Monocacy Creek Walk

These are the weirdly soft burrs that got all over my clothes.

As I mentioned yesterday, I went on a nice little nature walk with K. The weather was cool, yet clear. We wanted to check out the trail along the Monocacy where it is near the freeway entrance. The reason is that we've suspected this little old lady of being a renegade gardener... we've seen her along this bit of land, harvesting things, and probably planting things. The area was rife with flowers this summer, and not flowers that you normally see along the side of the freeway. I had also thought I'd seen a squash growing on the chain link fence there, and wanted to get a closer look. So we did.

I know it doesn't look too exciting here, but that's because most of the flowers were on their way out by this time. I wish we'd stopped sooner, because it was evident that the old woman we've seen out here WAS gardening!

There was the squash growing along the fence... rows of chives and scallions, a grove of jalapeno plants that were still growing some peppers, and an unknown plant or two that do not grow in the wild, and seemed to have some strange fruit or seed pods.

Just beyond her garden zone, I found a cool nest in a tree. It opened on the front, rather than up top. Almost like a weaver's nest, but different. The river is still pretty swollen, and there were fallen trees and broken branches all over, indicating the recent flooding that happened post-Irene. Lots of autumn clematis was blooming, and the sweet scent was a welcome respite from the boggy smells of standing water. The burrs in the photo above (next to the clematis) snuck a ride on my sleeve, my pants, and my shoes, without me knowing. They're really neat looking, though, so I had to get in there and get a picture!

The trail leads to Burnside Plantation, where the police horses are kept and fed. You can't get close to them, as there's a low-voltage fence around them. But it was still cool to see those majestic American Quarter Horses, of which my childhood fantasies were chock-full. I always wanted to have my own horse to care for and ride... they're beautiful creatures, aren't they? 


We also saw a momma deer and her fawn, off in the distance. They kept away from us, and I couldn't get a good photo. They were beautiful creatures, to be sure.


Tomorrow I'll share the amazing little garden that's on the other side... my camera phone was losing its battery charge, so I had to use K's phone to take photos. (I forgot my camera!) So once I get the photos from his camera, I can share them with you....

More Along Monocacy Creek...

The creek is sending out fall signals all over the place! There's still a lot of green, but the change is in the air. Even for the butterflies, as you can see... there's some metamorphosis going on!

 Thistles are turning to seed, and blowing themselves all over. Next spring, new ones will be growing from this fall's seed explosion.

 Berries for the birds are ripening and bringing out the intense colors of autumn. I love seeing the red drops amongst the green leaves. Soon those leaves will be turning and dropping to ground. The drama of nature unfolds for us every day, every season, every year!

 The sunflowers, dahlias and other flowers at Burnside Plantation are in bloom in the little butterfly garden outside the barn. The colors of fall are the splashes of color you'll see there now!

 I love that I can see and feel the changes of the coming season! Typically, in California, the only real change you get is in the temperature and the arrival of rain. Yes, the foliage changes on some of the trees, and even drop, but the strange thing about California's fall/winter, is that once the rains come, everything just starts to turn green again! The gold hills of summer start their greening, in early preparation for spring. At least, that was my experience living in the Bay Area. However, right now, during my time here in Pennsylvania, I can really sense the change from summer to fall. It's an actual season all by itself here. I'm really excited for the changes to become more visible and dramatic as we close in on winter! Plus, I'm looking forward to wearing my boots again!!