Day 28 - Lilypons

On this last day of September, I went to Lily Pons, a water gardening grower/retailer near Frederick in Adamstown.  Lily Pons is a beautiful property consisting of 250 acres, one side of which borders the Monocacy River.  It is full of ponds choked with water lilies, lotus, and other aquatic plants.  There are open ponds with little islands, and right in the property is a pink house-turned-shop that sells pond supplies and pond fish.  There is also a large koi pond on the grounds, with some fish up to two feet long.

When you walk at Lilypons, you can choose gravel roads, mowed lawns, weed-filled rutted lanes, or wooded areas for your walking pleasure.  If you worry about twisting an ankle or a knee, stick to the mowed lawns and gravel roads, because the holes and ruts are sometimes overgrown with weeds, hiding what lurks below.

During my visit today, there was a group with "dock dogs" training them to fetch objects thrown into the water off a runway/platform.  Barking dogs were lined up with their owners, enjoying the beautiful day and the excitement of being next to plunge into the water.


I tried to do some video with my camera, and I clearly need to practice that.  I had my sunglasses on, making it hard to see the icons on the LCD screen, so I did not even know when it was recording.  I ended up with a couple of videos of grass, but the sound quality was good on the short clips I did manage to get. I will make that something to practice so that I can include a video clip one of these days.

A few water lilies were still in bloom in the ponds, but the lotus were finished and their huge dinner-plate leaves were drying along side the seed pods.  Insects and animals were evident everywhere.  I saw muskrat, frogs, birds, turtles, gnats, and butterflies today.  On previous visits I have seen great blue herons, white egrets, turkey vultures, snapping turtles, and even a fox. 

Lily Pons is a great place to visit in all seasons, and their property is accessible even when they are closed (you can hop the fence). 

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so

Day 27 - Worthington Farm

Farmland scenery along the gravel lane.

The gravel lane to Worthington.

This area is surrounded by beautiful farmlands and historic sites, so today I took my walk at Worthington Farm, which is part of the Monocacy National Battlefield.

You have a choice of driving up to the brick farmhouse or parking at the end of the mile long gravel lane leading up to the farm.  I chose to walk the long gravel lane today.  It borders I-270, which is buffered by trees, but still you can hear the roar of the high speed traffic as you walk down this otherwise quiet country lane.

The farmhouse at Worthington.

Once I got to the farmhouse, I walked to the right along the cow pastures and then onto the Ford Trail, which loops down by the Monocacy River.  However, after following it for about a mile, walking alone without my cell phone, and not knowing at the time that it did loop, I turned around and came back. 







The trail was rutted with roots, and the thought occurred to me that if I turned my ankle, it was foolish to be out on the trail without any means of getting help, so I erred on the side of caution.  I will make a conscious effort not to forget my phone on future walks, especially these isolated kinds.

A heart shaped hole in a tree.

Cannon by the farmhouse.

At the farmhouse, a photographer was taking engagement pictures of a couple on the front porch.  I took a few pictures around the yard of the house and then began the long walk back to my car. 



Along the way, I spied a field with 11 deer grazing.  They bounded into the woods as I got near, flipping their white tails in retreat.

 Altogether, I walked about four miles today, which took an hour.  I will return to the farm another time, with cell phone, and take the other trail that I did not venture onto today.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so

Day 26 - East Street in Frederick

My walk today was along East Street along the edge of downtown Frederick, MD.  There does not seem to be a West Street, but East Street is long and down the center of it are the remains of old trolley tracks.  I parked in a trendy little shopping area called Shab Row and then walked north on East Street, passing a bakery, a railroad museum, car repair shops, a welding company, and other businesses.

The farther north I went, the more "industrial" the area got, with remnants of old factories and warehouses that now house antiques shops and one business that specializes in custom countertops.  A new restaurant by Bryan Voltaggio of Top Chef fame has opened in a former car dealership.  Farther down East Street I found a shopping center with a bead shop, a Family Dollar store, an insurance business, and more.

I crossed the street and came back down the other side of East Street, passing a laundromat, a hobby store, a Chinese restaurant, and an antiques dealer called Great Stuff by Paul.  

I passed a 7 ft. high rock wall that enclosed a cemetery, so I thought that would be a good place to try out the flip screen on my camera.  I placed the camera on top of the foot thick wall, with the screen angled down so that I could see it.  The camera wanted to focus on the top of the wall that it was sitting on, so I set the camera for manual focus and using the view in the flipped down screen, pressed the multifunction dial until the graves in the distance came into focus.  Mind you, this is all accomplished with me standing on my tiptoes, holding the camera on the top of the wall high above my head.  I pressed the shutter and hoped that the shot was successful.  I think it was.  This technique could be useful for spying over fences and around corners, I suppose.

