Bridge Across the Big Spring Run, Talleyrand Park

Thursday of last week, my husband and I took the afternoon off and had an outdoor adventure. On our way home from our jaunts, we came through the charming little Victorian town of Bellefonte.

As we passed Talleyrand Park, the late afternoon light was shining through the pale yellow-green weeping willows, daffodils were blooming everywhere, and countless ducks were hanging out on the spillway that leads to the Big Spring.

It looked so lovely and inviting, but we were tired and hungry and headed for home, so we did not stop. But I resolved to come back another day with my camera before the spring greens had faded.

Monday afternoon, it was sunny and breezy, and I decided to make the short trek to Bellefonte after work to capture some photos. I walked all around Talleyrand Park (the park is named after a French diplomat who christened the town for its big spring - "la belle fonte").

I walked along the grassy path, through a tiny sculpture garden, past the historic Match Factory, and across a railroad bridge (see that crooked bare tree at the center right of this photo? - the Match Factory and railroad bridge are just out of sight behind this tree).

Backlit by the late afternoon sun, the buds on the weeping willows hung like green lace curtains. Sunlight danced and sparkled on the water like diamonds.

Ducks aplenty were playing on the water and extorting snacks from visitors. I checked out the historic railroad cars, admired the lovely white gazebo (just out of sight and to the right of the bridge in this photo), and walked across this bridge. (Yes, the bridge swings and sways a bit when you walk across it.)

The water from the Big Spring - fresh and cold and clean - is used as drinking water for the town of Bellefonte. The water flows directly out of the ground from just to the left of this photo, at a rate of 11 million gallons per day.

In an interesting twist, the source of the ground water that flows from the Big Spring is the Scotia Barrens, very near my home, 15 to 20 miles away.