Fly Me To The Moon ...

“Fly me to the moon

Let me play among the stars

Let me see what spring is like

On a-Jupiter and Mars

 

In other words: hold my hand

In other words: baby, kiss me …

 

… In other words: please be true

In other words: I love you”

      ~ “Fly Me to the Moon”

  ~ song written by Bart Howard & made famous by the wonderful Frank Sinatra

 

     ~originally titled “In Other Words,” the song was written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra’s 1964 version was closely associated with the Apollo missions to the Moon.

 

Love can fly you to the moon, and in this case, the flight takes wing in the surreal!

 

I created this image by blending my shot of a Finnair plane soaring through the skies over Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania on February 18, 2023, with my capture of the Supermoon over Cedar Creek Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania on December 3, 2017.

Finnair is the flag carrier & largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helinski Airport, its hub. Finnair flies between Europe, Asia & North America via Helsinki.

 

Mad Orange Sunset ...

 “Meanwhile the sunsets are mad orange fools raging in the gloom....”

    ~ Jack Kerouac

        ~ 1922-1969

It’s a mad orange sunset as an early spring sundown in late March creates silhouetted beauty surrounding the rooftop observation area of Trexler Environmental Center.

The solar panels seen in the foreground provide a significant portion of the energy needs of the building.

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.

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.

The Flying Egg ...

“I fell in love with the process of taking pictures, with wandering around finding things. To me it feels like a kind of performance. The picture is a document of that performance.”

         ~Alec Soth

             ~ born 1969

             ~American photographer

               based in Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Flying Egg sign stands out in the course of the cool and historic streetscape that is Main Street in historic downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in this infrared capture I shot on a late November afternoon.

The Flying Egg, a self-described “Boutique diner in the heart of Bethlehem,” is a casual-chic, white-brick eatery offering an all-day breakfast menu alongside brunch.

Cool Keys In The City ...

“The only truth is music.”

    ~ Jack Kerouac

    ~ 1922-1969

The new Public Piano waits to be played along the new SouthSide Urban Arts Trail Nov. 8, 2020 at Third and Fillmore Streets, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Anyone is welcome to sit down and tickle the ivories or listen to the music that weaves into the street rhythm of South Side Bethlehem.

The piano features the art of local artist Christopher Colon and is sponsored by The Lehigh Valley Chamber Main Street Foundation, Northampton Community College Fowler Family SouthSide Center, the SouthSide Arts District Design Committee and Wegmans Food Markets.

The project was a venture of the SouthSide Arts District, an initiative of the Bethlehem Economic Development Corporation.

A sign of the times in the age of COVID-19, a spray bottle of hand sanitizer sits atop the piano.

A street piano is a piano placed in a public area that encourages passersby to stop and play.