Summer Heat At The PPL Wetlands.

It seems like only yesterday I was hearing the chorus of the spring peepers as I walked through the PPl Wetlands in April. The woodlands were still naked then  just awakening from there long Winter sleep.  Not today, they were in their full July  attire, the deep green of Summer. 

It was a partly sunny but hot and humid day here in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the many ponds, canals and waterways made the wetlands feel almost tropical. The water were  mostly a deep green, caused by the thickening growth of the duck weed. 

The eerie and constant sound of the cicadas replaced the chorus of the frogs. The sound of the song birds, having found their mates has quieted some but you can now here the excited sounds of the young fledglings in the trees. I spotted a few catbirds, a green heron, some crows, turkey vultures and a lot of wood ducks, including this female.

The skunk cabbage so green and vibrant in the Spring is now turning brown and dying. The beautiful may apples flowers are now producing fruit.

And I chanced upon one of my favorite Summer flowers, the delicate and beautiful turk’s cap lily. this is a link to some more photos of this beautiful flower https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/pennsylvania-wild-flowers/nggallery/pennsylvania-wild-flowers/turks-cap-lily

The blueberries and blackberries are now ripe and the elderberries are soon to follow.

There were a few turtles who ventured out of the warm waters to get some sun and a encountered a muskrat who seemed to be feeding on the duckweed. The air around the waters were filled with hovering dragonflies. i was lucky to get a few photos of this intricate creatures.  it wasn’t all good, there were also swarms of mosquitoes who enjoyed dinning on me but a small price to pay to see this display of the abundance of life the Summer was putting on. Wished I had more time to hike over to the river lands. maybe tomorrow. Always a good day in the PPL wetlands.

This is a link to some more photos of the many plants and critters I photographed  on my hike today. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-5/nggallery/blog-photos/ppl-wetlands-july-18-2015

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”
― John Muir