Exploring Nature Near Home

This past Friday, I went for a walk starting out from my home in Telford going along a creek and past a pond. It was a beautiful partly sunny afternoon to immerse myself in nature. Below are some of the highlights:

Looking up underneath a dogwood tree

 Pretty buttercups

A skyward view

 Lilac blossoms

 A gorgeous dandelion - common but beautiful

Pretty pink wildflowers

A dandelion seed puff

 Another wildflower

 A beautiful yellow flower

Makes me dream of summer

 Muster wildflowers

A woodsy view

Spring at Rice Greenhouses

This morning I visited Rice Greenhouses of Perkasie, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It is actually located in the Deep Run area of Bedminster Township. Two of my brothers own and run this business. The beauty of their plants delight me greatly. Below are a few photos from my visit there.

Hanging baskets - petunias and geraniums

 

A larger view inside one of their greenhouses

 More petunias

Delightful flowers

Up close

A hanging basket with a variety of flowers

Bright and sunny

More petunias

Trees at Spring Time

This past Saturday, my wife and I went for a hike at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, Montgomery County, PA. There were lots of beautiful wildflowers and birds that we saw. However this post will focus on the beauty of trees. But first a plaque about how the meaning of true love can be exemplified by trees.

The Giving Pond

About two weeks ago on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, I went for a couple hikes at The Giving Pond not far from the Uhlerstown, Pennsylvania/Frenchtown, New Jersey bridge that crosses the Delaware River. It was a beautiful warm sunny day with bright blue skies much of the time. The Giving Pond was at one time a stone quarry but was converted into a park. Below are some photos from those two hikes.

One section of The Giving Pond
Notice the bluffs in the upper right background

A swamp marigold blossom

A more direct view of the bluffs and tree line across the pond

Some beautiful birds

Willow trees starting to leaf out

 Another view of The Giving Pond

 I love the reflection of the Canadian Goose in the pond

 A great place to watch the skies, too

There are at least four logs with rows of turtles in this picture, maybe more.

A beautiful robin

A Hike in Central Perkiomen Valley Park

This morning I went for a hike in Central Perkomen Valley Park near Schwenksville, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The weather was gorgeous and so were the spring sights. Enjoy a bit of my hike as shown below:

 Pretty blue and yellow flowers

 Some beautiful purple flowers

 A gaggle of geese

 Beautiful ducks on the Perkiomen Creek

 More beautiful flowers

 Still more

 A large trunk that is mostly hollow inside

 Beautiful bluebells

 More pretty wildflowers

 Wild roses leafing out

 I almost missed this friendly snake

 Part of the path through the woods
with swamp marigolds lining it

 A turtle and its reflection

A small branch of a flowering tree