I finished my 45 minute walk with ice cream at a shop in Shab Row.

This fading trumpet flower looked like it was made out of fabric.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.
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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so

Day 25 - Jefferson, MD

Today I needed to make a delivery near Jefferson, Maryland, so that is where I did my walk.  I parked at a bank at one end of town and walked to the other end and back, wandering through one graveyard along the way.

Because it was an overcast day with flat light, I decided to shoot with the monochrome setting on my camera.  When you know that the only thing you can get from your camera is black and white, at least when using this setting, you look at your subject matter differently.  Architecture is a natural, and scenes like colorful fall mums are not good for monochrome.

I liked the symmetry on this structure.

The little town has at least three churches and a few businesses, including a bake shop where I purchased some "Harvest Brittle."  I munched on that on my way way to the post office at the end of town, where I mailed a package I had waiting in my pack.

Outside the post office was one of the best views in town, I think.  I tried a panoramic shot, handheld, which turned out well once I got home to merge the photos.

I probably will not use the monochrome setting anymore.  I can always turn a color photo into black and white.  Besides, the setting added a very grainy look to the black and white, which I was not too fond of.  I would rather make added grain an option in the editing process.

When limbs grow around the wires, cut the tree and leave little logs behind.

I started carrying around a card to give out on my walks, explaining why I am walking around neighborhoods with my camera. 

On it I listed my start date, September 3, and my goals:  to get daily exercise, to explore my surroundings, and to post the photo on a blog about the experience, hoping to inspire others.  I also listed my blog address and my website address. 

So far, I have given out four of the cards.  And the "inspire" part of the goal might be working, because today, after only 25 days, page views have topped 1000 and I got a reply to the tweets I have been sending to Nikon.  

I know it is still early days, but I am loving this daily photo walk.  If you have a place you would like for me to include in my travels, please let me know, and I'll add it to my list of places to go.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.
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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so

Day 24 - Washington Grove

Today I needed to make a trip to Gaithersburg to visit my mother.  She lives near a unique community called Washington Grove.  After I got done fixing her email problem, which was a high priority, I took an hour long walk in The Grove.

Washington Grove is one of the stops on the MARC train that goes into Washington, D.C.  It was established back in August of 1873.  The B&O Railroad had recently completed a line from Washington to Gaithersburg, and it was there that a group of Methodists formed the Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association and held a tent revival.  The railroad offered discounts to the Methodists attending the camp, as a way to increase business on the new line.  

Read more about the the fascinating history of this small town within Gaithersburg, as it evolved from a tent camp to an artists community to the tiny, quaint town listed on the National Historic Register that it is today:  History

I walked into Washington Grove, after crossing the railroad tracks, and began to follow the paved roads.  But I soon realized that the paved roads line the backsides of the houses.  They are the avenues to the parking places and recycling bins of Washington Grove.  The quaint houses that evolved from the original tent encampment face the unpaved walkways, either grass or gravel lanes.  

Gable Detail

There is a sizable park within this "town," which is devoid of any commercial business.  Except for Center Street, which obviously runs through the center of the town, streets are named for trees like "Grove" and "Maple" and "Cherry" and "Chestnut."  There is a mixture of house styles today, because I am sure that many of the original old Victorian cottages have been lost over time, and newer homes have been built in their stead.  However, the charm abounds on the grass lined lanes, and I can think of no better place to walk again when I next visit my mother.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.
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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so

Day 23 - Greenview

Because I have a really full day planned, I decided to do the first post about a walk in my neighborhood, which is formally known as "Signature Club at Greenview."  

It is a beautiful Ryan Homes community in New Market, MD, for residents 55 and older.  Even though some may confuse this kind of community with a retirement community, and even my daughters jokingly refer to this neighborhood as "the old folks home," the truth is that we are all so busy with working, volunteering, traveling, socializing, exercising, etc., that the times we usually see our neighbors is when they are coming or going.  My own daughters realized early on that if they wanted to spend time with me, they needed to get it on my calendar.  I think that is true with the majority of the residents here.

The street I live on borders a farm, and there are often spectacular morning sunrises with fabulous mists in the low-lying parts.  I'll get up really early one morning for my walk and take some of those pix.

There is a lot of construction going in here in the neighborhood.  New homes are selling quickly here, and even ones that are for resale generally don't stay on the market for very long.

Signs of fall are everywhere.  

This morning was the kind of morning that you start out with a sweatshirt and a scarf at the beginning of your walk, but by the end of it, both scarf and sweatshirt are tied around your waist.

Now I'm off to the rest of my busy day!

Click on any photo to enlarge it.
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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so

Day 22 - Hood College

After my meeting at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center this afternoon, I drove to Hood College, located right here in Frederick, MD.  I parked a few blocks from campus, then walked down Dill Avenue to find it.

