Mirrored ...

“Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.”

               ~ Rabindranath Tagore

                  ~ 1861 ~ 1941

 

Perched on the banks of the Coplay Creek, a beautiful male North American Cardinal gazes upon his reflection on an April evening along the Ironton Rail Trail, which loops more than nine miles through Whitehall Township, the Borough of Coplay and North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

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.

 

Spring Watch Of The Cooper's Hawk ...

 

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

            ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

                 ~ 1803 ~ 1882

Basking in the evening sun, a Cooper’s Hawk peers from a high perch, gazing over the spring landscape in search of prey as sunset beckons in early April at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Cherry Blossom Morning ...

“Came the spring with all its splendor,

All its birds and blossoms,

All its flowers and leaves and grasses.”

                 ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

                              ~ 1807 ~ 1882

 

An artistic view of delightful cherry blossoms in the soft morning light of April, showcasing the spirit of spring at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.