On Golden Leaser Lake ...

“You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by.”

           ~ James M. Barrie

             ~ 1860-1937

Talk about a golden hour! A gorgeous late August sunset colors Leaser Lake with golden hues in the shadow of the northern Blue Mountain Ridge, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania. Kayakers at right paddle into the silhouetted beauty of the lake in summer, my most favorite of seasons.

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

Leaser Lake was built by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for water-oriented recreation and opened for public use in 1971. Lehigh County leases this area from the state and operates and maintains the park. The land north of the lake was purchased by the county in the early 1970s. It is entirely wooded and is used for nature study and as an addition to the State Game Lands No. 217.

 

Goin' To Carolina In My Mind ...

“In my mind I’m goin’ to Carolina

Can’t you see the sunshine? …

You must forgive me

If I’m up and gone to Carolina in my mind …”

           ~ “Carolina in My Mind”

                 ~ James Taylor

                  ~ 1969

The beach chair is empty ~ I’ve gone to Carolina in my mind.

I shot this scene on a beautiful late October afternoon as the Atlantic Ocean meets Coligny Beach, Hilton Head Island in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Dance With The August Moon ...

“Well it’s a marvelous night for a moondance …

Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love? …”

      ~ “Moondance”

       ~ Van Morrison

         ~ 1970

Clouds tinged pink with the color of sunset dance around the moon and sweep down to the landscape in the beautiful surreal.

I shot this first quarter moon and clouds at the moment of sunset on August 15, 2021 on a warm and beautiful evening along the Ironton Rail Trail, which loops more than nine miles through Whitehall Township, the Borough of Coplay and North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

Background texture by Jai Johnson added for artistic effect.

The Ironton Railroad was a shortline railroad in Lehigh County. Originally built in 1861 to haul iron ore and limestone to blast furnaces along the Lehigh River, traffic later shifted to carrying Portland Cement when local iron mining declined in the early 20^th century. Much of the railroad had already been abandoned when it became part of Conrail in 1976, and the last of its trackage was removed in 1984.

 

In 1996, Whitehall Township purchased 9.2 miles of the right-of-way from Conrail, transforming it into the Ironton Rail Trail.