Thursday, April 5, 2018

A Touch of Bluebells ...


“A fine and subtle spirit dwells
In every little flower,
Each one its own sweet feeling breathes
With more or less of power.
There is a silent eloquence
In every wild bluebell
That fills my softened heart with bliss
That words could never tell …

But when I looked upon the bank
My wandering glances fell
Upon a little trembling flower,
A single sweet bluebell …

O, that lone flower recalled to me
My happy childhood’s hours
When bluebells seemed like fairy gifts
A prize among the flowers,

Those sunny days of merriment
When heart and soul were free,
And when I dwelt with kindred hearts
That loved and cared for me …”
        ~ “The Bluebell”
             ~Anne Bronte
               ~ 1820-1849

This little girl touches the beguiling bluebells blooming in early April near the banks of the Swabia Creek at Lock Ridge Park and Furnace Museum, Alburtis, Pennsylvania in this candid capture.

The blooming of the multitude of Lock Ridge bluebells – also called grape hyacinth – is a clarion call of spring in the Lehigh Valley, drawing many people to photograph and glimpse their beauty in the span of the few weeks they bloom.

Lock Ridge Park is a park built around an historic iron ore blast furnace just outside Alburtis, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley. The park preserves portions of the former Lock Ridge Iron Works, which dates back to 1868. The 59-acre park was opened in August 1976.

Monday, April 2, 2018

I Will Remember Too ...


“I’ll remember you
Long after this endless summer has gone
I’ll be lonely oh so lonely
Living only to remember you …

To your arms someday I’ll return to stay
Till then I will remember too
Every bright star we made wishes upon
Love me always, promise always
Oooh, you’ll remember too
I’ll remember you.”
             ~  “I’ll Remember You”
                   ~ written by Kui Lee, 1964
        ~ recorded by the great Elvis Presley, 1966
 A beautiful tree swallow poses with a seemingly wistful expression, as if to say, “I will remember too” on a beautiful late May afternoon along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) at Lehigh Gap.

In the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, the Lehigh Gap in Slatington, Pennsylvania, is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the D&L Trail. 

The Appalachian Trail, a foot path, follows the ridge on both sides of the Lehigh Gap, running 1,245 miles south to Georgia and 930 miles north to Maine. Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Serenity In The Spring Snow ...


“Among the hills, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace and serenity of distant fields and meadows – then let your heart say in silence, “God rests in reason.” And when the storm comes, and the mighty wind shakes the forest, and thunder and lightning proclaim the majesty of the sky, – then let your heart say in awe, “God moves in passion.”
              ~ Kahlil Gibran
               ~ 1883-1931
             ~ “The Prophet”
               ~ published 1923
A beautiful white-tailed deer doe grazes at sunset amidst the spring snow at Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania a few days after a snowstorm on the first full day of spring March 21 brought more than a foot of snow to the region.