“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
~ William Shakespeare
~ 1564 ~ 1616
In the softness of a summer twilight, a sweet white-tailed deer doe peeks through the milkweed on a beautiful mid-July evening at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
“Some believe that art is the imitation of nature; in fact, nature is so sublime that it cannot be imitated.”
~ Kahlil Gibran
~ 1883 ~ 1931
It’s a wisp of nature on a beautiful early July afternoon along the banks of the Monocacy Creek as a bee is nectaring on the summer sweetness of a purple coneflower, sharing the petals with a ladybug at Monocacy Park, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
“With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”
~ from the inspiring Inaugural Address of
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
~ 1917 ~1963
~ 35th President of the United States of America
~ 1960 ~1963
& U.S. Navy veteran
The birth of America & its freedom is celebrated with vivid flares of purple & gold flashing across the summer night sky by the Fourth of July fireworks set off from J. Birney Crum Stadium, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Happy Birthday, America! Bravo!
How wonderful it would be to have fireworks ~ and the fire of patriotism ~ in our hearts every day!
~ Leonardo da Vinci
~ 1452 ~ 1519
~ “Leonardo’s Notebooks”
The historic Northampton Street Bridge, commonly called the Free Bridge, spans across the Delaware River linking Phillipsburg, New Jersey & Easton, Pennsylvania as sunset neared on June 30, 2023.
I shot this from the banks of the river on the Phillipsburg side facing Easton, as wildfire smoke from Canadian wildfires moving through the area caused hot milky skies and haze in the evening sky.
The bridge is colloquially referred as the “Free Bridge” to distinguish it from the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge (previously the Bushkill Street Bridge), a short distance upstream. It underwent a rehabilitation/improvement project that spanned from late 2021 until spring 2023.
The bridge that connects the two states was completed in 1896 and survived massive flooding from Hurricane Diane in 1955. It underwent a thorough restoration in 1990 and is one of my very favorite places to photograph.
Historic Phillipsburg was established March 8, 1861 and named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area. The historic town of Easton was founded in 1752 and is located at the confluence of the Delaware River and Lehigh River, known as the Forks-Of-The-Delaware. Both are Delaware River Towns.
The Free Bridge can also be seen from across the Delaware River at Delaware Canal State Park, Easton, near the Forks of the Delaware Trailhead of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).
Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.
