I am spending winter with my daughter and her family in the USA state of Delaware. Their house is only about a mile from the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. I like to ride mt bicycle on bike paths, so I made an effort to get out and explore the area using my Google Maps. As it turned out, there is a very nice path alongside the canal . . . and a nice road through an Autumn forest to get there.
Old flood control structures near the canal.
The path begins at a parking area next to a stream as it enters the canal.
A very nice paved bike path runs alongside the canal.
It was a clear and crisp autumn day. The Autumn colors were almost gone in some places.
A big winter storm came through Delaware a few days earlier and blew most of the colored leaves off the trees.
There is a bike path, and above it, an access/service road.
Ah! Autumn. I have seen the Fall from across the USA: from the High Sierra of California, through Utah and Colorado, to Texans and now into the Northeast.
A beautiful Autumn day.
I miss these kinds of woods after so many years living in the tropics.
Such clear air and perfect light . . . these kinds of scenes can be very difficult to photograph.
My first gimps of the Summit Bridge over the canal.
I took the opportunity of the railings on this old pier to take a few self portraits. Cold to the bone.
Such a photogenic scene.
I had fun composing various shots and angles.
The sun came out from behind the high clouds at exactly the right moment.
Standing water allowed a nice reflection.
It is a strange experience standing under such a huge man-made structure while out in a natural setting. Like some other, and very large, creature has been here and built the thing.
The bridge supports seemed too small . . . .
I will come back tomorrow with my bike and explore further up the path.
Surreal bridge rising above such a beautiful Autumn forest.
Directly under the bridge . . . I could hear the amplified noises of the cars and trucks speeding overhead. I turned around at this point and walked back into the sun.
Such a marvelous spot.
The underbrush was very dense in some places.
Plants employ different strategies for survival. These little green mosses are taking advantage of the lack of tree shade for a quick growth spurt before the frigid winter arrives.
I cannot imagine these lush plants lasting the winter . . . but they are thriving now.
Cut and bucked . . . but left behind.
The 'magic hour' arrived . . . lovely honey colored light makes everything beautiful.
A few boats made their way back along the canal to their moorings.
The canal was built in 1839 as a short-cut between the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays to shorten the time for ships and barges between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. However, it is also used by pleasure craft and small fishing boats as well.
The last of the red berries . . .
The Autumn forest . . . .
Nearing my camper the sky and trees stood out more sharply from each other.
An Autumn hillside in late afternoon.
Yummie color!
That sky!
Autumn leaves . . . under water.
I love these winter green mosses.
Autumn trees and sky.
Such a fine Autumn day.
An old pier along the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.
The old truck and camper have served me well.
Dr. Jeff Harper
