Snow Moon Brushes The Silvery Creek ...

“By the light of the silvery moon, I want to spoon, to my honey I’ll croon love’s tune …”

         ~ “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”

    ~ popular love song, music by Gus Edwards, lyrics by Edward Madden

       ~ published 1909, one of a series of moon-related Tin Pan Alley songs

      ~ performed in the 1953 film “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” by  Doris Day, Gordon MacRae and others throughout the film

The full Snow Moon melts into a silvery creek in the beautiful surreal in wintertime.

I created this image by blending my shot of the Snow Moon of February 1, 2026 shining over the West End of Allentown, Pennsylvania with “Silvered Shores,” my February 2017 capture of the snow-laden creek at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania as a hint of sunset blushes the creek between its silvered shores after a fresh snowfall.

The Snow Moon is often named for the heavy snowfalls common during this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere. The cold, dense air of February often makes this moon appear brighter and sharper.

I shot this soon after this Snow Moon hit its maximum 100 percent illumination at 5:09 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Flocking To The Snowy Pond...

 “Listen to the silence inside the illusion of the world.”

   ~ Jack Kerouac

    ~ 1922 ~ 1969

 

With a fresh snowfall clinging to the trees, Canadian Geese flock to the pond as sunset looms on a mid-January day at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania, painting a serene showcase of winter’s quiet beauty.

Sign Of Bethlehem ...

“Life is one big road with lots of signs.”

            ~ Bob Marley

               ~ 1945 ~ 1981

 

The iconic Hotel Bethlehem sign atop the historic hotel lets travelers on various roads leading to the Pennsylvania town know they’ve arrived in The Christmas City. A trace of snow can be seen below the chimney as winter prepares to segue into spring on this mid-March afternoon in this monochrome capture.

During the Prohibition in 1922, Charles M. Schwab built the Historic Hotel Bethlehem as it’s known it today. However, that little spot in the town of Bethlehem has a history with deep roots.

In 1741, a group of Moravian missionaries built, on that very spot, the famous First House of Bethlehem. It was a log house, built to shelter the Moravians as they expanded their presence in the area. The structure also served as a stable. On December 24, 1741, the leader of the Moravian missionaries, Count Nicholaus Ludwig Von Zinzendorf, sang a song about Bethlehem, which inspired the citizens to name the town.

The Moravians were very dedicated to their mission. Using this spot as a home base, they started “schooling the unschooled” and converting the “heathen” indigenous people. The Moravians were so passionate and dedicated that within 20 years, they had built 50 more buildings and were working on several different industries. All from within the structures they had built.

In the late 18th century, under the first presidency, George Washington, the First House of Bethlehem was converted to the Golden Eagle Hotel. The hotel operated in this incarnation until 1919, when the building started housing convalescing soldiers returning from World War I.

In 1922, Schwab’s fortune was on the rise and he was one of the stars of American Steel. Schwab built the hotel to cater to the clients of the enormous Bethlehem Steel Company and even back then, it featured amenities equivalent to modern day luxuries, such as, a fitness center, a barber shop, shoe shine, and coffee shop.

Nowadays, the Historic Hotel Bethlehem proudly displays its story in its lower lobby's Hall of History. Artifacts from the town’s history (religious settlement to industrial boomtown) such as photographs and printed materials are showcased as well. A 1936 George Gray painting located in the Mural Room depicts the transformation of the culture surrounding the building.

Historic Hotel Bethlehem, a member of Historic Hotels of America since 2002, dates back to 1922. The year 2024 marked the fourth consecutive year Historic Hotel Bethlehem was named America’s Best Historic Hotel by USA Today – a grand slam. Bruce Haines is the longtime owner of the hotel.

Bethlehem is known as The Christmas City. Since that Christmas Eve 1741when a small group of Moravians were singing a hymn with the stanza “Not Jerusalem, Lowly Bethlehem” Count Nicolaus Ludwig Von Zinzendorf christened this little town “Bethlehem.” Since that time Christmas in Bethlehem has been central to the city’s identity. From the first documented decorated Christmas tree in America to the efforts of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce to get Bethlehem nicknamed “Christmas City USA” in 1937, to the current time when both sides of the river boast Christmas markets filled with artisan craft, retail and food vendors, Bethlehem is rife with one Christmas celebration after another.

 

I Got You Babe ...

“… I got flowers in the spring, I got you to wear my ring

And when I’m sad, you’re a clown

And if I get scared, you’re always around

So let them say your hair’s too long

Cause I don’t care with you I can’t go wrong

Then put your little hand in mine

There ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb

 

Babe

I got you babe, I got you babe

 

I got you to hold my hand

I got you to understand

I got you to walk with me

I got you to talk with me

I got you to kiss goodnight

I got you to hold me tight

I got you, I won’t let go

I got you to love me so

 

I got you babe”

 

~ “I Got You Babe”

     ~ Sonny & Cher

          ~ 1965

 

In the waning days of winter, these common merganser drake & hen ducks are perfectly paired and perched together, dreaming of spring’s arrival in the waters of the Jordan Creek along the Jordan Creek Greenway on a March afternoon at Covered Bridge Park, Orefield, Pennsylvania.

The common merganser or goosander is a large seaduck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia & North America. The common merganser eats fish and nests in holes in trees.