A Rainy Day in the Park

It's cold (around 40ºF/4ºC) and raining today, and the walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park this morning was damp, to say the least. Despite the cold, the place is greening up fast. Here are some scenes from the walk this morning followed by some appropriate music.

Photos © 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Icy

We had one of those lovely "wintry mix" storms Saturday - started off as snow and changed to sleet and then freezing rain later. It left an icy glaze on everything that's still here on Monday. Here are some icy scenes from my weekly walk in the nature park this morning.

The "back door" entrance to the park on the Dykeman Walking Trail

Ice and shadows on the old railroad trestle make for an interesting abstract shot

An icy woodland scene in the park

Part of a large flock of Canada Geese by the south duck pond

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

It's Raining Again

And once again, it's raining in Winter. ((sigh)) I miss the snow.

And my favorite music for a rainy day - "A Pause in the Rain" by Shadowfax

Photos © 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

December Rain

There is nothing more dreary than rain in December. And yet for all that, there is still lots of activity and opportunities for photography in nature in all that wet. There was a pair of Belted Kingfishers yelling their frantic-sounding chatter and dashing back and forth all over the place. And one of my Muskrat friends was out swimming around in the north duck pond and then ducked into a reed bed to keep an eye on me from hiding. I got a little wet, but it was worth it.

Yes, it's very wet!

Drip, drip, drip...

Walking the trail in the wetland in the rain

Muskrat in hiding

The bench at the edge of the meadow

Looking across the meadow in the rain

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

A Rainy December Morning

And now it's December. Yesterday was the meteorological first day of Winter, and there have been major snow storms sweeping across the country, but here in the Cumberland Valley we've had nothing but rain. It rained yesterday and overnight, and then it was still raining when I went for my weekly walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park this morning. Cold rain is my least favorite weather to walk in, but the wet and overcast emphasizes the colors in the bleakness that is a woodland in December. Here are some scenes from this morning's walk.

The woods along the Dykeman WalkingTrail

More woods along the trail

The back entrance to the park on the trail

A favorite wetland landscape, colored by December

A little wetland ghost, one of the resident ferals in the park

On the way home, the creek between the ball fields

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

 

A Misty November Morning

It was drizzling and in the 30s when I got up this morning, and still in the upper 30s/low 40s when I went out for my weekly walk in the park and grocery run. So today's walk in the park was slightly damp. But it brought out the existing colors in the otherwise drab November landscape. Come take a look.

Drip, drip, drip...

A cattail marsh along the Dykeman Walking Trail behind the ball fields

An empty nest in the Dykeman wetland

A Carolina Wren in the wetland who was not at all pleased with my presence

Looking toward a very misty Timber Hill from the top of the meadow

Self-portrait of the happy wanderer, taken with my cell phone

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Trying to Beat the Rain

I was supposed to be at the Chambersburg Hospital today undergoing a stent procedure. Unfortunately I ended up being bumped to Friday due to a clerical error; apparently somebody in the scheduling department read 16 as 18. So I have two days extra before I lay flat on my back on a gurney while they shove a catheter up my femoral artery again. Not being one to waste extra time, I decided to get some errands done today and tomorrow, and ended up walking through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park on my way to the grocery store to get the fixings for a nice big pot of chicken soup so I'll have suppers waiting for me when I get home from the hospital.

I had to get something of a hurry on, though, because there was some serious rain coming, so this was less a casual photo shoot and more of a brisk walk with a purpose. Although of course the camera was with me, and I got some shots that caught my eye. And one shot I missed; there was an adult Bald Eagle hanging out by the Hatch House, but by the time I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and saw that white head and black wings it was disappearing into the trees. Oh well... In any case, here are the shots I did get.

One of the resident feral cats hanging out by the bog pool in the wetland

A view of the wetland

The farther hills disappear into the mist in a view from the meadow

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Another Soft Day in the Park

Today has been what the Irish call a soft day (for an explanation click here), and the weekly walk was a damp one. But as my friend Patrice likes to point out, it's perfect light for photography - no glare, no drastic contrast, just a soft, even light that makes the colors just pop. So here are some things I saw on my weekly walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park.

A young Eastern Cottontail enjoying the clover on the walking trail

The park's creek as it runs between the ball fields 

Yarrow growing by Gum Run

A patch of Crown Vetch growing along the walking trail

Catalpa blossoms along the walking trail

My favorite bench by the north duck pond. The parks and recreation folks haven't been able to keep up with the lush conditions due to the soft ground. Which is fine by me; I like my Nature messy and wild rather than trimmed and tame.

A view of the north duck pond

Yellow Goatsbeard growing up in the meadow

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Water, Water Everywhere

It's been raining lately. A lot. Last year was one of the wettest on record, and according to the meteorologists this year is starting out to be even wetter. It rained through this past weekend, especially yesterday. And today is no different - it started out raining, then slacked off to drizzle, and then went back to a steady, moderate rain. And since this is my weekend and I absolutely had to hit the grocery store today, I did my weekly walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park in that steady rain. So I donned my Kamik© waterproof boots and headed off to shoot the park in the rain. The following are the shots that worked the best.

The creek in the park as it runs between the ball fields, with lots of raindrops

Entering the park on a very wet boardwalk

One of the streams deep in the wetland

The north duck pond in the rain

And of course, me being who I am, I just had to tack this old chestnut onto the end of a post about a park in the rain. Heh, heh!

Photos © 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Soggy

It's very wet here in Central PA today. It started raining Friday night, rained all day yesterday. and it's still raining off and on today. The creeks are all full up, and when you step off the pavement the ground squishes and sloshes when you walk on it. Today's Sunday walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park was a wet one.

Branch Creek is full up!

So is Gum Run

Raindrops on Bittersweet berries

And raindrops in the wetland waterways

The wet brings out the usually drab Winter colors

Even up on the meadow the ground is soggy; I squished all the way across it

© 2018 by A. Roy Hilbinger