“In my mind I’m goin’ to Carolina
Can’t you see the sunshine? …
You must forgive me
If I’m up and gone to Carolina in my mind …”
~ “Carolina in My Mind”
~ James Taylor
~ 1969
The beach chair is empty ~ I’ve gone to Carolina in my mind.I shot this scene on a beautiful late October afternoon as the Atlantic Ocean meets Coligny Beach, Hilton Head Island in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
“Well it’s a marvelous night for a moondance …
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love? …”
~ “Moondance”
~ Van Morrison
~ 1970
Clouds tinged pink with the color of sunset dance around the moon and sweep down to the landscape in the beautiful surreal.
I shot this first quarter moon and clouds at the moment of sunset on August 15, 2021 on a warm and beautiful evening along the Ironton Rail Trail, which loops more than nine miles through Whitehall Township, the Borough of Coplay and North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.
Background texture by Jai Johnson added for artistic effect.
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 20th 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.
“Knowledge is life with wings.”
~ William Blake
~ 1757 ~ 1827
Showing off its wingspan, a Great White Egret – also called a Great White Heron – reflects in the Jordan Creek as it dips its long, sharp bill under the water to spear its prey while hunting for supper on a warm and beautiful mid-August evening as sunset approaches at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
