Goodnight, Dolly ...

 Goodnight and Godspeed, Dolly.

 We will always love you.

 

The Northampton Street Bridge – commonly called The Free Bridge – that spans the Delaware River linking Phillipsburg, New Jersey and Easton, Pennsylvania is illuminated in pink lights August 29 to honor the life and legacy of Dolly Parton. The beloved Queen of Country Music and philanthropist passed August 25, 2026 at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer.

I shot this from my vantage point by the banks of the Delaware in Phillipsburg, as sparkles of pink and gold reflect in the river at dusk.

“I Will Always Love You” is a song written and originally recorded by singer-songwriter Parton in 1973, and released in 1974. It was one of the many hits by the Grammy winner, a woman of strong Christian faith who also founded Imagination Library, a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas.

Programmable LED lights illuminate the iconic bridge. The lights were installed as part of a bridge rehabilitation/improvement project that spanned from late 2021 until spring 2023. The bridge is colloquially referred as the “Free Bridge” to distinguish it from the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge (previously the Bushkill Street Bridge), a short distance upstream.

Eligible civic, cultural, and community organizations may apply to the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission to request temporary color schemes https://www.drjtbc.org/bridge-info/northampton-street-bridge-lighting.

The 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.

 

Historic Phillipsburg was established March 8, 1861 and named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area. The historic town of Easton was founded in 1752 and is located at the confluence of the Delaware River and Lehigh River, known as the Forks-Of-The-Delaware. Both are Delaware River Towns.

The Free Bridge can also be seen from across the Delaware River at Delaware Canal State Park, Easton, near the Forks of the Delaware Trailhead of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

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

America - 250 and Fabulous ...

 “I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”

             ~ Ronald Reagan

                ~ 1911 ~ 2004

           ~ 40^th President of 

           the United States of America

                   ~ 1981 ~ 1989

         ~ from Reagan’s November 5, 1994 published letter to the American people announcing his Alzheimer’s diagnosis

The inspiring words of Ronald Reagan, penned in his heartfelt letter to America announcing his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, fuse beautifully with the spirit of America250, the Semiquincentennial of the United States July 4, 2026.

 I spotted this wonderful pop of patriotism displayed outside a house on the West End of Allentown, Pennsylvania on a June evening about a month before the country’s milestone birthday.

God Bless America! 

Busy Little Bluebird ...

 “The bluebird carries the sky on its back.”

     ~ Henry David Thoreau

       ~ 1817 ~ 1862

Busy, busy, busy! This sweet female Eastern Bluebird is perched atop a nesting box, carrying dried grass to build a nest on an April evening at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

I watched her take her nesting materials and pop them inside the hole of the nesting box, so cute!

Eastern Bluebirds are small thrushes known for being cavity nesters, often utilizing man-made nest boxes when natural woodpecker holes are unavailable.

These songbirds are known for their sweet and melodious vocalizations, and are traditionally considered harbingers of spring.

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.