Hurray for the sun! Hope you enjoyed the latest sunny fall weekend. This Saturday I travelled to Deer Path Park in Flemington, NJ. I wanted a nice walk among trees after purchasing this year's pumpkins at Schaefer Farm (also in Flemington).
This was my first visit to Deer Path, and I could tell the park was beautiful in the summer and fall.
Paths ramble past sports fields, a lake, fields and wooded areas.
Soccer fields, baseball diamonds and open grassy space is available with a killer view of the surrounding hillsides.
This late in the season, many critters were no shows. I saw several song birds, squirrels and the Canada geese (Branta canadensis) above, perhaps migrating through the area.
On Sunday, I took a walk in the wind and increasingly cool weather at Colonial Park in Franklin Township, NJ. The fall colors are still in full swing around the Powder Mill Pond, above.
I walked the trail and took in the increasing layer of colorful leaves on the ground - the season is waining and winter will soon be here.
A carpet of leaves covered the surface of this stream, creating a road to the lake in golden yellow.
The sky this weekend was a brilliant clear blue with only small puffy clouds passing.
A Great Blue Huron (Ardea herodias) paces the far side of the pond.
As I left the park around 4pm, the light was already fading.
Every year I carve several pumpkins - colored glow stick give these faces their color.
I have candles lighting these larger designs. Happy Hallowe'en!
This past week I took a few days off to travel to Ithaca, NY. Aengus and I had a good time walking around the campus, Buttermilk Falls and parts of Owego (a town to the south) despite the wind and cold and skudding clouds.
As you may notice, my camera date and time mysteriously reset without me noticing - oh well. On Thursday, 10/21/10 we cruised around Bebe Lake on Cornell Campus in Ithaca, NY.
Bebe is a man made lake the empties into a creek that flows through the the northern part of campus. There is an impressive falls on the side near campus (above and below).
A pleasant trail of cinders, wood chips, etc. rings the lake and connects to many other trails through the woods in the area.
While I was a student at Cornell, I lived on north campus and passed by this way most everyday going to and from my dorm to class.
Since I graduated (nearly 10 years now!) a lot of goofy signs have been put up.
As we proceed clockwise around the lake, we can seen the mist from the falls rise up beyond the trees.
A chipmunk (Tamias minimus) goes about its business among the leaves.
Clouds roll across the sky as we continue our walk.
On the far end of the lake, water enters the lake from Fall Creek.
Another bridge near Fall Creek.
The shoreline shows fall colors just past their peak.
Two ducks (to be identified later) enjoy the lake.
The bridge above (rebuilt and painted green in the past few years) forms part of the main road to campus.
Students are always doing whatever odd things they can get away with around campus.
Elsewhere on Cornell Campus are the Plantations, a series of gardens and natural areas sustained by the university.
I could write all day about Cornell and how much I loved my time there, but it hurts to be away from there, my favorite town. I look forward to my next visit.
If you happen to travel through the Finger Lakes region of New York state, you may wish to stop and hike through Buttermilk Falls State Park (falls above).
Before I knew it, we were on the road home again. Above is the Delaware Water Gap as we drove through it. Like all trips, this one was over too fast!
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This November seems consistent with previous seasons - the leaves are past their prime, and may trees are completely denuded.
A few low shrubs still glow with color above the deep carpet of leaves.
Soon the trails in some areas will disappear for the season beneath a carpet of leaves.
Although midday, the trees stand out against the gray sky as they do at dawn or dusk. A last few shots and I retreated home to have soup for lunch.
On Sunday, Aengus and I braved a still colder day at Sourland Mountain for about 15 minutes sometime in the morning (with the time change, I have lost all sense of time).
The sun was out with that particular intensity that comes with miles visibility during a high pressure front.
A sizable flock of Canadian Geese (Branta canadensis) enjoyed the pond across a field from the parking lot.
While we saw several birdwatchers, hikers, and folks walking their dogs, the wind and air temperature was likely downwards of 40 degrees. I spent the day making just short trips outdoors, reluctant to put on my heavy winter gear just yet. Next week however I will make the effort necessary to enjoy the scenery despite the season's lower temperatures. Have a good week - stay warm!
