The tradition continues- a trip to the Lower Susquehanna around Labor Day. The summers end nears and in the woods  the seasonal fragrance of ripening Paw-Paw fruits envelops our sense of place and time.
The River is bluer than the sky in the late afternoon but as the evening encroaches, the sky becomes the bluest. We timed our six mile hike for when the day is mature and gentle, the light is crisp and when there is an occasional breeze.
We watched a Bald Eagle fishing in the distance. Â We saw a Blue Heron skimming the water as well. Â lots of wild Ginger on the forest floor along with Sycamore and Silver Maple.
Phlox
I-95 off in the distance. We drove over this on the way here and back from Philly.
Lobelia cardinalis
The leaves of the Paw-Paw tree
There is an old barn on the way to the park that for years has been deteriorating, bit by bit. Sagging, it caught our attention. “so sad”  The roofline bowed worse and worse as the decade wore on. “perhaps it could be pulled together with a winch and held in place with  turnbuckles and steel rods?”  ” ooh its about to collapse”  Sorry no pictures but it collapsed, half of it pancaked on the ground over its contents of old tires, the other half still upright. ” all of the pieces could be numbered carefully and it could be dismantled and rebuilt replacing any broken ones”
The Susquehanna River.
Paw- Paw with Asarum canadense, Wild Ginger