In A Field Of Suns ...

“ Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It’s what the sunflowers do.”

             ~ Helen Keller

              ~ 1880 ~ 1968

Though the sun often dipped behind the clouds on this late August afternoon, the field of sunflowers shone their beauty like little suns in the Sunflower Garden of St. Luke’s Hospital, Anderson Campus, Easton, Pennsylvania.

 

A bee decided to buzz in and photobomb this shot, landing on the sunflower in the foreground.

 

Young sunflowers move to face the sun, a movement called heliotropism. Mature sunflowers generally stop moving and remain facing East, which lets them be warmed by the rising sun.

 

The sunflower (or “soniashnyk”) is Ukraine’s national flower and has been grown on its central and eastern steppes since the middle of the 18^th century. And today, in light of Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine, the sunflower is a symbol of “I Stand With Ukraine!”

 

St. Luke’s also has a Cosmos Field filled with their colorful, daisy-like blooms, as cosmos are related to sunflowers and daisies.

 

The Fawns Of August ...

 “… I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief …

For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”

  ~ “The Peace of Wild Things”

 ~ Wendell Berry

 ~ born 1934

 ~ American novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic & farmer

 I came into the peace of wild things when I spotted the sweetest sight of summer ~ two beautiful white-tailed deer fawns, twice the joy of seeing just one! ~ showing affection and enjoying their first summer on an early August 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.

 

Light Of August ...

 “Memory believes before knowing remembers.”

              ~ William Faulkner

                  ~ 1867 ~ 1962

 ~ one of my favorite authors, Southern American author and Nobel Prize Laureate

               ~ “Light In August”

                    ~ 1932

It’s a sunset to remember as the summer sun radiates a gorgeous light over the rolling hills in late August surrounding the rooftop observation area of Trexler Environmental Center.

The trees in the foreground have reserved seating to witness the splendor that God paints in the sky as the day segues into night.

Located in the Central Range of Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, the center is at one of the preserve’s highest elevations and one of the spots that offer spectacular views at the 1,100 acre preserve.

Solar panels provide a significant portion of the energy needs of the building.

When the late General Harry Clay Trexler (1854-1933) established the preserve in the early 1900s, he did it to save the American bison, elk and white-tailed deer from extinction and assure the species’ survival.

A conservationist along the lines of Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir, General Trexler understood the importance of nature and preserving wildlife in its natural habitat.

A successful businessman who amassed a fortune in the timber and cement industries and founded the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company, General Trexler began purchasing small farms in the low hills of Lehigh County in 1906. By 1913, he had transported eight bison and 20 Virginia white-tailed deer to the preserve. The elk followed soon after.

When General Trexler died in 1933, he bequeathed the property to the residents of Lehigh County. Today, the Trexler Nature Preserve is open to the public for passive recreation and nature watching.

Yellow Stands For The Sun ...

“How lovely yellow is! It stands for the sun.”

   ~ Vincent van Gogh

     ~ 1853 ~ 1890

 

Van Gogh loved yellow, and the striking use of the color is seen in his paintings. Van Gogh’s paintings of sunflowers are among his most famous, painted in Arles, in the south of France, in 1888 and 1889.

 

The sunflower (or “soniashnyk”) is Ukraine’s national flower and has been grown on its central and eastern steppes since the middle of the 18^th century. And today, in light of Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine, the sunflower is a symbol of “I Stand With Ukraine!”

A gorgeous sunflower stands tall and shines its beauty on a lovely mid-August afternoon on the grounds of Kreidersville Covered Bridge, Allen Township, on the outskirts of Northampton, Pennsylvania.

Kreidersville Covered Bridge was built in 1839 and is loved for its great history and tranquil setting by the Hokendauqua Creek. It is the only covered bridge left in Northampton County.

The pedestrian-only bridge that crosses the Hokendauqua Creek is the oldest covered bridge in the Lehigh Valley and one of the oldest in the state. The historic wooden Burr Truss Bridge has a 116-foot-long span and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.