Long As I'm Singin' My Song ...

 

“As long as I’m singin’

Then the world’s all right

And everything’s swingin’

Long as I’m singin’ my song

 

Ummmm…makin’ music

Is more to me than a pleasure

‘cause me and music

We go together like notes in a measure

 

Long as I’m singin’

Then the world’s all right

And everything’s swingin’

Long as I’m singin’ my…

 

Long as I’m singin’ my …

Long as I’m singin’ my song.”

          ~ “As Long As I’m Singing”

       ~ written & recorded by the wonderful

                       Bobby Darin

                         ~ 1964

A beautiful red male North American Cardinal sings his song from a very high perch 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 cardinal is one of the most recognizable and beloved songbirds in North America, known for its vibrant red plumage and distinctive crest. They are known for being territorial songbirds, with males often singing from high perches to mark their territory.

This cardinal is likely singing to attract a mate, which is one of its primary reasons for vocalizing.

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.

 

Ridin' With The Bluebells ...

 “There is a silent eloquence in every wild bluebell

That fills my softened heart with bliss

That words could never tell…”

          ~ Anne Bronte

             ~ 1820 ~ 1849

         ~ “The Bluebell”

          ~ poem published in 1846 which highlights the emotional impact of nature, where the flower evokes nostalgic, bittersweet memories of childhood and happier times

 

A little girl rides her bicycle in the light of a soft spring morning amidst 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 image.

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. 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.

 

Reverie And Reflection ...

“Our love is a dream, but in my reverie

I can see that this love was meant for me …

So love me as I love you in my reverie

Make my dream a reality …”

    ~ “My Reverie”

   ~ 1938 popular song with lyrics by Larry Clinton; its melody is based on the 1890 piano   piece “Reverie” by French classical composer Claude Debussy, 1862 ~ 1918

   ~ Recorded by artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby & Sarah Vaughn

When I saw this simple white bench perched with a view of trees reflecting in the Lehigh River on a beautiful early November afternoon, it made me think of Debussy’s “Reverie,” as I feel his compositions sound like art set to music. I presented the image in sepia to enhance that ethereal, dream-like mood that is reverie, and to mirror the beauty of autumn that is tinged with sadness.

I captured this shot this after setting out from the Cementon Trailhead of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, Cementon, Pennsylvania, part of the Asher F. Boyer Eagle Trail section of the D&L.

 

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