Think Spring ...

“For the winter is passed. The rain is over and gone. The flowers are springing up. And the time of the singing of the birds has come.”

         ~ Song of Solomon 2: 11-2

I spotted this painted rock, which paints the hope and joy of spring with a canary songbird, nestled in a bird’s nest on a mid-March afternoon along the Saucon Rail Trail, Hellertown, Pennsylvania. With spring just around the corner, the winter is almost passed, hooray!

I’ve been lucky to see a good number of painted rocks along various trails, but I’ve never seen one so creatively presented in tangent with its meaning as this one, placed in a bird’s nest!

The sight harmonizes perfectly with the words from the Song of Solomon 2: 11-2 in the Holy Bible.

This painted rock is likely part of the The Kindness Rocks Project, which was founded by Megan Murphy of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, who wanted to spread encouraging messages to strangers by writing them on rocks she found on the beach. The practice spread and launched similar projects across the United States.

The grassroots project encourages people to leave rocks painted with inspiring messages along the path of life. People are encouraged to take one, share one or add to the pile. You can see just how much impact she’s made when looking up #TheKindnessRocksProject. Learn more about how to join the movement at http://thekindnessrocksproject.com.

There Are More Fish In The Sea ...

“There are more fish in the sea”

      ~ A twist on the well-known idiom “there are plenty more fish in the sea,” used to console someone whose romantic relationship has ended by pointing out that there are many other people with whom they may have a successful relationship in the future. This expression alludes to the proverb there are as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it.

I spotted this rock painted with the words “There Are More Fish in the Sea!” on a mid-February afternoon in 2019 at Whitehall Parkway, just off the Ironton Rail Trail.

Then I thought I’d have some fun with it … why not put these fish in the sea?! So I blended it with “Tides of Dixie,” a shot I took of an autumn tide of the Atlantic Ocean rolling majestically into Coligny Beach on Hilton Head Island in the Lowcountry of South Carolina in October 2016.

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.

This painted rock is likely part of the The Kindness Rocks Project, which was founded by Megan Murphy of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, who wanted to spread encouraging messages to strangers by writing them on rocks she found on the beach. The practice spread and launched similar projects across the United States.

The grassroots project encourages people to leave rocks painted with inspiring messages along the path of life. People are encouraged to take one, share one or add to the pile. You can see just how much impact she’s made when looking up #TheKindnessRocksProject. Learn more about how to join the movement at http://thekindnessrocksproject.com.

Twinkle Of Love ...

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.

When this blazing sun is gone,

When he nothing shines upon,

Then you show your little light,

Twinkle, twinkle through the night.

Then the traveller in the dark

Thanks you for your tiny spark;

He could not see where to go,

If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,

And often through my curtains peep,

For you never shut your eye

Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark

Lights the traveller in the dark,

Though I know not what you are,

Twinkle, twinkle little star.”

           ~ “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”

“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” is a popular English lullaby. The lyrics are from an early 19^th century English poem by Jane Taylor, “The Star.” The poem, which is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in “Rhymes for the Nursery,” a collection of poems by Taylor and her sister Ann. It is sung to the tune of the French melody “Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman,” which was published in 1761 and later arranged by several composers including Mozart with Twelve Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman.” The English lyrics have five stanzas, although only the first is widely known. This song is usually performed in the key of C major. The song is in the public doman, and has many adapations around the world.

I found this rock painted with the words “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star I Hope You Know How Loved You Are,” a twist on the well-known “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” as it brightened a January day at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

This painted rock is likely part of the The Kindness Rocks Project, which was founded by Megan Murphy of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, who wanted to spread encouraging messages to strangers by writing them on rocks she found on the beach. The practice spread and launched similar projects across the United States.

The grassroots project encourages people to leave rocks painted with inspiring messages along the path of life. People are encouraged to take one, share one or add to the pile. You can see just how much impact she’s made when looking up #TheKindnessRocksProject. Learn more about how to join the movement at http://thekindnessrocksproject.com.