"...There are pale yellow mornings, when the mist burns slowly into day,
the air stings like autumn ..."
~ Robert Hass
~ born 1941
~ Poet Laureate of the United States
~ 1995-1997
The mist rises poetically soon after sunrise on a brisk and beautiful October morning near the ford of the Jordan Creek, one of my very favorite places to be and to photograph, at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
"In the forest no tree grows straight.
But they all reach up towards
the light and the goodness in life."
~ Native American Proverb
As I was walking the trails of Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania
on an October day, I heard the beautiful strains of "Amazing Grace"
floating through the air. I looked up and saw this man playing the
Gospel hymn on his Native American flute.
"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin."
~ William Shakespeare
~ 1564-1616
Sweet white-tailed deer fawn happily wraps herself in
wild red berries as she grazes on an October day along
the Saucon Rail Trail, Hellertown, Pennsylvania.
"Autumn paints in colors that summer has never seen."
~ Author Unknown
Brushstroke by brushstroke, a painter captures on canvas
the glorious autumn beauty God has painted this October
at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
I took this candid shot of the artist and her easel
nestled in a picturesque spot between the ford of the
Jordan Creek and the pedestrian bridge at the preserve.
"Flowing water is at once a picture and a music,
which causes to flow at the same time from my brain,
like a limpid and murmuring rivulet, sweet thoughts,
charming reveries, and melancholy remembrances."
~ Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
~ 1808-1890
The waters of the Monocacy Creek spill like memories between the
morning sun and shadows dancing on the dam - commonly called
Monocacy Falls - on a beautiful October day at Monocacy Park,
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in this high contrast monochrome shot.
"... Deep in December it's nice to remember
The fire of September that made us mellow
Deep in December our hearts should remember
And follow, follow, follow."
~ "Try To Remember"
~ from the 1960 musical
"The Fantasticks"
The fire of September suffuses across the waning summer sky,
painting a gorgeous sunset at Trexler Memorial Park,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.
"Butterflies are self-propelled flowers."
~ Robert Heinlein
~ 1907-1988
Beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly alights on the thistle as a bee is already enjoying the nectar on a sweet summer day at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul ..."
~ Hebrews 6:19
Hope is illuminated in pink during Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October atop the iconic PPL Building in downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The PPL Building, formerly the Pennsylvania Power and Light Building, is a 24-story, art deco/art moderne skyscraper at Ninth and Hamilton Streets.
It is the tallest building in Allentown and the second tallest in the Lehigh Valley, and serves as headquarters for the electric utility, PPL .
The building is often uniquely illuminated at night, especially during the Christmas season. During the 1960s, PPL supported the local United Fund community drive program by using the building's brightly lit windows to spell out the abbreviation "U.F." to remind area residents to contribute to the fund drive.
The PPL building was built from 1926-1928. The building was designed by architect and skyscraper pioneer Harvey Wiley Corbett, who would later have a hand in designing
New York's Rockefeller Center, and was supervised by by his assistant, Wallace Harrison, who would later design Lincoln Center, La Guardia Airport and the United Nations Headquarters Building. The building has exterior features bas reliefs by Alexander Archipenko. In 1930, the PPL building was named "the best example of a modern office building" by Encyclopedia Brittanica, and also featured the world's fastest elevator.
"Simple days bring simple joys ..."
~ Emily Lawless
~ 1845-1913
The sweet morning light of summer dances and shimmers into beautiful bokeh around a buddleia flower on the banks of the Jordan Creek at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania ...
the magic of ordinary days.
"Scatter joy ..."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
~ 1803-1882
Beautiful white-tailed deer doe enjoys a shiny red apple
on a waning summer evening in the park.
I've been blessed to photograph this doe and her fawns
for more than three years, and it's a true joy to me
personally and as a photographer.
"As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God."
~ Psalm 42, Verse 1
Beautiful white-tailed deer doe takes a drink in the creek on a waning
summer evening in the park.
I've been blessed to photograph this doe and and her fawns for more than three
years, and it's a true joy to me personally and as a photographer.
