A fallen tree forms a bridge before its decay into a nursing log.
With the performance of routine vegetation management to ensure continuous electric service, power lines appeared outstretched like strings on a marionette.
Cattails go to seed at Peaceful Pond.
Andrew Shukovsky ’15 balances along the tracks.
A photo composition on decomposition.
Preparations for pizza, with dough made from scratch, are underway.
Violets and moss thrive against the heat sink of an adjacent rock.
A rusted railroad spike lies askew along the railroad ties.
A curious arrangement of hanging flowers and stalwart leaves.
Sadness after a marshmallow intended for a s’more burst into flames.
Exposure adjusted to peer deeper into the tunnel, desaturating the image.
Lebia viridis, the metallic blue-green leaf beetle.
The hollowed trunk makes a perfect dwelling for many woodland creatures.
Water crashes over corroding industrial debris.
White-petaled flowers sprinkled along the Ole Ranger Trail.
Gary Fenstamaker ’13 shields his eyes from the sun while shooting a structure against the light.
Kathy Thornton ’13 scampers across the fallen trunk.
Flowers from the paw paw tree, which produces large edible fruits in autumn.
A striking inflorescence with Patapsco River in the background.
Most s’mores turned out successfully, and some featured the culinary extravagance of banana.
Kathy Thornton ’13 is happy to spend time in the woods.
The first pizza of the evening.
Poisonous when raw but edible when cooked, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, or bog onion, grows from an underground plant stem and has a hooded flower.
The sunlight the powers the energy conveyor belt between all organisms saturates the pond water with reflective dazzle.
A coiled vine has permanently ensnared its climbing post.
The submerged rock teems with aquatic microfauna.
A kettle of water heats up for coffee.
The first spring leaves of a tulip poplar.
The reflection of the canopy in the pond hints at subterranean life.
Kathy Thornton ’13 gets low to shoot turbulence in the river.
Gary Fenstamaker ’13 and Kathy Thornton ’13 discuss which fork in the trail to follow.
After dinner, the group plays Settlers of Catan by lamplight – a game that mimics participation in an extractive economy.
The fiddlehead of an ostrich fern – a rare spring treat for foragers.
Gary Fenstamaker ’13 ignites a campfire using flint and steel.
From certain vantages the river appears as it might have centuries ago.
A mourning dove serenaded the hikers below.
Vines clamber up a trunk.
Gary Fenstamaker ’13 shoots a tree while Kathy Thornton ’13 nabs a shot of the photographer in action.
A tiny butterfly resting along the trail.
Ready to hike the Ole Ranger Trail!
The group pauses by the Patapsco River after completing a steep descent.
Eddie Hicks, Amanda Anastasia ’13, Gary Fenstamaker ’13, Kathy Thornton ’13, and Andrew Shukovsky ’15 get ready to explore the train tunnel.
A hammock makes a fantastic addition to any campsite.
Looking up at a tulip poplar, at least fifty feet tall.
The group in eerie silhoette ventures into the darkness.
Dimly lit tracks lose their color in the dark of the tunnel.
A perfect demonstration of linear perspective.
Amanda Anastasia ’13 fills her water bottle from a powerful fountain.
Exterior tunnel view.
Violets are an edible spring treat for foragers.
Goose at Peaceful Pond.
Kathy Thornton ’13, Andrew Shukovsky ’15, Gary Fenstamaker ’13, Amanda Anastasia ’13, Eddie Hicks, and Shane Brill ’03 take a group photo at Peaceful Pond.
American beech leaves have yet to take on the darker green hues of summer.
Intertwined growth shows competition for light among plants.
SEA co-presidents Kathy Thornton ’13 and Amanda Anastasia ’13 study the lifeforms on a small river rock.