Night Ranger ...

“Everyone should believe in something. I believe I’ll go fishing.”

                      ~ Henry David Thoreau

                          ~ 1817-1862

The colorful sign of the nearby Ranger Rod & Gun Club (Ranger’s Lake), Coplay, Pennsylvania, stands out on an early October evening along the Ironton Rail Trail.

The Ironton Rail Trail loops more than nine miles through Whitehall Township, the Borough of Coplay and North Whitehall Township in Pennsylvania.

The Ironton Railroad was a shortline railroad in Lehigh County. Originally built in 1861 to haul iron ore and limestone to blast furnaces along the Lehigh River, traffic later shifted to carrying Portland Cement when local iron mining declined in the early 20^th century. Much of the railroad had already been abandoned when it became part of Conrail in 1976, and the last of its trackage was removed in 1984.

In 1996, Whitehall Township purchased 9.2 miles of the right-of-way from Conrail, transforming it into the Ironton Rail Trail.

Frosted Magnolia ...

"In the depth of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."
                              ~ Albert Camus
A bud on my favorite magnolia tree at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania is frosted with a hint of winter magic during a light January snowfall. 

Follow His Star ...

“Morning Star, O cheering sight! Ere thou

cam’st, how dark earth’s night!

Morning Star, O cheering sight! Ere thou

cam’st, how dark earth’s night!

Jesus mine, in me shine; in me shine, Jesus mine;

Fill my heart with light divine.

Morning Star, thy glory bright far excels

the sun’s clear light.

Morning Star, thy glory bright far excels

the sun’s clear light.

Jesus be, constantly, Constantly, Jesus be

More than thousand suns to me.

Thy glad beams, thou Morning Star, cheer the

nations near and far.

Thy glad beams, thou Morning Star, cheer the

nations near and far.

Thee we own, Lord alone, Lord alone, thee we

own,

Our dear Savior, God’s dear son.

Morning Star, my soul’s true light, tarry not,

dispel my night.

Morning Star, my soul’s true light, tarry not,

dispel my night.

Jesus mine, in me shine; in me shine, Jesus mine;

Fill my heart with light divine.”

                

               ~ “Morning Star, O Cheering Sight !”

                             ~ Moravian Carol

     ~ Words: Johannes Scheffler (1657),    
Translation by Bennett Harvey, Jr. (1885)

               ~   Music: Francis F. Hagen, 1836

         In Moravian tradition, this is often sung as part of a Christmas Eve service, with a child as the leader.

                                             

A Moravian star glows with the warmth of Christmas on a cold December evening at Emmaus Moravian Church, founded in 1747 in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. The star shines over a Nativity scene placed on the church lawn during Christmastime.

This scene in sepia could be part of a Moravian Christmas putz, in dreams of Christmastide or a nostalgic Yuletide film – think “It’s A Wonderful Life” – but it’s very real, just as following Christ’s star is as important today as it was at his birth.

A Moravian star (German: Herrnhuter Stern) is an illuminated Advent, Christmas or Epiphany decoration popular in Germany and in places in American and Europe where there are Moravian congregations. The stars take their English name from the Moravian Church, originating in Moravia. In Germany, they are known as Herrnhut stars, named after the Moravian Mother Community in Saxony, Germany, where they were first commercially produced.

Merry Christmas, Happy Christmas everyone!