No Fishing From Dock, Late Summer Edition

My husband and I have been trying to swim as often as possible as summer draws to an end. Like it or not, most of the local state parks close their swimming areas in early September. That's just too soon, as good swimming can often still be had well into October, if you don't mind it when the waters turn a bit nippy.

We had talked about taking the whole day off and driving somewhere further away to swim, but my work life has been rather busy with the recent start of fall semester. So we compromised. I worked at home in the morning, and around lunchtime, I called it quits. We grabbed a pair of Italian hoagies in Port Matilda, then headed for Black Moshannon State Park for a fine afternoon swim.

This was the first day of school for all of the local school districts, so the swimming area was entirely deserted. There were no cries of children, no shouts or games or whoops of laughter. It was like we had our own private swimming hole. It was a bit chilly but not nearly as cold as Greenwood Furnace. The water was dark brown with tannin, but my husband's theory was that the brown stuff was helping to keep us warm. (Yeah, right.)

We also stopped for a short hike at the wooden boardwalk on the bog trail along the West Side Road, which is one of my favorite parts of the park. I do love a good boardwalk, and it was easy walking. We saw pink water lilies, several sizes of dragonflies, and one red-spotted purple butterfly, but no birds to speak of.

The scene above is (you guessed it) a view from the dock by the boat launch area near the start of the boardwalk. There were many colorful canoes stored upside-down nearby. One couple arrived shortly after we did: she got in a canoe and took it for a spin, while he watched from the shore. I took the opportunity to look out over the lake and snap some photos.

The picture in the extras, I took from the viewing area near the end of the bog trail. Most times of the year, this area is just loaded with birds, but I'm not sure why it wasn't on this day. I've included this photo because I like the way that it resembles another rocky, high-altitude bog we love: Dolly Sods, in the mountains of eastern West Virginia (located about two hours southeast of WVU, where my husband went to grad school).

The song to accompany this dock scene with its no fishing warning has to be a song about fishing or fishermen. So here is a favorite from my childhood. This version is performed by Alison Krauss and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Catfish John.

P.S. Here is a link to another No Fishing From Dock scene at Black Moshannon. Same lake, different dock, different season (autumn, this time).