by hankinslawrenceimages | Sep 24, 2009 | Photo Locations
A few weeks ago, I posted some photos of two of the waterfalls (Deer Leap Falls and Fulmer Falls) Bill and I photographed in the Delaware Water Gap. Factory Falls is the third waterfall in the George W Childs Recreation Site of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. It is also my favorite of the three.
My first view of Factory Falls was part of the lower falls and the section of Dingman’s Creek between Factory Falls and Fulmer Falls. It was an overcast misty morning when we visited Factory Falls – perfect conditions for photographing a waterfall.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
As I climbed around the bank of the creek – I suddenly had a view of both the upper and lower falls. Wow!
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
Having spotted the upper falls – I headed up the trail and out onto the rocks to get a better view. It’s a short walk past the ruins of an old factory to get to the upper falls.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
As I explored the rocks around the upper falls – I took one last set of photos of the falls – with the water heading over Factory Falls and down Dingman’s Creek.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
We had a wonderful time photographing the waterfalls in the Delaware Water Gap. It’s only five hours from the Washington DC area – so I’m sure we’ll head back in the future for some more photographing. Perhaps even this fall – I suspect the area is wonderful when the leaves have changed color. 🙂
by hankinslawrenceimages | Sep 17, 2009 | Photo Locations
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
I spent a wonderful day yesterday at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. I’ve visited Longwood several times this year – and each time, I discover something new and wonderful. On this trip – much to my surprise and delight, I discovered the Longwood Gardens Garden Railway Exhibit. The Longwood staff has created a wonderful model train display. Four different trains run through a landscape that includes bridges, waterfalls, trestles, and of course, wonderful flowers.
Here are a few of my photos of the Garden Railway.
One of the trains coming round the bend towards the railway sign.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
Heading under the grass and onto one of the bridges
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
Thomas the Tank Engine among the mums
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
Trains traveling through the landscape. You can see three sets of tracks at different levels – each has it’s own train.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
The train on the highest level making a turn.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
The Longwood Garden Railway is located near the perennial section of the Idea Gardens. It will be on display until just before Thanksgiving.
If you visit Longwood Gardens between now and Thanksgiving – be sure to stop and check out the trains. And if you have a model fan in your family – this display is well worth visiting.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Sep 10, 2009 | Flowers, Wildflowers
I was doing some cleaning up in my office this week and discovered just how many wildflower related books I’ve collected in the past few years. Since I live on the east coast and do most of my photography here, my collection covers flowers in this area. Here are some of the general wildflower books and book covering the Washington DC area, New England and Florida wildflowers. I’ll have another post later in the week with my Southern Appalachian wildflower books.
Purple Coneflower (c) 2008 Patty Hankins
General Wildflower Identification Guides
Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb. This is a classic guide to wildflower identification. By answering five questions about any flower, I can usually identify it pretty easily using my Newcomb’s Guide.
Wildflowers in Color by Arthur Stupka. Nice general guide with photos. It was the first one I found that was organized by color of the flower which makes it very useful when you are just starting out.
Wildflowers in the Field and Forest by Steven Clemants and Carol Gracie. Covers the Northeastern United States – from New England to Maryland to Illinois. Well organized, shows the geographic range for the wildflowers.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers by Gil Nelson. Covers the coastal regions of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Northeastern Florida. Great specialized guide since many coastal wildflowers are different from the mountain wildflowers.
Bluebells by a Log (c) 2009 Patty Hankins
Washington DC Area
Finding Wildflowers in the Washington-Baltimore Area by Cristol Fleming, Marion Blois Lobstein and Barbara Tufty. Great book if you live in the DC area – organized by county, the book describes what flower you are likely to find at various times of the year in the area.
An Illustrated Guide to Eastern Woodland Wildflowers & Trees: 350 Plants Observed at Sugarloaf Mountain, Maryland by Melanie Choukas-Bradley. Fantastic book for those of us in the DC area – a great guide to a local spot with wonderful wildflowers.
Blue Flag Iris (c) 2009 Patty Hankins
Florida
Everglades Wildflowers by Roger L Hammer. Great guide to wildflowers of the Everglades and other south Florida wilderness areas including Big Cypress and Corkscrew Swamps. Organized by color of the flowers, this one was very helpful for identifying some of the native orchids I saw earlier this year.
Florida Wildflowers in Their Natural Communities by Walter Kingsley Taylor. Wildflowers in this book are grouped by their natural Florida habitats, which is very helpful when photographing several wildflowers growing in close proximity. Each description lists which counties in Florida the wildflower can be found in.
Bird’s-Foot Trefoil (c) 2009 Patty Hankins
New England
Wildflowers of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont by Alan E Bessette, Arleen Rainis Bessette, William K. Chapman and Valerie Conley Chapman. Organized by color of the flowers, this one was invaluble on my recent trip to Maine. The northern wildflowers are different enough from the ones that I find in the Washington DC area and further south, that if I hadn’t had this book with me, I still might not have identified some of the flowers I photographed.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Sep 6, 2009 | Flowers, Wildflowers
Just as I was finishing photographing the nightshade at Acadia National Park a few weeks ago, I realized there was another wildflower nearby – with bright yellow flowers. It turned out to be Bird’s Foot Trefoil – lotus corniculata. I photographed it on the rocky shore across from the Seawall Campground on route 102A near Bass Harbor.
Bird’s Foot Trefoil (c) 2009 Patty Hankins
Native to Europe, Bird’s Foot Trefoil is an invasive species found throughout much of the U.S. When it gets established, it can choke out native plants. Apparently over the years, states have planted Bird’s-foot trefoil along highways to prevent the growth of other weeds and grasses. (info from Wildflowerinformation.org)
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
What I liked about the Bird’s-Foot Trefoil is the shape of the bright yellow flowers – with the red lines defining some of parts of the flower.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
If you’d like to learn more about invasive species – be sure to check out John Peter Thompson’s Invasive Notes blog – his posts are always thought-provoking.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Sep 3, 2009 | Photo Locations
The second set of falls that Bill and I photographed on our recent trip to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area was Deer Leap Falls. Like Fulmer Falls, Deer Leap Falls is located in the George W. Childs Recreation Site. It is the third set of falls on this section of Dingman’s Creek.
Deer Leap Falls is wonderfall – the creek passes through an opening in the rocks into a dramatic drop into a pool of water.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
One of the fascinating aspects of Deer Leap Falls is watching the power of the water as is passes through the gap at the top of the falls. Imagine the force and time it has taken for the water to carve this path through the rocks.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
Just a little ways off from Deer Leap Falls and Dingman’s Creek is a little stream running through the woods and over the rocks. The stream really reminded me of some of the streams I’ve photographed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park – green leaves, gray rocks and powerful water.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
I’m hoping to make at least one more trip to the Delaware Water Gap later in the next few months – I’d love to see the area filled with the colors of fall – and with the ice and snow of winter.
