Steel Blue ...

  “The man who has done his best has done everything. The man who has done less than his best has done nothing.”

            ~ Charles M. Schwab

           ~ 1862 ~ 1939

    ~ American steel magnate, President & Chairman of Bethlehem Steel ~ under his leadership, Bethlehem Steel became the second-largest steel maker in the United States, and one of the most important heavy manufacturers in the world.

The iconic rusted blast furnaces of the former Bethlehem Steel in Southside Bethlehem, Pennsylvania stand tall along the Lehigh River, framed by the green leaves of spring against a steel blue sky, on a gorgeous early May afternoon along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

I captured this scene after setting out from the D&L Trailhead at Sand Island, Bethlehem.

Bethlehem Steel was an American steel and shipbuilding company that began operations in 1904 and was America’s second-largest steel producer and largest shipbuilder. The company’s roots trace to 1857 with the establishment of the Bethlehem Iron Company. Bethlehem Steel stopped producing steel in November 1995, and the company was dissolved in 2003. It was one of the world’s leading steel manufacturers for most of the 20^th century.

Much of the former home plant of Bethlehem Steel, the second largest steel manufacturer in the nation, has been transformed into SteelStacks, a ten-acre campus dedicated to arts, culture, family events, community celebrations, education and fun. SteelStacks has indoor and outdoor venues, hosting festivals, concerts and community events.

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

Steel blue is a shade of blue color that resembles blue steel, i.e. steel which has been subjected to bluing for protection from rust. The first recorded use of steel blue as a color name in English was in 1817.

Carolina By The Sea ...

 “When we go back to the sea ~ whether it is to sail or to watch it ~ we are going back from whence we came.”

             ~ President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

                    ~ 1917 ~ 1963

             ~ 35^th President of 

                the United States of America

                    ~ 1960 ~ 1963

                 & U.S. Navy veteran

         ~ Remarks at the dinner for the

                 America’s Cup Crews

                   ~ September 14, 1962

The splendor of the Atlantic Ocean meets the edge of the shore at Folly Field Beach Park, Hilton Head Island in the Lowcountry of South Carolina on a beautiful late October morning.

 

Wild Hearts ...

“Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances.”

                ~ Maya Angelou

                    ~ 1928 ~ 2014

Bleeding hearts dance in the spring breeze on a beautiful April afternoon along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

 

I captured this shot this after setting out from the Cementon Trailhead of the D&L Trail in Cementon, Pennsylvania, part of the Asher F. Boyer Eagle Trail section of the D&L.

Bleeding hearts are shade-loving woodland plants that bloom in the cool of spring. Although they stay in bloom for several weeks, the plants often become ephemeral, disappearing for the rest of the summer if exposed to too much sun or heat. The roots are still alive, though, and the plant will regrow in the fall or the following spring. The fringed-leaf varieties of bleeding heart repeat-bloom throughout the summer.

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

 

Bloomers In The Big Apple ...

“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”

       ~ Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson

               ~ 1912 ~ 2007

    ~ First Lady of the United States of America

                 ~ 1963 ~ 1969

   ~ Second Lady of the United States of America

                  ~ 1961 ~ 1963

Lady Bird Johnson contributed to spreading hope & beautifying America by promoting the use of wildflowers along the highways of the nation. She was an advocate for beautifying the nation’s cities & highways, and the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 was informally known as “Lady Bird’s Bill.” It was the pet project of the First Lady, who believed that beauty, & generally clean streets, would make the United States a better place to live.

Beautiful tulips are in full bloom in Lower Manhattan on a gorgeous mid-April afternoon in New York City ~ The Big Apple.