Wisp Of A Summer Morn ...

“Many a forenoon have I stolen away, preferring to spend thus the most valued part of the day; for I was rich, if not in money, in sunny hours and summer days, and spent them lavishly; nor do I regret that I did not waste more of them in the workshop or the teacher’s desk.”

                       ~ Henry David Thoreau

                                  ~ 1817-1862

                            ~ “Walden”

                 ~originally published August 9, 1854

To me, there’s nothing so beautiful in nature as a summer morning, and Thoreau’s words seamlessly flow through this image of milkweed basking in the morning sun that I shot on a brilliant August day at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

If we all had more sunny hours and summer days, how much richer – and happier – we’d all be.

Halcyon Summer ...

“Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well.”

                  ~ George R.R. Martin,

                      ~ born 1948

The innocence of childhood meets the sweetness of a summer afternoon as this little girl, wearing a shirt splashed with the American flag, casts her fishing pole into Leaser Lake, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania, in a scene that paints the essence of halcyon summer days.

Leaser Lake’s namesake is Frederick Leaser, who in Sept 1777 with his farm team hauled The Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to Allentown where it was concealed in Zion Reformed Church. His homestead is located one mile north of the lake.

The lake is in the shadow of the northern Blue Mountain Ridge.

Dreaming In Summer's Time ...

“Summertime is always the best

 of what might be.”

                           ~ Charles Bowden, journalist

                                     ~ 1945-2014
                      

 Summertime … the pace is a bit slower, the air sweeter, the sunshine warmer and brighter … a perfect time to dream of what might be. 

Summertime’s essence is palpable in this artistic view of a canoe and a pair of sneakers waiting for their owners to explore the waters of Hopewell Lake. I shot this on a beautiful July afternoon at the lake in French Creek State Park, Elverson, Pennsylvania.

The 7,526 acre park straddles northern Chester County and southern Berks County along French Creek and is located in the Hopewell Big Woods.

Set amidst the old, quaint and picturesque farmland of southeast Pennsylvania, French Creek State Park offers two lakes – Hopewell and Scotts Run – extensive forests and almost 40 miles of hiking trails. Adjacent to the park lies Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site that features a cold-blast furnace restored to its 1830s appearance.

French Creek State Park was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and its Bureau of State Parks as one of “25 Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks.”