Some Sunshine And Then Some Nice Skies At The PPL Wetlands.
It was a perfect June afternoon on Friday. A cold front lowered the temperatures and humidity here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. . The skies were mostly clear with a few puffy cumulus clouds drifting in the refreshing northwesterly breeze. I decided to take advantage of this beautiful weather and hike in the PPL Wetlands in Salem Township, Luzerne County. 
It was still mostly sunny with pleasant temperatures in the mid 70’s when I arrived at the wetlands. 
The woodlands in the wetlands have almost completed their spurt of new growth as Spring nears its end. 
There were not many birds active in the afternoon , but as always plenty of catbirds and red-winged blackbirds were fluttering about. 
And I saw one of the two wood duck families that I knew were nesting on the canals in the wetlands. Mommy wood duck usually sees me long before I see here and her offspring but this time I caught a glimpse of here first. 
As soon as she saw me she quickly took her family into the safety of the reeds and underbrush.
The Spring moves along so quickly. The blueberry flowers are gone and the young berries have appeared. 
And blackberry flowers are almost gone and they, too, are developing young fruit. 
The appearance of dragonflies also signal the end of Spring and the approaching summer. 
Soon they will be darting and hovering everywhere along the waters of the wetlands.
The Dame’s rocket continued to bloom along the trails of the wetlands. 
As did the pretty and delicate eastern fleabane. 
I left the wetlands and walked to the river lands section of the nature preserve. I approached Lake Took-A-While.
There were no birds on the water but I did see a few Baltimore orioles, 
and these different two fly catchers,
although I am not certain of the species. 
There were also a few chipmunks running about and
this rabbit, an unusual sight in the middle of the day in the wetlands and river lands.
I decided to end my hike after about two miles and as I began my walk back the some interesting clouds formations appeared in the skies. 
They made for a spectacular backdrop for the bright green leaves covering the trees. 
It was a nice walk back to my car. The skies cleared and the sun reappeared .
On my return walk I saw another family of wood ducks on one of the canals 
and found this interesting mushroom, which I later learned was a Dryad Saddle mushroom. 
Once again I wasn’t able to see any eagles, bears, or any other interesting wildlife on my visit to the PPL Wetlands but I was treated instead to some really beautiful scenery and a breathtaking sky. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photographs from my hike. PPL Wetlands hike June 12 2020. 
“The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.” Ralph Waldo Emerson no
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