Showing posts with label canoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label canoes. Show all posts

Thursday, August 18, 2022

A Summer Peace On Leaser Lake ...

   “… This is my Father’s world,

And to my listening ears

All nature sings, and round me rings

The music of the spheres.

This is my Father’s world:

I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees of skies and seas ~

His hand the wonders wrought …”     

     ~ “This is My Father’s World”

            ~Christian hymn written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, a minister from                New York, & published posthumously in 1901

With Jacob’s Church standing tall on the hillside above, outdoorsmen set sail in a canoe, listening to nature sing on Leaser Lake, in the shadow of the northern Blue Mountain Ridge, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania. I shot this from the Leaser Lake Loop Trail on a beautiful and peaceful mid-July afternoon.

With a history dating back to 1761, Jacob’s Church describes itself as “The church on a hill, shining forth for Jesus Christ,” according to its website http://www.jacobschurch.org/.

The congregation erected outside spotlights to illuminate its beautiful “Blue Mountain Stone Tower” in 1989.

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

 Leaser Lake was built by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for water-oriented recreation and opened for public use in 1971. Lehigh County leases this area from the state and operates and maintains the park. The land north of the lake was purchased by the county in the early 1970s. It is entirely wooded and is used for nature study and as an addition to the State Game Lands No. 217.


 

Monday, August 8, 2016

Dreaming In Summer's Time ...




“Summertime is always the best
 of what might be.”
                           ~ Charles Bowden, journalist
                                     ~ 1945-2014
                      
 Summertime … the pace is a bit slower, the air sweeter, the sunshine warmer and brighter … a perfect time to dream of what might be. 

Summertime’s essence is palpable in this artistic view of a canoe and a pair of sneakers waiting for their owners to explore the waters of Hopewell Lake. I shot this on a beautiful July afternoon at the lake in French Creek State Park, Elverson, Pennsylvania.

The 7,526 acre park straddles northern Chester County and southern Berks County along French Creek and is located in the Hopewell Big Woods.

Set amidst the old, quaint and picturesque farmland of southeast Pennsylvania, French Creek State Park offers two lakes – Hopewell and Scotts Run – extensive forests and almost 40 miles of hiking trails. Adjacent to the park lies Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site that features a cold-blast furnace restored to its 1830s appearance.

French Creek State Park was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and its Bureau of State Parks as one of “25 Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks.”