View from the Dock, Bald Eagle State Park

The storms that hit late Wednesday afternoon moved through and ushered in another few days of truly gorgeous summer weather. The nights and mornings were chilly, the afternoons warm and full of sunshine. Just a spectacular couple of days. We all walked around grinning: it was good to be alive!

My husband and I seized the opportunity to take Friday as a vacation day and head outdoors. In the morning, we went hiking at Fisherman's Paradise. In the afternoon, we headed for Bald Eagle State Park, where we visited one of the older parts of the park. A pair of fishing docks just beyond the Nature Inn provide access to boaters and fishermen. And a great vantage point for photographers!

As we got there, I leaped out of the car to take pictures down by the water, startling a huge heron. The bird folded itself into an awkward shape and flew away - fwoop! fwoop! fwoop! - looking for all the world like a fake origami bird. Could anything that odd looking actually . . . fly? But it did; quite expeditiously, in fact, winging its way out of view in short order. Just time for a few quick, distant snaps.

The parking lot is very old, just gravel lined with green trees, with an ancient cement stairwell running down the middle. We parked my car near the rustic stairwell, then sat in our chairs in the shade and read our books, working up to a swim, sharing sips of sweet tea out of a large McDonald's cup. A chipmunk ran right over to us, climbed the stairs, and surveyed us from the top step. (A spy?)

I got up and went over to the docks to take a few photos. The one deck is made of some kind of more modern material, but this one was made of wood. I walked out onto the dock, feeling it sway beneath my tread, and took a bunch of pictures. I liked the view enough to take this shot using a number of different camera settings. The setting used for this particular one was posterized, which does some interesting things to shades of blue and green.

The song I've chosen to accompany this photo is the incomparable Linda Ronstadt, singing Blue Bayou. This is the original 1977 recording. Enjoy!