"There's a certain nostalgia and romance in a place you left."
~ author David Guterson, born 1956
Diners ... a favorite of locals and weary travelers, sharing their
joys and sorrows over a steaming cup of coffee. Diners are
a comforting haven, a slice of nostalgia to go with that slice
of cherry pie, especially on a rainy evening.
Here, the Hamilton Family Restaurant (known as the "Ham Fam"),
a '50s era landmark in the West End of Allentown, Pennsylvania, beams
it's retro neon welcome during a rainy September twilight.
"... Wild, wild, like the deer and the dove
Wild and free is this land that I love ...
A dream grows wild in the country...
And here with a dream in my heart
Part of the wild, wild country, am I."
~ "Wild In The Country"
~ The title track from the 1961 dramatic film
"Wild In The Country," recorded by
the great Elvis Presley
Beautiful and regal looking six point white-tailed deer buck
pauses from grazing on a warm September evening along
the Saucon Rail Trail, Lower Saucon Township, Pennsylvania.
"Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it."
~ L.M. Montgomery
~ 1874-1942
Sometimes life whirls by so fast it's a bit of a blur,
so it's good to remember the simple joys, like going to the fair
on a sweet summer night.
This high contrast monochrome shot captures the ferris wheel
spinning on the September opening of the 163rd Great Allentown Fair,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.
"I see nothing in space as promising
as the view from a Ferris Wheel."
~ E.B. White
~ 1899-1985
The Ferris Wheel whirls in tandem with
a smaller spinning wheel, coloring the sky over
the Midway with happiness on a warm September
evening, the opening of the 163rd Great Allentown Fair,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.
"Teaching a child not to step
on a caterpillar is as valuable
to the child as it is to the caterpillar."
~ Bradley Millar
The first Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar I've ever seen dallies on on August afternoon along the Plainfield Township Recreation Trail near the Stockertown (Belfast Junction), Pennsylvania portion of this rail trail.
"... In Dixie's Land, where I was born in,
early on one frosty mornin'...
I wish I was in Dixie ...
Away, away, away down South in Dixie!"
~ "Dixie" ("Dixie's Land")
Striking up a banjo and fiddle on a sun
streaked summer's day, this couple fills the air with the sweet sounds of Dixieland.
I loved hearing these wonderful tunes echo
through Lehigh Parkway, Allentown,
Pennsylvania as I snapped this
candid scene.
Perhaps they are wistfully thinking of home as
their music makes the summer even sweeter.
"If you want to go quickly,
go alone,
If you want to go far,
go together."
~African Proverb
Beautiful white-tailed deer doe receives a spoonful of love in a sweet nudge from her white spotted fawn during a precious moment captured on a summer evening in the park.
I've been blessed to photograph this doe and her fawns for more than three years, and it's a true joy to me personally and as a photographer.
"When I admire the wonders of a sunset
or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands
in the worship of the creator."
~ Mahatma Gandhi
~ 1869-1948
A stunning summer sunset echoes and shimmers on a Saturday evening across
Leaser Lake in the shadow of the northern Blue Mountain Ridge,
New Tripoli, Pennsylvania.
The lake's namesake is Frederick Leaser, who in September 1777
with his farm team hauled The Liberty Bell from Philadelphia
to Allentown where it was concealed in Zion Reformed Church.
His homestead is located one mile north of the lake.
"I've got to follow that dream wherever that dream may lead
I've got to follow that dream to find the love I need ...
But when a dream is calling you,
There's just one thing that you can do
Well, you gotta follow that dream wherever that dream may lead
You gotta follow that dream to find the love you need
Keep a-movin, move along, keep a moving ..."
~ "Follow That Dream"
~ from the 1962 musical film
"Follow That Dream"
~recorded by the great Elvis Presley
This Slinky follows it's dream to spring toward the rolling hills of Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania
on a beautiful summer day, a great reminder to always follow that dream!
Slinky is a toy, a precompressed helical spring invented and developed by naval engineer Richard T. James in 1943.