The Awakening Spring ...

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.”

     ~ John Muir

     ~ 1838 ~ 1914

What a joyful sight to see these purple and white early spring crocuses ~ also known as snow crocuses ~ bloom on St. Patrick’s Day afternoon ~ March 17, 2023 ~ as the seasons edge closer to spring in the waning days of winter at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Because of their very early bloom time, these blooming crocuses are often considered the first sign of spring, a cheery welcome to warmer weather!

Growing from bulb-like structures called corms, crocuses are low-growing perennial plants from the Iris family. They can often be seen peeking up through the snow well before any other flowers appear on the landscape.

 

Among the very first flowers to bloom each spring, crocuses come in Easter-egg colors of purple, yellow, lavender, cream and white.

 

Snowtime At The Springhouse ...

“I’ll own it’s cold for such a fall of snow.”

      ~ “Snow”

    ~ Robert Frost

     ~ 1884 ~ 1963

~ four time Pulitzer Prize winner

 

A fresh early March snowfall paints itself around the Springhouse at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania, as icicles fringe the roof of the log cabin on a sunny and beautiful late winter afternoon in this high contrast monochrome shot.

 

The log cabin, one of my very favorite places to be and to photograph, was part of Springhouse, the summer home of General Harry Clay Trexler (1854-1933), an American industrialist who built a business empire in Allentown. The park is his namesake.

 

Morning Watch ...

 “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

             ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

             ~ 1803 ~ 1882

Regal Red-Tailed Hawk peers from a high perch, gazing over the winter landscape in search of prey against a brilliant blue sky in the sunshine of a mid-February morning at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

This bird of prey is the most common hawk in North America.

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.