The River Wild ...

“Roll forth, my song, like the rushing river.”

             ~ James Clarence Mangan

                  ~ 1803-1849 

The rushing winter rapids of the Lehigh River come to a beautiful crescendo on a January afternoon at Lehigh Gap along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

In the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, The Lehigh Gap in Slatington, Pennsylvania, is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the D&L Trail.

The Appalachian Trail, a foot path, follows the ridge on both sides of the Lehigh Gap, running 1,245 miles south to Georgia and 930 miles north to Maine. Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

Easy, Breezy Butterfly ...

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”

                  ~ Confucius

                        ~ 551 BC-479 BC

A sweet white butterfly alights on a flower during a breezy, beautiful late September afternoon along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) at Lehigh Gap.

In the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, the Lehigh Gap in Slatington, Pennsylvania, is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the D&L Trail. 

The Appalachian Trail, a foot path, follows the ridge on both sides of the Lehigh Gap, running 1,245 miles south to Georgia and 930 miles north to Maine. Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

River Color ...

“Life is a train of moods like a string of beads; and as we pass through them they prove to be many colored lenses, which paint the world their own hue, and each shows us only what lies in its own focus.”

               ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

                      ~ 1803-1882

Autumn colors reflect and dance in the Lehigh River on a beautiful October afternoon at Lehigh Gap.

I captured this shot near the Lehigh Gap Bridge, which spans the river in the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain.

The Lehigh Gap in Slatington, Pennsylvania, is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

The Appalachian Trail, a foot path, follows the ridge on both sides of the Lehigh Gap, running 1,245 miles south to Georgia and 930 miles north to Maine. Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

The Lehigh Gap Bridge was built in 1930 and rehabilitated in 1984.

I Hear The Cottonwoods ...

“I hear the cottonwoods whisperin’ above

Tammy, Tammy, Tammy’s in love

The old hootie owl hootie-hoo’s to the dove

Tammy, Tammy, Tammy’s in love

Does my lover feel what I feel

When he comes near?

My heart beats so joyfully

You’d think he could hear

Wish I knew if he knew what I’m dreaming of

Tammy, Tammy, Tammy’s in love.

Whippoorwill, whippoorwill, you and I know

Tammy, Tammy, can’t let him go

The breeze from the bayou keeps murmuring low

Tammy, Tammy, you love him so

When the night is warm, soft and warm

I long for his charms

I’d sing like a violin

If I were in his arms

Wish I knew if he knew what I’m dreaming of

Tammy, Tammy, Tammy’s in love."

            ~    “Tammy”

    ~ recorded by Debbie Reynolds
 for the 1957 film “Tammy and the Bachelor”

   ~ music by Jay Livingston, lyrics by Ray Evans

I heard the cottonwoods whisperin’ above as a soft late October breeze and golden hour sunlight whisper through the balls of cotton-like fluff and seeds of an Eastern Cottonwood Tree as sunset approaches along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) at Lehigh Gap.

And, of course, it reminded me of the “Tammy” song!

The Eastern Cottonwood, also called a necklace poplar, is a cottonwood poplar native to North America.

In the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, the Lehigh Gap in Slatington, Pennsylvania, is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the D&L Trail. 

The Appalachian Trail, a foot path, follows the ridge on both sides of the Lehigh Gap, running 1,245 miles south to Georgia and 930 miles north to Maine. Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.