A Gray Sunday Stroll

The rain came back overnight. No big downpours, just occasional light showers and patchy drizzle; enough to keep the streets and sidewalks wet. A little too wet for a hike out into the country, but just right for a leisurely stroll around town. And black and white photography would be perfect to illustrate the mood of the day. So I walked up King St. to the God's Acre cemetery on Prince St., then back down King St. to home again. I shot in b&w in ISO 400 to emulate the look of Kodak's classic b&w Tri-X film, and honed it in Photoshop, tweaking the curves to get that silvery look. 

The little gazebo park across the street from my house

Branch Creek at King St., still running a bit high

"Downtown" walking east on King St.

Looking east on King St. from "The Square", the intersection of King and Earl Streets

God's Acre historical cemetery on Prince St.

Walking west on King St., heading home from the cemetery

Looking west on King St. from "The Square"

The Shippensburg Historical Society and it's equally old neighbors

And now it's time to get started on cooking up a big pot of chili for suppers for the rest of the week. Mmmmm! I love chili season!

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

After the Rain

We had two days of steady rain. Given that we were working with a 5-inch rain deficit for the year to date, the rain looked like a good thing. But on Day Two a lot of streams and creeks started rising over flood levels and basements started taking on water. Luckily there was no Day Three; today dawned overcast but rainless, and gradually the sun poked through the clouds. On the way to the grocery store I got some shots of the aftermath here in Shippensburg, which was really only damp ground and a swollen but non-flooding creek.

Branch Creek at King St., swollen by two days of steady rain

The beginnings of the creek in the Dykeman Spring wetlands

The clouds begin to break

Near the end of the meadow the Sun breaks out and brightens things up

Naturally, all this talk about "after the rain" and all reminds me of a song, in this case "A Pause in the Rain" by one of my favorite (but now unfortunately defunct) bands - Shadowfax. Enjoy!

Photos © 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Another Autumnal Stroll

I was once again strolling through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park this morning, chronicling the advance of Autumn. We were hot and tropically humid last week through the weekend, but yesterday a very strong cold front blew through and ushered in some much more seasonable October weather. So today's walk was very pleasant. Here are the best scenes from the day.

Reflections on the north duck pond

Reflections on the north duck pond

Tree fungus along the Upland Trail

Forest floor along the Upland Trail

Meadow Trail view looking west

The entire meadow viewed from the top of the hill on the east end

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Visitors

There were some special visitors to the feeder station today. Aside from the usual House Sparrows, Mrs. Red dropped by for lunch, and while she was there a couple of Tufted Titmice flipped in and out several times, each time picking up a sunflower seed and flying off with it. There was a Chickadee as well, but its visits were even more fleeting than those of the Titmice, so I never got a shot of it.

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

The Scenic Route

I've decided that the route through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park, especially including the Meadow Trail, is my preferred route to the grocery store. Walking through nature is always a calming, mellowing experience. I've figured out that it's also a straighter route, and a bit shorter distance than my street route. Of course timewise it's a bit longer, considering how many times I stop to take pictures. Ah, well, the time is well worth it! Here are the scenes that attracted me this time. As you can see, Autumn is advancing apace.

Swamp bridge in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park

The north duck pond, Dykeman Spring Nature Park

A Chipmunk on the Upland Trail, Dykeman Spring Nature Park

Meadow Trail scene. Dykeman Spring Nature Park

An old tractor and barn on Baltimore Rd., next door to the grocery store

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Advancing Autumn, Close Up

A single day off necessarily dedicated to errands and such. And as is usual in that situation, I ambled through Nature on the way to the grocery store. I cut through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park and got these macro shots of Fall blooms and berries. Enjoy!

Calico Asters, with Goldenrod in the background

New York Asters

Barberry

White Wood Asters

Winterberry

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Autumnal Equinox

Today is the Autumnal Equinox, the start of my favorite half of the year - Fall and Winter. My favorite things symbolize this time - Earth colors, falling leaves, fires, candles, and then snow (oh yeah, and pumpkin ale, too!). Today was a singleton day off for me and thus an errands day, but I managed to get some early Autumn shots while out running said errands. Enjoy!

A daytime view of the Harvest Moon, a couple of days past the full

Staghorn Sumac leaves are starting to change

Barberry approaching its seasonal glory

Calico Asters, another Fall flower

Bush Honeysuckle (called Woodbine in England) with its seasonal red berries

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Up On the Meadow Trail Again

I walked around on the Meadow Trail again this morning. I have a thing for meadows; they're rich in plant and animal species, and their look can change dramatically in the course of the growing season, with a different set of flowers blooming almost monthly from March to October. Today I decided to take wide-angled shots focusing on the rolling nature of the meadow. Enjoy!

Looking east

Looking southeast

Looking southeast

Looking northwest

Looking northwest

Looking northwest

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Saturday Scenes

Some things that caught my attention while out and about in Shippensburg on weekly errands.

Seneca Ave. between King and Orange Streets

Branch Creek running under the causeway by Ripple Field

White Wood Asters (a sure sign of approaching Fall) in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park

An old, dilapidated barn off Penn St.

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Roads

Two of my favorite poems about roads, illustrated with pictures taken on a leisurely stroll on the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail this morning. Enjoy!

"Roads Go Ever On" - J.R.R. Tolkien 

Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.

Roads go ever ever on,
Under cloud and under star.
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen,
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green,
And trees and hills they long have known.

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone.
Let others follow, if they can!
Let them a journey new begin.
But I at last with weary feet
Will turn towards the lighted inn,
My evening-rest and sleep to meet.

Still 'round the corner there may wait
A new road or secret gate;
And though I oft have passed them by,
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun.

 "The Road Not Taken" - Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Photos © 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Walking Up Baltimore Rd.

Today's hike started with a cut through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park, with special attention paid to the Meadow Trail because one end of it is at the Assembly of God church on Baltimore Rd. From there I headed toward South Mountain on said road. The planned destination was a small pond way up Baltimore Road labeled on all the maps I've seen as "Chambersburg Reservoir". I found such a small body of water being called a reservoir intriguing. Unfortunately, it's also non-existent; all I found when I got to the spot was a very thin, shallow, and rocky Burd Run and something of a soggy meadow off to the creek's side. Either Chambersburg planned a reservoir on that spot and never got around to building it, or the dry Summer has shrunk the the "reservoir" to that soggy meadow. I go with the second option; the falls at Caledonia State Park are also non-existent this Summer, so a dried-out reservoir makes sense.

In any case, I have pictures of a meadow and mountains for you, as well as shots of an interesting house and some Jerusalem Artichoke from up on the mountainous part of Baltimore Rd, as substitutes for the missing reservoir. I've posted a few of the best shots here; you can go to the web album to see the rest and/or watch the slide show after the pics. Enjoy!

Walking along the Meadow Trail

Approaching South Mountain on Baltimore Road

Looking north across the Cumberland Valley at Blue Mountain from Baltimore Road

Heading home along the Meadow Trail

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger