Small World

I went for a walk on the Rail Trail this morning and ended up spending a lot of time in a bank of Multiflora Roses observing nature in miniature. In that single bank I ended up counting five Orchard Orb Weaver spiders in their webs; these are my favorite small critters in the woods, a small green dot to the naked eye, and a rainbow observed up close. I also found a Multicolored Asian Ladybug munching on the leaves of those roses. Come take a look.

Walking along the Rail Trail

Leucauge venusta, the colorful Orchard Orb Weaver

The same Venusta escaping my camera

Harmonia axyridis, the Multicolored Asian Ladybug

A small section of that large bank of Multiflora Roses

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Small Things

Once again I had some refills to pick up at CVS, and once again I decided to head over to the Brookside Avenue wetland behind the store. After my initial portrait session with a male Cardinal, I figured out that today's theme would be Spring wildflowers, as the wetland is carpeted with them. Come take a look.

Northern Cardinal

Dandelion

Heal-all (also known as Purple Dead Nettle)

Daisy Fleabane

Rue Anemone

Celandine

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Finding the Beauty in the Bleak

No snow in the middle of Winter makes for a very bleak landscape. But there's still beauty in that bleakness if you look for it. So I went looking for that beauty on my weekly walk in the park this morning.

A tree fungus growing along the Dykeman Walking Trail

Barberries in the Dykeman Spring wetland

Someone set up a bird feeder by the north duck pond; this male House Finch likes that idea

A portrait of a very handsome fellow

Looking back across the meadow on the way out of the park

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Autumn Up Close - Berries and Seeds

It's November now and Autumn is moving on apace. It's been an odd Autumn though; trees that were colorful last week are now bare, some trees are newly colorful but half bare, and there are an awful lot of all green trees still holding forth. As far as Fall foliage goes, today's walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park was something of a washout, so I concentrated on a plentiful resource for Autumnal color - berries. Add to that some Maple helicopters still hanging on to the tree at the top end of the north duck pond and you have the reason for the title of today's post. Come take a look.

Viburnum berries along the Dykeman Walking Trail

Barberries in the Dykeman wetland

Bittersweet berries in the wetland

Maple helicopters still on the tree

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Looking at the World with the Lens of Love

That phrase in the title comes from an essay I found on the Humanistic Paganism website by author Mark Green (you can read it here). It reiterates something that I and other followers of an Earth-based spirituality have always known - everything is sacred, everything is holy, and the fact that it's all here and we're alive as a part of it is an ongoing miracle. The Universe is an ongoing act of magic that all of us have the opportunity to take part in, if only we'd open our eyes and actively participate in its evolution. This is what motivates me when I go out my door every day, and what informs my eye when I look through the viewfinder of my camera. In the Bible, when Moses approaches the burning bush on Mt. Sinai God tells him, "Take off your shoes, you stand on holy ground." Well, it's ALL holy ground; we should all be walking barefoot through every day!

Black Locust blossoms along the Dykeman Walking Trail

A tiny snail nestled in Skunk Cabbage in the Dykeman Spring wetland

Multiflora Roses in the wetland

Yellow Wood Sorrel in the wetland

Daisy Fleabane by the north duck pond

Peter Mayer has the perfect song for this subject; his Holy Now looks at both the sacredness and the miraculous nature of our world and our lives. Enjoy!

       

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Earth Day 2019

“The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us. Thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing. The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls, and every bird song, wind song, and tremendous storm song of the rocks in the heart of the mountains is our song, our very own, and sings our love.”
― John Muir 

Today is Earth Day, and luckily I'm off work, the first day of my "weekend". This year I decided to dedicate my Earth Day photo shoot to the small gems of Mama Gaia's palette, the myriad flowers bursting into bloom this time of year, and especially the small, even tiny, ones that require that I use my camera's macro setting and get down on my belly and elbows to get close enough to reveal their beauty. This approach was partially inspired by Peter Mayer's song "Awake", which approaches Nature from a child's perspective. I posted it on Facebook this morning, and it's also posted here below the photos. Happy Earth Day, friends! Get out and wrap yourself in Mama Gaia's beauty; your soul will thank you for it.

Tulips and Narcissi in the gardens at McLean House

Garlic Mustard along the Dykeman Walking Trail

From death springs life - a seedling sprouting in a rotten log

Common Violets in the Dykeman Spring wetland

Ground Ivy, aka Creeping Charlie, along the Upland Trail on the way to the meadow

A sea of Wild Mustard up on the meadow

Photos © 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

More Signs of Spring

I went walking this morning to find more signs of Spring to shoot. I went up King St. to the Peace Garden in the Shippensburg Memorial Park; not much going on, just a few dabs of color, which I got. Then off to the path that runs parallel to the railroad tracks next to the park, where I got two more pictures, and especially the one of the Thyme-leaved Speedwell, whose flowers are only about 2mm across at most. Yeah, I did the belly crawl again today. Then back home via Westover Rd., where there's a Backyard Wildlife Habitat. Not much going on there yet, but I did get a shot of the Daffodil patch next to the sidewalk. Altogether it was a good hike!

A rock garden along West King St.

Buds on a Weeping Cherry in the Peace Garden

Flowering ground cover in the Peace Garden

The path paralleling the railroad tracks is greening up

Thyme-leaved Speedwell on the path

Daffodils along Westover Rd.

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

It Has Begun

"I stuck my head out the window this morning and Spring kissed me bang on the face."
– Langston Hughes

Yup, Spring has definitely sprung, and my weekly walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park certainly showed it. It's much greener now, and all of the Daffodils along the trail by the creek are blooming, as are a myriad small flowers that require that I do the patented Hilbinger Belly-Crawl to get a good macro shot of them. And oh look, it's Turkle Time! I saw my first-of-the-year Painted Turtle sunning on a stick in the bog pool next to the north duck pond. And to top it off, I saw this year's first Northern Water Snake in their favorite perch - on a branch over the creek. This was an older one; its signature brown bars had faded and it was a solid gray-brown, a sure sign of age in this species. Mama Gaia is waking up after her long Winter sleep!

Chickweed is growing all along the Dykeman Walking Trail

So is Heal-All

A Pussywillow catkin in full bloom along the trail

Daffodils along the creek

More Daffodils along the creek

The Northern Water Snake on its perch over the creek

A sunning Painted Turtle

Part of a large patch of Corn Speedwell on the berm around the north duck pond

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Textures

While on my weekly Sunday walk-in-the-park in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park, my attention was drawn to the texture created by the frost on the grass on the trail. So I decided that today's focus would be the textures in nature seen up close (except for that last shot).

Frosty

Scar

Bark

Rock, moss, and lichen

Hommage à Rothko - Winter Reflection

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger