After the Rain

It rained most of last week, starting just after I got home from last week's Sunday walk. And I'm not talking a gently falling rain to help water the Summer crops. We're talking full tropical downpours, with thunder and lightning and hail and the whole shebang, and resulting in floods all throughout the area. Not much in the flooding here in Shippensburg, as we're fairly high up, but further downstream, and especially up around Harrisburg and the big creeks that feed into the Susquehanna River - Swatara and Yellow Breeches and the Conawego. Hershey Park and Zoo America were closed most of the week due to flooding, and two people drowned in the Conawego in separate incidents. As I said, up here we didn't get that kind of flooding, but Branch Creek and Burd Run were pretty full and feisty. 

Finally a cold front moved through on Friday evening, and the weather has been dry and cooler since. I went walking through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park this morning on my weekly pilgrimage, and it seemed as if all of Nature was rejoicing in drying out. There were lots of butterflies and dragonflies flitting about, the greenery was very lush indeed, and there were lots of blooms. When I came to my favorite bench by the north duck pond to sit and contemplate in the shade of the Kentucky Coffee Tree, there were three Muscovy ducks (a domestic farm breed, frequent visitors to the park) in possession of the area. They gave me the eye as I approached but refused to flee. After I sat down on the bench they continued with some personal grooming, and then settled in for a nap. They barely even opened their eyes when I eventually stood up and moved on.

Here are some scenes from this week's walk.

White Campion in the wetland

A pond-side seat 

Honeysuckle along the trail around the pond

The trio of Muscovies giving me the eye

This year's Mallard ducklings are growing up fast

An American Painted Lady sipping on some Red Clover up on the meadow

© 2018 by A. Roy Hilbinger