Showing posts with label Ralph Waldo Emerson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ralph Waldo Emerson. Show all posts

Saturday, September 16, 2023

In The Cosmos ...

“Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it.”

       ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

         ~ 1803 ~ 1882

 

The Cosmos Field at St. Luke’s Hospital, Anderson Campus, Easton, Pennsylvania brightens a late August afternoon when the sun often dipped behind the clouds.

 

Cosmos, with their colorful, daisy-like blooms, are related to sunflowers and daisies.

 

The cosmos flowering season lasts for several months, running from early summer until the first frosts arrive in the fall. The season usually lasts from June to October.

 

St. Luke’s also has a Sunflower Garden that is part of the cheery landscape of blooms.


 

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Morning Watch ...

 “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

             ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

             ~ 1803 ~ 1882

Regal Red-Tailed Hawk peers from a high perch, gazing over the winter landscape in search of prey against a brilliant blue sky in the sunshine of a mid-February morning at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

This bird of prey is the most common hawk in North America.

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

The Whisper of God ...

 “Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God.”

    ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

    ~ 1803-1882

Illuminated by the setting sun, flowering grasses reach up to almost touch heaven in the soft silence of a beautiful summer evening in late August during the golden hour at the rooftop observation area of Trexler Environmental Center.

Located in the Central Range of Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, the center is at one of the preserve’s highest elevations and one of the spots that offer spectacular views at the 1,100 acre preserve.

 Solar panels provide a significant portion of the energy needs of the building.

When the late General Harry Clay Trexler (1854-1933) established the preserve in the early 1900s, he did it to save the American bison, elk and white-tailed deer from extinction and assure the species’ survival.

A conservationist along the lines of Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir, General Trexler understood the importance of nature and preserving wildlife in its natural habitat.

A successful businessman who amassed a fortune in the timber and cement industries and founded the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company, General Trexler began purchasing small farms in the low hills of Lehigh County in 1906. By 1913, he had transported eight bison and 20 Virginia white-tailed deer to the preserve. The elk followed soon after.

When General Trexler died in 1933, he bequeathed the property to the residents of Lehigh County. Today, the Trexler Nature Preserve is open to the public for passive recreation and nature watching.

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Full Stop Winter ...

 “Over the winter glaciers, I see the summer glow. And through the wind-piled snowdrift, the warm rosebuds below.”

          ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

                ~ 1803 ~ 1882

The stoplight at the intersection of Cedar Crest Boulevard & Broadway reflects in the creek at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania after a fresh mid-March snowfall has blanketed the landscape in this painterly, HDR image I captured in the waning days of winter.

                 

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Sunset Mirrors The Lehigh ...

“Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn.”

           ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

                ~1803-1882

A gorgeous mid-December sunset mirrors in the Lehigh River along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail), Easton, Pennsylvania. The faint lights from buildings along the river can be seen in the distance.

 

I captured this after setting off from the Forks of the Delaware Trailhead of the D&L Trail at Delaware Canal State Park.

 

The Forks of the Delaware is the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers where Phillipsburg, New Jersey and Easton meet; it is where the Lehigh River merges into the Delaware River.

Phillipsburg and Easton are both historic Delaware River Towns. Phillipsburg was established March 8, 1861 and was named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area. Easton was founded in 1752.

The trail is positioned between the Delaware River and Delaware Canal, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. The site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America.

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.