Early Spring On Leaser Lake ...

“I saw that my life was a vast glowing page and I could do anything I wanted.”

                       ~ Jack Kerouac

                               ~ 1922-1969

A man paddles his canoe amidst the vast beauty of early spring on Leaser Lake, in the shadow of the northern Blue Mountain Ridge, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania.

Spring is the time of new beginnings, and boundless possibilities lie ahead as he charts his course while a late March sunset waits in the wings.

I shot this scene on the day before Easter, and the nearby church bells were chiming “I Love to Tell the Story,” the wonderful Gospel hymn written as a poem by English evangelist Katherine Hankey in 1866. It was set to music by William G. Fischer in 1869. The refrain, always appropriate but especially at Easter, is, “I love to tell the story, ‘twill be my theme in glory, To tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.” It was wonderful to hear that as I walked the trail looping around the lake on this warm evening.

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.

Hope Is The Thing ...

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without words –

And never stops at all."

               ~ “Hope Is The Thing With Feathers”

                            ~ Emily Dickinson

                                   ~ 1830-1886

A large white feather that has landed on a tree trunk billows in the breeze on a rare warm February day at Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania in this high contrast monochrome shot, a reminder that hope is always in the wind and appears where you may least expect it.

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!