But Memory Is An Autumn Leaf ...

“But memory is an autumn leaf that murmurs a while in the wind and then is heard no more.”

                ~ Kahlil Gibran

                      ~ 1883-1931

Like a fleeting memory, a solitary autumn leaf briefly rests next to the cascading waters of the Bushkill Creek in this long exposure shot I captured on a beautiful late October afternoon in Henry’s Woods at Jacobsburg State Park, which spans between Wind Gap and Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

Jacobsburg offers environmental education programs from the preschool environmental awareness programs to high school level environmental problem solving programs, historical programs, teacher workshops and public interpretive programs. Once the site where the famous Henry Rifle was made, the Jacobsburg National Historic District lies almost entirely within the park. Henry’s Woods offers very scenic hikes and the rest of the center grounds have multi-use trails.

The park surrounds the Bushkill Creek.

The original land for the center was purchased by the Department of Forests and Waters from the City of Easton in 1959. In 1969, additional land was purchased using funds from Project 70. This brought the total land area of the center to its present size of 1,168 acres.

Morning At The Mill ...

“Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me.”

                 ~ Henry David Thoreau

                          ~ 1817-1862

The historic Haines Mill is the hub of a picturesque scene on a late October morning in the Borough of Cetronia, Allentown, Pennsylvania as it reflects the beauty of bygone days.

Also known as Haines Mill Museum, it is an historic grist mill built circa 1850. It produced flour processed by an old-fashioned water-powered mill located just off the banks of the Cedar Creek. It remained in full operation until 1957.

A mill has stood here on the banks of the Cedar Creek since colonial times. The current circa 1850 Haines Mill offers a trip into the world of the early technology that supported farm life.

The sign on the front of the building says: “Haines Bros. Flour Mill, The Home of Gilt Edge Flour,” with a sack of flour etched with the words, “Cetronia Flour Mills, Gilt Edge Flour, 50 lbs. net, Allentown.”

It is a four-story, stone building with a slate covered gambrel roof. It is three bay by three bay, 42 feet by 46 feet, 9 inches. The interior was rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1908. A three-story brick addition was built in 1930, with a lean-to roof. Atop the main roof is a cupola.

Today, Haines Mill is operated as a partnership between the County of Lehigh, which owns and maintains the site, and the Lehigh County Historical Society, which provides public tours. It is located in a serene 37.5 acre park.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

Rainbow Over The Ridge ...

“Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high

There’s a land that I heard of, once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue

And the dreams that you dare to dream, really do come true.

Someday I’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops

That’s where you’ll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly

Birds fly over the rainbow

Why then, oh, why can’t I ?

If happy little bluebirds fly

Beyond the rainbow

Why, oh, why can’t I?”

            ~ “Over The Rainbow”

               ~ “The Wizard of Oz”

                     ~ 1939

“Over the Rainbow” is a ballad composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” and was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role as Dorothy Gale. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and became Garland’s signature song.

About five minutes into the film, Dorothy sings the song after failing to get Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and the farm hands to listen to her story of an unpleasant incident involving her dog, Toto, and the town spinster, Miss Gulch. Aunt Em tells her to “find yourself a place where you won’t get into any trouble.” This prompts her to walk off by herself, musing to Toto, “Some place where there isn’t any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It’s not a place you can get to by a boat, or a train. It’s far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond the rain...” at which point she begins singing.

A rainbow paints the sky over the Kittatinny Ridge in the late afternoon of a beautiful early November day along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) at Lehigh Gap.

With the rainbow juxtaposed by the house at the top of the mountain, it reminded me of a scene straight out of a fairytale!

In the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, the Lehigh Gap in Slatington, Pennsylvania, is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the Delaware and the D&L Trail.

The Appalachian Trail, a foot path, follows the ridge on both sides of the Lehigh Gap, running 1,245 miles south to Georgia and 930 miles north to Maine. Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.