Spring Comes to the Duck Pond

In this photo: spring arrives at the duck pond, just as winter is making its exit . . . sort of, more or less, or then again . . . maybe not. :-)

It is springtime in Pennsylvania, which means that one day feels like spring and the next day feels like winter. Or maybe it's the other way around. Hmm. Whatever the case, we're getting an interesting mix of weather, which is typical this time of year.

This was the first day that I saw forsythia in bloom; there it was, all golden yellow, reflected on the duck pond on the Penn State University Park campus. A few ducks were hanging out on the pond, but I didn't see any tiny ducklings yet. If you look closely, a mallard (see the blue stripes on the wings?) is coming in for a landing in the lower left quadrant.

Don't let the springlike looks of this scene, which was taken quite early in the morning, fool you. A winter storm was forecast for this day, and in fact, in this photo (though you probably can't see them), the first few snowflakes have just started to fall.

The day would eventually bring alternating bands of rain and snow. And the snow was heavy and wet and impressive when it fell; big, fat, fluffy flakes, possibly some of the biggest I've seen all winter. If it had kept up like that all day and the temperatures been a bit colder, we'd have had quite a blizzard on our hands.

However, the snow didn't amount to much in most places, and melted quickly, especially once the rain fell on it. But a few areas locally received more significant snowfalls. A friend who lives near the scene depicted in Sunday's blue-sky bridge scene reported receiving seven inches of snow!

In any case, welcome to springtime in Pennsylvania, more or less . . .  :-)

One of the things that makes me happiest about the arrival of spring is the thawing of all of the local bodies of water so that I may pursue my passion of photographing reflections. One of my favorite George Winston albums is called Winter Into Spring, and so I've picked a song from it called Reflection to accompany this image. If you enjoy the song, you may want to hear more; if you do, the whole album is available online.

P.S. For those who enjoyed this photo and have asked about the building in this scene, it is the University House on campus, where PSU presidents used to live. The building is currently part of the alumni center with its surrounding gardens. I'm including a link to a summer shot of the duck pond that is very similar to this one (but greener, of course), and a link to a shot of the gardens after rain, where you may read more about the history of University House.