Great Blue's Mad Orange Sunset ...

 

 “Meanwhile the sunsets are mad orange fools raging in the gloom....”

 ~ Jack Kerouac

  ~ 1922 ~ 1969

A Great Blue Heron is silhouetted against a blazing mad orange summer sunset in early July at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Dream Of A Mad Orange Sunset ...

 

“Meanwhile the sunsets are mad orange fools raging in the gloom....”

 ~ Jack Kerouac

 ~ 1922-1969

 It’s a mad orange sunset as a summer sundown creates silhouetted beauty as it sweeps across Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania in this abstract image I captured on a beautiful late August evening.

 

Light Of August ...

 “Memory believes before knowing remembers.”

              ~ William Faulkner

                  ~ 1867 ~ 1962

 ~ one of my favorite authors, Southern American author and Nobel Prize Laureate

               ~ “Light In August”

                    ~ 1932

It’s a sunset to remember as the summer sun radiates a gorgeous light over the rolling hills in late August surrounding the rooftop observation area of Trexler Environmental Center.

The trees in the foreground have reserved seating to witness the splendor that God paints in the sky as the day segues into night.

Located in the Central Range of Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, the center is at one of the preserve’s highest elevations and one of the spots that offer spectacular views at the 1,100 acre preserve.

Solar panels provide a significant portion of the energy needs of the building.

When the late General Harry Clay Trexler (1854-1933) established the preserve in the early 1900s, he did it to save the American bison, elk and white-tailed deer from extinction and assure the species’ survival.

A conservationist along the lines of Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir, General Trexler understood the importance of nature and preserving wildlife in its natural habitat.

A successful businessman who amassed a fortune in the timber and cement industries and founded the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company, General Trexler began purchasing small farms in the low hills of Lehigh County in 1906. By 1913, he had transported eight bison and 20 Virginia white-tailed deer to the preserve. The elk followed soon after.

When General Trexler died in 1933, he bequeathed the property to the residents of Lehigh County. Today, the Trexler Nature Preserve is open to the public for passive recreation and nature watching.

Sunfire ...

 “… Goodness gracious, great balls of fire …”

    ~ “Great Balls Of Fire”

   ~ 1957 popular song recorded by

     Jerry Lee Lewis

         ~ 1935 ~ 2022

     at Sun Records, Memphis, Tennessee

Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record the great Elvis Presley as well as Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash.

Great Balls Of Fire it’s a sunset Jerry Lee Lewis would love as a red sun sets amidst the trees in the surreal.

I created this image by blending my shot of the hazy red sunset of June 6, 2023 in the West End of Allentown, Pennsylvania with background texture by Jai Johnson for artistic effect.

The wildfire smoke from Canadian wildfires moving through the area caused the hot milky skies and orange haze in the evening sky that caused sunsets such as this.

 

Sunset Of A Winter Solstice ...

“The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration.”

    ~ Claude Monet

     ~ 1840 ~ 1926

Golden hues sweep and swirl across the winter sky as flocks of Canadian Geese glide toward the point of sunset on the Winter Solstice of December 21, 2022 in this abstract image I captured from the Jordan Creek Greenway at Covered Bridge Park, Orefield, Pennsylvania.

The Winter Solstice ~ the first day of winter ~ astronomically marks the beginning of lengthening days and shortening nights.

 The word solstice comes from the Latin words for “sun” and “to stand still.” In the Northern Hemisphere, it always occurs around December 21 or 22.