Walking, and Observing, The Beauty Of Nature As Summertime Draws To And End At Community Park
“‘There’s a time each year
That we always hold dear
Good old summertime” 
So say the lyrics of and old time song. And I agree, I love the summertime. Sadly, as we can see by the decreasing daylight, the sun retreating from the Northern skies and many other signs, summertime is coming to an end. I have enjoyed these last few weeks of summer taking some afternoon walks at the Community Park and Lake Irena near my home in Hazle Township in Luzerne County.
On most of these hikes I would take my macro lens and explore the interesting world of insects that we so often overlook. And which is filled with remarkable beauty. From the complexity of the eyes of a dragonfly to the
simple beauty of a water lily. So much to see if you walk almost anywhere on our planet and keep your eyes peeled. 
On my walks I enjoy seeing many of the same flowers, dragonflies, birds and insects I always see but I’m also looking for something new. And last week I found this dragonfly. I am not an expert on dragonfly identification, nor anything else for that matter, but I believe this is a twelve-spotted skimmer. It is similar to the widow skimmer and common whitetail skimmer dragonflies I usually have seen on my hikes. I never saw one of these before. As always please correct me if I am wrong and I will try and correct it in a subsequent blog post. 
And there were the usual late summer wildflowers blooming near the trail along the lake. Such as the pretty bull thistle. 
These dragonflies were common. I believe they are blue dashers. 
This fellow I don’t know but they were also common. 
Occasionally I would see a frog jump into the waters. There is always something to see. This link is to a gallery with more photographs from hikes I took last week. Community Park Hikes August 18, 20 2020
I returned to the lake this week . It was partly cloudy and warm but there were many signs summertime was coming to an end. Many of the fern have now turned brown. 
And some of the leaves on the trees, like this sassafras were already changing colors.
1`/
As I walked along the stream that feeds the lake I noticed this turtle in a pond. I am not sure but I think it may be a bog turtle. 
I always stop to inspect the endangered american climbing fern., a most interesting plant. 
There were less dragonflies this week and some of the ones I saw showed signs of wear on their wings. Most will die before the winter, some will migrate, but their offspring will spend the Winter under the ice as nymphs. 
Leaving the lake I walked into the surrounding woods. Here i was pleasantly surprised to find some mushroom. These jack-o-lanterns are poisonous. 
But I did find some edible bolete mushrooms 
and these cauliflower mushroom, another good edible. Please don’t eat any wild mushroom unless you are 100% sure it is edible, some are deadly.
In the trails in the woods I also found this strange caterpillar on a milkweed plant, 
and this monarch butterfly caterpillar on another milkweed plant.
Also in the woods I saw this doe and her fawn.
On my return hike I saw this swallowtail butterfly, some more dragonflies 
and a lot of different kinds of grasshoppers. 
There were hundreds of them jumping ahead of me as I walked. 
Once again I enjoyed the many wonders of nature in this park so close to my home. I enjoy sharing these adventures. Here is a link to another gallery with photographs from my hike at Community Park on Wednesday. Community Park Hike August 26 2020. 
That we always hold dear
Good old summertime
With the birds and the trees’es
And sweet scented breezes
Good old summertime
When your day’s work is over
Then you are in clover
And life is one beautiful rhyme
No trouble annoying
Each one is enjoying
The good old summertime
In the good old summertime
Strolling through a shady lane
With your baby mine
You hold her hand and she holds yours
And that’s a very good sign
That she’s your tootsey-wootsey
In the good, old summertime
You’d play hooky from school
Good old summertime
You’d play “ring-a-rosie”
With Jim, Kate and Josie
Good old summertime
Those days full of pleasure
We now fondly treasure
When we never thought it a crime
To go stealing cherries
With faces brown as berries
In good old summertime
In the good old summertime
Strolling through a shady lane
With your baby mine
You hold her hand and she holds yours
And that’s a very good sign
That she’s your tootsey-wootsey
In the good, old summertime
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