My Witness Is The Empty Sky ...

“My witness is the empty sky …”

            ~ Jack Kerouac

             ~ 1922-1969

The words of Jack Kerouac soar in this image of a bright hot air balloon gliding with its passengers in a cloudless, cerulean blue September sky.

I captured this sight as I stepped out my front door on a warm, waning summer evening – it’s not a scene that floats over your doorstep every day!

Sunshine On The Water ...

“Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, sunshine in my eyes can make me cry.

Sunshine on the water looks so lovely, sunshine almost always makes me high.

If I had a day that I could give you, I’d give to you the day just like today.

If I had a song that I could sing for you, I’d sing a song to make you feel this way …

If I had a tale that I could tell you, I’d tell a tale sure to make you smile.

If I had a wish that I could wish for you, I’d make a wish for sunshine all the while …

Sunshine on the water looks so lovely, sunshine almost always makes me high.”

                 ~ “Sunshine On My Shoulders”

             ~ recorded & co-written by John Denver
                            ~ 1973

The summer was waning but its special beauty still shone through on an early September afternoon when I saw this sunflower bloom gently floating and reflecting in the creek at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Two other sunflower blooms were floating nearby, and John Denver's beautiful  “Sunshine On My Shoulders” immediately sprang to my thoughts, with its wonderful lyrics – isn’t this what we’d all want to give those we love?

Indeed, sunshine on the water looks so lovely.

                                                        

                                             

The Fire Of September ...

"... Deep in December it's nice to remember
The fire of September that made us mellow
Deep in December our hearts should remember
And follow, follow, follow."
                                             ~ "Try To Remember"
                                                ~ from the 1960 musical
                                                            "The Fantasticks"

The fire of September suffuses across the waning summer sky,
painting a gorgeous sunset at Trexler Memorial Park,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.
 

A Bite of Joy ...

"Scatter joy ..."
                 ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
                                       ~ 1803-1882

Beautiful white-tailed deer doe enjoys a shiny red apple
on a waning summer evening in the park.

I've been blessed to photograph this doe and her fawns 
for more than three years, and it's a true joy to me
personally and as a photographer. 

An Evening Reflection ...

"As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God."
                                                                      ~  Psalm 42, Verse 1 

Beautiful white-tailed deer doe takes a drink in the creek on a waning
summer evening in the park.

I've been blessed to photograph this doe and and her fawns for more than three
years, and it's a true joy to me personally and as a photographer. 

Raining Retro ...

"There's a certain nostalgia and romance in a place you left."
                                   ~ author David Guterson, born 1956

Diners ... a favorite of locals and weary travelers, sharing their
joys and sorrows over a steaming cup of coffee. Diners are
a comforting haven, a slice of nostalgia to go with that slice
of cherry pie, especially on a rainy evening.

Here, the Hamilton Family Restaurant (known as the "Ham Fam"),
a '50s era landmark in the West End of Allentown, Pennsylvania, beams
it's retro neon welcome during a rainy September twilight. 

Wild In The Country ...

"... Wild, wild, like the deer and the dove
Wild and free is this land that I love ...
A dream grows wild in the country...
And here with a dream in my heart
Part of the wild, wild country, am I."

                                                 ~ "Wild In The Country"
                                                            ~ The title track from the 1961 dramatic film
                                                             "Wild In The Country," recorded by
                                                                    the great Elvis Presley

Beautiful and regal looking six point white-tailed deer buck
pauses from grazing on a warm September evening along
the Saucon Rail Trail, Lower Saucon Township, Pennsylvania. 

Coloring In The Circles ...

"I see nothing in space as promising
as the view from a Ferris Wheel."
                                       ~ E.B. White
                                               ~ 1899-1985

The Ferris Wheel whirls in tandem with 
a smaller spinning wheel, coloring the sky over
the Midway with happiness on a warm September
evening, the opening of the 163rd Great Allentown Fair,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Nothing But A Memory ...

"I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it's like I'm someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself ...
Won't take nothing but a memory."
                                 ~ "The House That Built Me"
                                       ~ Allen Shamblin & Tom Douglas
                                                               2010
                                        ~performed by Miranda Lambert

Wisps of memories seem to dance around the window
inside Bogert's Covered Bridge on a September day, such as
"Tess & Eric 4Ever" etched to the right of the window.

This beautiful, historic bridge has listened to their story
 and countless others over the course of centuries.

The bridge spans 145 feet over the Little Lehigh Creek 
in Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Built in 1841,
it's history traces back to the mid-1700s when the Bogert family
moved into a log cabin next to the future site of the bridge. 
It is the oldest covered bridge in Lehigh County and among
the oldest in the country. It is open only to pedestrian and bicycle traffic,
as well as the occasional rider on horseback.

Bogert's Bridge is a wooden Burr Truss bridge with vertical plank
siding and a gable roof. It was placed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1980.

                        

On The Delaware ...

"Wrinkles should merely indicate
where smiles have been."
                               ~ Mark Twain
                                                ~ 1835-1910

When I saw this man fishing on 
the Delaware River in Phillipsburg, New Jersey
on an early September evening, I wondered from his
expression what thoughts and memories were
crossing his mind. The man was fishing near
the historic Northampton Street Bridge,
commonly called The Free Bridge, which spans the 
Delaware River between Phillipsburg, New Jersey
and Easton, Pennsylvania. The Free Bridge was completed in 1896 
and survived the damage from massive flooding from
Hurricane Diane in 1955. It undersent a thorough
restoration in 1990.