It's funny, but I have lived here for two years, and as a resident who even reads the local paper, I find that Hood is a very quiet part of the community.  I lived near Salisbury University for 40 years, and I am even an alumni of Salisbury; over the years, Salisbury University and the community have at times been at odds, usually over parking, noise, and loud parties.  But here in Frederick, I hear and read very little about Hood College, which obviously keeps a low profile for most area residents.

Of course, Hood College is about one third the size of Salisbury, and until 2003, only women were living on campus.  It has been co-ed since 1971, but only to commuting men.  They were not allowed to live on campus until nine years ago.

Hood College was established in 1893 as a girl's school in a couple of still occupied buildings in downtown Frederick.  One now houses a church, and the other houses various Frederick County government offices.  Later it moved to the edge of town, and the campus has now blended into the 

fine surrounding neighborhoods.

Hood has a very classical look, with red brick buildings with white trim and white fluted columns.  I only saw a dozen students while doing my walk around 2:30 in the afternoon.  They must have all been in class.

After I left campus, I walked through some beautiful, well established neighborhoods along W. College Avenue.  They had well-tended lawns, mature trees, and manicured flower beds.

Hood College is an important part of Frederick's past and obviously its future.

 

Click on any photo to enlarge it.
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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so

Day 21 - Buckeystown, MD

Today I had every intention of doing my walk at Chartreuse, a shabby chic sort of barn/marketplace near Buckeystown.  However, there was not much walking opportunity except just around the barn, so I went a little farther into the little unincorporated town of Buckeystown.

One of the historic homes

There is not much online about the history of this little place, but when you walk along Rt. 85, its main road, you discover small historical markers along the way.  

Sidewalks

Like many of the small towns I walk in, the sidewalks are either crumbling, cracked and heaved by time and tree roots, or are non-existent.  I had a discussion with a resident who was having a yard sale about the condition/lack of sidewalks, and he said that there is a desire among the residents to improve the situation, and that they even had plans drawn up, but because the town is unincorporated, the expense would fall to the property owners themselves, and they can't afford the expense.  

Alexander's Restaurant

The town sprang up around a tannery established in 1775 by the Buckey brothers.  They used the bark from the hardwood forests for the tannins and the fresh water from a natural spring.  Later, a brickyard was established, and some of the old sidewalk portions and a few of the brick homes were made from the local bricks.

The Antiques Shop

There is not too much of a commercial center to this place, but there are at least two places to eat, an antiques shop, a place that makes and sells mulch, and a woodstove shop.  There is also a bed and breakfast.  

This place had an 1884 plaque on it.  I missed seeing it the first time I walked by on the other side of the street.  It is completely covered by vines.  Note the angled upper story, which I included so you could see that it really is larger than just the gabled front door.

 

 

I walked up one side of the street and back down the other, avoiding traffic where there were no sidewalks.  There were some homes that were big and beautiful and clearly historic, and others that were in need of or that were undergoing renovation.  However, the country views behind the homes on either side of the road were expansive vistas of farmland and rolling hills that were a pleasure to see.

Note:  Click on any photo above to enlarge. 
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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so

Day 20 - Brunswick, Maryland

This afternoon I decided to do my walk in Brunswick, another historic railroad town.  This town, however, still has a very active railroad, and it is a major stop on the Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) system.  In 1907, it was the largest and most active railyard of its kind in the world.

Brunswick also lies along the C&O canal and the towpath that parallels the Potomac River from Cumberland, Maryland, to the Washington, DC, boundary.  My previous trips to Brunswick have involved taking the bike on the back of the car and then cycling north along the towpath to Harper's Ferry, WV, which is 6 miles away.  Today, however, I decided to walk the streets of Brunswick while they were having a "Wine and Chocolate Walk."

I parked several blocks away from downtown, to be sure to extend my walk, then I went into town and got my ticket and wine glass for the event.  All in all, there were about 12 stops along the route, in and out of local businesses, who were featuring Maryland wines. 

In one of the shops, Two Rivers Yarns, I had a nice discussion with the owner, and she is taking me up on my offer to teach a class on a knitting technique called "entrelac."  Now that the weather is getting cooler, I am itching to start knitting again.  And no, that is not a wool joke.

These guys were just too cute not to get their photos!

I ended my walk with a mid-afternoon salad at Beans in the Belfry, a cafe in an old church.  They were slammed with business, because many of the wine walkers today were looking for a meal, as well, and there were not many options available before 4 p.m.  A final trek to the car, all the way uphill, put the cap on another great photo walk!

This pooch wanted in on the action!

I put the camera down between the tracks.

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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so