Halcyon Summer ...

“Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well.”

                  ~ George R.R. Martin,

                      ~ born 1948

The innocence of childhood meets the sweetness of a summer afternoon as this little girl, wearing a shirt splashed with the American flag, casts her fishing pole into Leaser Lake, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania, in a scene that paints the essence of halcyon summer days.

Leaser Lake’s namesake is Frederick Leaser, who in Sept 1777 with his farm team hauled The Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to Allentown where it was concealed in Zion Reformed Church. His homestead is located one mile north of the lake.

The lake is in the shadow of the northern Blue Mountain Ridge.

Plein Air Printemps ...

"Art is the stored honey
of the human soul."
                     ~ Theodore Dreiser
                                     ~ 1871-1945

Plein Air painter catches the nature of a sweet
spring - printemps - evening on canvas
at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania in a candid image I captured
this May.   

Where The Bluebells Bloom ...

"Sacred watcher, wave thy bells!
Fair hill flower and woodland child!
Dear to me in deep green dells -
Dearest on the mountains wild."
                        ~ Emily Bronte
                                 ~ 1818-1848
                              ~ "To The Bluebell"

This little girl twirls among the beguiling bluebells blooming in early April near the banks of the Swabia Creek at Lock Ridge Park and Furnace Museum, Alburtis, Pennsylvania in this candid capture.

The blooming of the multitude of Lock Ridge bluebells – also called grape hyacinth – is a clarion call of spring in the Lehigh Valley, drawing many people to photograph and glimpse their beauty in the span of the few weeks they bloom.

Lock Ridge Park is a park built around an historic iron ore blast furnace just outside Alburtis, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley. The park preserves portions of the former Lock Ridge Iron Works, which dates back to 1868.  The 59-acre park was opened in August 1976.

  

Shilly-Shally ...

"If you never did you should.
These things are fun. And fun is good."
                   ~ Dr. Seuss
                         (Theodore Seuss Geisel)
                                      ~ 1904-1991 

This sweet little girl could heed these words of Dr. Seuss  as she seems to shilly-shally and dilly-dally over whether to give her hula hoop a whirl in this candid capture on a chilly April day at Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania.   


The hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck. The modern hula hoop
was invented in 1958 by Arthur K. "Spud" Melin and Richard Knerr, but children and adults around the world have played with hoops, twirling, rolling and throwing them throughout history.   

Wisp Of A Summer Video ...

"Thee I Love," the beautiful theme from the wonderful 1956 film "Friendly Persuasion" performed by Norman Percival and His Orchestra, captures the spirit of summer showcased in my original photos.

My greatest joy as a photographer is harmonizing
my favorite original photos to music to create a
lingering snapshot of the season. Enjoy!

Also on my YouTube channel at
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRn2CBhEqL0

The Christmas Wish ...

"For it is good to be children sometimes,

and never better than at Christmas,

when its mighty Founder was a child Himself."

                                            ~ Charles Dickens

                                                                 ~ 1812-1870

                                                                     ~"A Christmas Carol"

                                                          ~published December 19, 1843

Remember thinking about your Christmas wish list for Santa Claus?

This little girl's expression in this candid shot suggests she's doing just that as she rides

the Christmas Train - not to the North Pole, but through the rolling

Pennsylvania countryside.

Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves also

boarded the festive train in early December on the 

WK&S (Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern, Inc.) Railroad, Kempton, Pennsylvania.

The Hawk Mountain Line takes a scenic ride of six-and-a-half miles, on track

of the old Reading  Railroad, running along the Ontelaunee Creek, through

the farms and woods of Berks and Lehigh Counties.

 

 

The Gilding ...

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting

and autumn a mosaic of them all."

                                       ~ Stanley Horowitz

 

Some moments are golden, as when this man and his dog enjoy

a sunkissed Indian Summer afternoon on a path decorated with

gilded autumn leaves along the Saucon Rail Trail, Hellertown, Pennsylvania.

 

Music Of The Forest ...

"In the forest no tree grows straight.
But they all reach up towards
the light and the goodness in life."
                                          ~ Native American Proverb

As I was walking the trails of Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania
on an October day, I heard the beautiful strains of "Amazing Grace"
floating through the air. I looked up and saw this man playing the 
Gospel hymn on his Native American flute. 

The Autumn Painter ...

"Autumn paints in colors that summer has never seen."
                                                                        ~ Author Unknown

Brushstroke by brushstroke, a painter captures on canvas
the glorious autumn beauty God has painted this October
at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

I took this candid shot of the artist and her easel
nestled in a picturesque spot between the ford of the 
Jordan Creek and the pedestrian bridge at the preserve. 

Whistlin' Dixie ...

"... In Dixie's Land, where I was born in,
early on one frosty mornin'...
I wish I was in Dixie ...
Away, away, away down South in Dixie!"
                              ~ "Dixie" ("Dixie's Land")

Striking up a banjo and fiddle on a sun 
streaked summer's day, this couple fills the air with the sweet sounds of Dixieland.

I loved hearing these wonderful tunes echo 
through Lehigh Parkway, Allentown,
Pennsylvania as I snapped this
candid scene. 

Perhaps they are wistfully thinking of home as
their music makes the summer even sweeter.