Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Play Misty For Me ...


“Look at me
I’m as helpless as a kitten up a tree
And I feel like I’m clinging to a cloud
I can’t understand
I get misty just holding your hand

Walk my way
And a thousand violins begin to play
Or it might be the sound of your hello
That music I hear
I get misty the moment you’re near….”
         ~ “Misty”
~ “Misty” is a jazz standard written in 1954 by pianist Erroll Garner, and lyrics by Johnny Burke were added later. It became the signature song of Johnny Mathis, appearing on his 1959 album “Heavenly.” Artists recording versions include Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughn.
  
“Misty” was part of the soundtrack of the 1971 film “Play Misty For Me,” starring and directed by the wonderful Clint Eastwood in his directorial debut.

The mist rolls through a hillside after a summer rain shower on a steamy early September evening at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

Monday, September 17, 2018

The Red House Along The Autumn Canal ...


“The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools.”
                             ~ Henry Beston
                                   ~ 1888-1968
The historic Harry Rickert House reflects in the Lehigh Canal on a beautiful autumn afternoon in early November along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail), Weissport, Pennsylvania, where the trail is positioned between the Lehigh River and Lehigh Canal.

Weissport flourished as a Lehigh Canal town until 1942. Diverse goods, coal and people moved along the waterway. Boatyards and a mercantile center in the Harry Rickert House anchored business activity here.

The house itself was built just after the canal was dug and built in 1828. Jacob K. Rickert came to Weissport in the 1850s, and through his son Hiram and grandson Harry, the Rickert’s business continued to operate until the 1950s. Today the stately building is owned by Rod and Jennifer Mann. The house is their home plus a guest house known as “The Canal Side Guest House.”

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

Thursday, September 13, 2018

And A River Runs Through It ...




“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.”
                  ~ Norman Maclean
                       ~ 1902-1990
       ~ American author and scholar noted for his semi-autobiographical novella “A River Runs Through It and Other Stories” (1976) that was adapted into a motion picture in 1992;  and the book “Young Men and Fire” (1992).

The historic town of Phillipsburg, New Jersey reflects in the Delaware River as sunset looms on a beautiful late summer day in early September.

To the left, the historic Northampton Street Bridge, commonly called the Free Bridge, can be seen from my vantage point across the river at Delaware Canal State Park, Easton, Pennsylvania near the Forks of the Delaware Trailhead of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail). The iconic Jimmy’s Doggie Stand Stand can be seen to the right of the bridge.

The Free Bridge that spans 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.

Phillipsburg was established March 8, 1861 and was named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area.

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