Part of a big herd of Holsteins on Fogelsanger Rd.

Burd Run where it crosses Fogelsanger Rd.

One of a pair of Squirrels busily foraging along the Rail Trail

Spring Beauty growing along the Rail Trail

A mother (in back) and daughter pair of Jerseys on a farm by the Rail Trail

Corn Speedwell growing along the Rail Trail

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Revisiting Burnt Mill Road

Today is the meteorological first day of Spring, and the second day of my vacation. I decided to revisit Burnt Mill Rd. because the trestle bridge over Conodoguinet Creek and the Burnt Mill Veterinary Center fascinate me, and there are lots of cows along the way (and I need cows!). On this hike I discovered a lot of things: the heronry off Earl St./Newburg Rd. is hopping with the start of Spring; a Turkey wandering around on Fish Hatchery Rd.; the cows I thought I remembered on Burnt Mill Rd. are long-horned, but not long-haired (I guess I got two herds confused); and the Eastern Bluebirds are back. Here are some scenes from today's hike.

The heronry is hopping!

A big ol' Tom Turkey on Fish Hatchery Rd.

Cows on Burnt Mill Rd.

My favorite springhouse, on Burnt Mill Rd.

The wood-deck trestle bridge over Conodoguinet Creek on Burnt Mill Rd.

Llamas! At the Burnt Mill Veterinary Center

More cows, this time on McClay's Mill Rd.

An Eastern Bluebird on Fish Hatchery Rd.

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Today is the birthday of Ralph (pronounced Rafe) Vaughan Williams, 1872 - 1958, a British composer best known as the central figure in what is informally known as the Pastoral Movement in British music, which also included such composers as George Butterworth and Gustav Holst. Vaughan Williams often hiked through the English countryside gathering folk songs of the region, usually accompanied by Butterworth, which he then adapted and used in his symphonic works. He's one of my all-time favorite composers, and I figured I'd celebrate by going for a walk through some nearby farm country to take photos in the spirit of his music, and then post one of his compositions, in this case the Romance movement of his Serenade in A minor. So lets take a serene walk in the country with Mr. Vaughan Williams and celebrate his birthday!

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Tucked Away

A couple of years ago I stumbled across a little family cemetery in the middle of a cornfield out in the farming country between Shippensburg and Newville, not far from the Rail Trail. I went back last Wednesday to get some better shots than I got when I first found the place; here they are.

The Smith family plot on Smithdale Road, smack in the middle of a corn field

A well-carved stone

An interesting stone. Unfortunately the first name is weathered beyond legibility

The farm across the road from the cemetery

And finally, on the Rail Trail heading home

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Yesterday in Black & White

I knew some of yesterday's shots on my hike in farm country would work in black & white, and I actually shot some of them with that in mind. Today I used Alien Skin's Exposure 2 Photoshop plug-in, using its Kodak Tri-X 400 setting, to see. Sure enough, some of them did very well indeed. Take a look.

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Another Visit to Farm Country

Today I went on another hike in farm country, up Possum Hollow Rd. past my brother's place, across I-81 on Olde Scotland Rd., across Woods Rd. to White Church Rd. and into Mainsville to head home on Mainsville Rd. It was another hot and humid day, but I seem to be getting acclimated to the Summer weather already. Although I did get pretty tired; after eating lunch once I got home, I promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours. But it was worth it, and these shots will give you an idea of what there was to see on the way.

A cornfield on Possum Hollow Rd. at the foot of Timber Hill

The Mennonite farm across the road from my brother's place on Possum Hollow Rd.

A view of South Mountain from the far end of Possum Hollow Rd.

The grain elevators on the railroad tracks off Mt. Rock Rd.

A view from Olde Scotland Rd.

An old barn on Woods Rd.

A ramshackle farm along White Church Rd.

A meadow along Mainsville Rd. on the way home

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger