Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve April 16, 2017

We arrived at the preserve around noon on  Sunday April 16,  2017.

It was very warm, in the 80s.  (some of the Mertensia was a bit wilted)

Nonetheless it was a glorious display of bluebells and Susquehanna Trillium.  The blue Phlox was also  putting on quite a show in the middle of the trail.  We ate our lunch of Wawa sandwiches at the bench near what we call the Trout Lily  trail.  There were lots of people out which was adding to the social aspect of our experience.

We climbed a new trail we had never been on before,  One that carried us all the way up to the top of the hill near the front of the main trail. We were afforded a fantastic view of the Susquehanna River and we also got to see lots of beautiful blooming bluebells up there.   We also found some white Trout Lily.

We were very careful the whole day to not step on any wildflowers.

Most of these pictures were taken with a Lumix LX7  except the selfie which was taken with an iPhone 6 Plus.

The lower Susquehanna September 2015

The tradition continues- a trip to the Lower Susquehanna around Labor Day. The summers end nears and in the woods  the seasonal fragrance of ripening Paw-Paw fruits envelops our sense of place and time.

imageThe River is bluer than the sky in the late afternoon but as the evening encroaches, the sky becomes the bluest. We timed our six mile hike for when the day is mature and gentle, the light is crisp and when there is an occasional breeze.image

We watched a Bald Eagle fishing in the distance.  We saw a Blue Heron skimming the water as well.  lots of wild Ginger on the forest floor along with Sycamore and Silver Maple.

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Phlox

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I-95 off in the distance. We drove over this on the way here and back from Philly.

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Lobelia cardinalis

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The leaves of the Paw-Paw tree

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There is an old barn on the way to the park that for years has been deteriorating, bit by bit. Sagging, it caught our attention. “so sad”  The roofline bowed worse and worse as the decade wore on. “perhaps it could be pulled together with a winch and held in place with  turnbuckles and steel rods?”  ” ooh its about to collapse”  Sorry no pictures but it collapsed, half of it pancaked on the ground over its contents of old tires, the other half still upright. ” all of the pieces could be numbered carefully and it could be dismantled and rebuilt replacing any broken ones”

 

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The Susquehanna River.

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Paw- Paw with Asarum canadense, Wild Ginger