“Some believe that art is the imitation of nature; in fact, nature is so sublime that it cannot be imitated.”
~ Kahlil Gibran
~ 1883 ~ 1931
It’s a wisp of nature on a beautiful early July afternoon along the banks of the Monocacy Creek as a bee is nectaring on the summer sweetness of a purple coneflower, sharing the petals with a ladybug at Monocacy Park, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
~ Charles M. Schwab
~ 1862 ~ 1939
~ American steel magnate, President & Chairman of Bethlehem Steel ~ under his leadership, Bethlehem Steel became the second-largest steel maker in the United States, and one of the most important heavy manufacturers in the world.
The iconic rusted blast furnaces of the former Bethlehem Steel in Southside Bethlehem, Pennsylvania stand tall along the Lehigh River, framed by the green leaves of spring against a steel blue sky, on a gorgeous early May afternoon along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).
I captured this scene after setting out from the D&L Trailhead at Sand Island, Bethlehem.
Bethlehem Steel was an American steel and shipbuilding company that began operations in 1904 and was America’s second-largest steel producer and largest shipbuilder. The company’s roots trace to 1857 with the establishment of the Bethlehem Iron Company. Bethlehem Steel stopped producing steel in November 1995, and the company was dissolved in 2003. It was one of the world’s leading steel manufacturers for most of the 20th century.
Much of the former home plant of Bethlehem Steel, the second largest steel manufacturer in the nation, has been transformed into SteelStacks, a ten-acre campus dedicated to arts, culture, family events, community celebrations, education and fun. SteelStacks has indoor and outdoor venues, hosting festivals, concerts and community events.
Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.
Steel blue is a shade of blue color that resembles blue steel, i.e. steel which has been subjected to bluing for protection from rust. The first recorded use of steel blue as a color name in English was in 1817.
“Kindness is like snow ~ it beautifies everything it covers.”
~ Kahlil Gibran
~ 1883 ~ 1931
The cold winter waters of the Monocacy Creek spill over Monocacy Falls in a cascading dance before the waters ramble past the snowy banks through Monocacy Park, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on a beautiful February afternoon, three days after the region was blanketed with 27.3 inches of snow.
“There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.”
~ George Sand
~ pseudonym of Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, French novelist & memoirist
~ 1804 ~1876
The love locks left by visitors as a symbol of their love line the bridge spanning the rushing autumn waters of the Monocacy Creek on a mid-November afternoon at Monocacy Park, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
The Pont des Arts is the most famous for being the Lock Bridge in Paris, France. Visitors to the bridge attach personalized padlocks to its railing and throw the keys away in the Seine River.
A love lock or love padlock is a padlock that sweethearts lock to a bridge, fence, gate, monument or similar public fixture to symbolize their love. Typically the sweethearts’ names or initials, and perhaps the date, are inscribed on the padlock, and its key is thrown away (often into a nearby river) to symbolize unbreakable love.
Since the 2000s, love locks have proliferated at an increasing number of locations worldwide. They are treated by some municipal authorities as litter or vandalism, and there is some cost to their removal. However, there are other authorities who embrace them, and who use them as fundraising projects or tourist attractions.
“April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go.”
~ Christopher Marley
~ artist & designer
~ born 1969
The waters of the Monocacy Creek spill over Monocacy Falls in a cascading dance celebrating spring as a fisherman takes in the beauty of a late April afternoon, complete with a flowering cherry tree to complete a picturesque springtime scene I captured in this painterly, HDR image at Monocacy Park, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
