Day 221 - The Beautiful Monocacy River

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Carpets of Lesser Celandines on River

Today I walked along one of Frederick's best kept secrets, Rivermist Park.  Luckily, someone on the Facebook page of the Frederick Camera Clique posted a location for finding bluebells, and that is where I headed this morning.

Bluebells Head On

I tell you, I have been in some local landscapes that leave me awestruck, and today was one of the best.  At first, the paved path along the river does not hold much promise for spectacular scenery, but the farther along one walks, the better it gets.  The path follows the Monocacy River, and soon you find yourself surrounded by carpets of lesser celandines (little yellow flowers related to a ranunculus), clumps of spring beauty (little white flowers), spreads of speedwell (tiny blue flowers), and poking up here are there are Dutchman's Breeches (white, like little upside down pants), trout lilies (yellow) and occasionally even a dandelion.  But the flowers that also compete for the most attention are the masses of Virginia Bluebells.  (Here is the site I used to help me identify a lot of the flowers:  http://dpughphoto.com/plants_color.htm)

Bluebells on the Side

Dutchman's Breeches

The paved path eventually crosses a bridge with wooden handrails, and if you take the unpaved path down to the right, you will come to a set of rough steps and a wooden crosswalk that will take you over to the "island" that you have been walking parallel to along the path.  Go either right or left along the path, because it will circle around the entire island, and you will eventually end up back at the wooden crosswalk.

It is on the island that the paths are surrounded by carpets of yellow and blue.  It is just an amazing landscape.  Of course, evidence is everywhere of flood damage, but this is a landscape that is used to flooding and survives.

Spring Beauty

Path through flowers

There were a few people enjoying the paths this morning, but for the most part, I was completely alone in this beautiful place.

If you go among the wildflowers, take a kneeling pad of the type used in gardening, so you can easily get down low with the flowers.  Watch where you step, though, for new plants are emerging everywhere, and you want to leave this environment as beautiful as you found it.

This walk is going down as one of my best.  I could have spent all day there.  I loved the scenery when I was out West, but the scenes I saw today have me falling in love all over again with springtime in Maryland.

Trout Lily

A little of everything

(If you want to go on this walk, too, go soon.  Park at the soccer field parking lot to the left of the Rt. 26/Monocacy Boulevard Wal-mart.  Go under the bridge, following the paved paths.  Continue as I described above.  If you bring bikes, you could even take them over onto the island, but the trails are best suited for a mountain bike or a hybrid.  Please stick to the well-trod paths.)

Bluebells with Tree Trunk

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Visit my photography show, "My Maryland," at the public library in Urbana, Maryland, on the lower level of the building.  It is there until the end of April.

Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots
Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

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 whatever camera is easy and convenient for walking comfortably; always have a backup camera at the ready in case of mishaps (I use the Nikon Coolpix P7700)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so