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.

Illick's Mill Draped In Winter ...

“Places I love come back to me as music …”

      ~ Sara Teasdale

    ~ American lyric poet & Pulitzer Prize winner

      ~ 1884-1933

       ~ “The Collected Poems”

Illick’s Mill is draped in winter as a February evening beckons while the sunset wanes at Monocacy Park, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, three days after the region was blanketed with 27.3 inches of snow.

Illick’s Mill, also known as Peters’ Mill and Monocacy Milling Co., is an historic grist mill. It was built in 1856, and is a four level, vernacular stone mill building with a heavy timber frame interior. The original building measured approximately 34 by 40 feet. The building was expanded in the 1880s with a 20-foot addition and the addition of the fourth level and a monitor roof. The mill was formerly the home of the Fox Environmental Center.

The grist mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. As of October 2015, the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Mid-Atlantic Conservation Office has occupied a portion of the building, under a lease agreement with the City of Bethlehem. The building is maintained and its uses managed by the City of Bethlehem’s Parks, Recreation and Public Properties Department.