Canvassing Cherry Blossom Row ...

“Filling a space in a beautiful way – that is what art means to me.”

                             ~ Georgia O’Keeffe

                                       ~ 1887-1996

Kwanzan Cherry Trees line the city with beauty in April on North Ott Street near Cedar Creek Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania as afternoon traffic flows by their beautiful but fleeting pink canvas.

There are 46 Japanese Flowering Cherry Trees in the vicinity. The original trees date to the late 1950s and early 1960s.

I Hope You Dance ...

“I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin’ might mean takin’ chances, but they’re worth takin’
Lovin’ might be a mistake, but it's worth makin’
Don’t let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to sellin’ out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance …”

               ~ “I Hope You Dance”

     ~Written by Tia Sillers & Mark Sanders

               ~ Recorded by LeeAnn Womack

                            ~2000                                               

The light of sunset dances on a beautiful mute swan spreading its wings on the chilly waters of Lake Muhlenberg on a November evening at Cedar Creek Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Peering Atop The Apple Tree ...

“Don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me,

Anyone else but me, anyone else but me, no, no, no!

Don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me …”

            ~ “Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree 
                  (With Anyone Else But Me)

    ~  Sam H. Stept, composer 
      ~ Lew Brown & Charles Tobias, writers

         ~ A popular song made famous by Glenn Miller & by The Andrews Sisters during World War II. Its lyrics are the words of two young lovers who pledge their fidelity while one of them is away serving in the war. It remained in “Your Hit Parade’s” first place from October 1942 through January 1943, the longest period for a war song to hold first place.

“Don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me” ~ perhaps that’s what this Great White Egret – also known as a Great White Heron – is thinking as it almost seems to be waving while peering from atop an apple tree while on the hunt on an August evening at Cedar Creek Parkway,

Allentown, Pennsylvania.