Bald Eagle State Park, Late August

This summer, my husband and I have challenged ourselves to swim as often as we can, in as many different swimming areas as we can. We've had a blast, and with about a month (or less, depending on the park) to go before the state park swimming areas close, we are still plotting and scheming as to where to go next! Time to seize the day!

Have I mentioned how absolutely perfect the weather has been? Heavy storms moved through on Thursday night and washed everything clean and sparkling. Since then, the weather has been delightful. Cool in the mornings - you can almost smell fall in the air - but sunny and warm in the afternoons. Absolutely wonderful weather.

And so on Saturday morning, amid bright sunshine, we headed to one of our favorite places to swim . . . Bald Eagle State Park. We swam as much as we liked, then dried ourselves off and changed clothes, and headed for the Hunter Run east launch area, shown in this photo.

It's very old-fashioned and quiet there. I walked around with my camera while my husband sat in the shade by the car reading a book. Such a peaceful scene. A few boaters were putting crafts into the water as we watched, but it wasn't crowded at all.

As I walked along the edge of the water, I heard and saw a pair of blue shapes whizzing through the air - kingfishers chasing each other, laughing their cackling laugh. And then I saw a larger shape in the sky - shades of cream and darker colors - and realized it was an osprey, perhaps the first one I've ever seen at this park! Kingfishers and ospreys are evidence of a healthy ecosystem. Hooray!

The song to accompany this scene of Bald Eagle State Park as summer begins to slide away is The Doors, with Summer's Almost Gone.

P.S. Here are two additional summer scenes from this same park:
Saturday in the Park
Boaters at Sayre Dam