Tohickon Valley Park and Ralph Stover State Park

Early Spring is a wonderful time of year for hiking, the air is pleasantly warm, and signs of new life are everywhere! Today was a beautiful day for a hike in Tohickon Valley Park and Ralph Stover State Park in Bucks County Pennsylvania. The high cliffs make this a popular area for climbers, and the gentle rapids attract kayakers.

The view from up high. Way down below there are a few kayakers in Tohickon Creek.

The trail had many beautiful views of the swiftly flowing creek.

Blue skies, ever so slightly overcast, new signs of Spring everywhere!

Hickory Run State Park

This weekend the weather was unseasonably warm, in the forties, a perfect opportunity for some winter hiking in Hickory Run State Park.

Rhododendrons line the creek, a perfect contrast of dark green against white snow and flowing water.

I love forests of conifers providing plenty of greenery, even in winter.

The creek is partially frozen in spots.

I love the sound of hiking along water.

Sand Spring Lake was frozen over, but starting to thaw, creating patterns of swirls in the ice.

A popular tourist destination in summer, now quiet  and covered with ice and snow.

Lehigh Gap

The day after Thanksgiving was a perfect day to be out of the mall and on to the trail! Hiking and spending time outdoors is a great way to continue to celebrate this beautiful time of year, give gratitude, and work off some of yesterday's calories!

And so our hike begins... Pennsylvania is known for having some of the rockiest sections of the Appalachian Trail.

We did a bit of rock scrambling to view the river below.

White blazes mark the Appalachian Trail.

I CAN rock scramble, I CAN rock scramble! (photo by Rich)

Still more rocks to traverse...

A beautiful view of the section of trail known as Devil's Pulpit.

The climb was worth it!

I ran into my high school biology teacher Dan Kunkle with a group of students learning about the mountain! I had not seen him since high school. Dan's work with the Lehigh Gap Nature Center has been instrumental in protecting and restoring this area which has been so badly damaged by industrial pollution from zinc smelting. Huge sections of this area were completely barren before restoration projects began. (photo by Rich)

After our rock scramble, we are treated to a flat, beautiful section of trail beginning to recover from the pollution damage.

Fields of golden grasses....

Palmerton below...

Here you can see some of the damage: dead trees and barren landscapes.

Recovery is slow but certain.

Native trees are planted here and fenced in to protect them from deer.

Dead trees killed by zinc pollution. Many did not decay naturally because the environment was so barren.

Damaged areas with recovery projects in the background

Rows of tall grasses

I loved this view of the rolling mountains beyond.

I've often speculated about who lives in this house on the hill.

We're almost back! Trail is surrounded by grass fields.

Delaware Water Gap - Dunnfield Creek Trail to Sunfish Pond

This weekend brought some unseasonably warm temperatures, perfect weather for a hike in Delaware Water Gap to experience the beauty of this area and witness the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Trees are mostly all bare by now. The air smelled like pine, and our hiking was accompanied by the sounds of flowing water from Dunnfield Creek and the crunch of leaves underneath our hiking boots.

For the most part, the path was unobstructed, with a few exceptions when we had to crawl over fallen tree trunks or pick our way through a tumble of branches across the trail.

Evidence of Hurricane Sandy was everywhere.

We saw many huge fallen trees, their roots torn right out of the ground.

Sunfish Pond on a grey November day.

View of Mount Tammany

Hikers viewing the river below

A waterfall in Dunnfield Creek

French Creek State Park, Berks County, Pennsylvania

This weekend was a perfect time for a hike in French Creek State Park. This is the last hike before Hurricane Sandy pummels our area and likely takes down the last remnants of Autumn leaves. It was a surprisingly warm day, a bit of misty rain in the morning and some cloud cover, but otherwise very pleasant hiking weather.

Grey clouds over Hopewell Lake in the morning, but the brilliant colors of Autumn are still here.

Much of the trail is under forest cover. I felt surrounded by the gorgeous yellow, orange and crimson colors of the season.

I love the smells of Autumn, and the sound of leaves crunching underfoot.

Vivid yellow everywhere.

Welcome Autumn!

This weekend Autumn is finally here, with warm weather and bright sunshine, until an afternoon shower cooled things off. I compared last week's hiking pictures to today, and I can already see signs of the change of seasons.

This is Green Lane Reservoir from last week, which was, for me, the last hike of Summer.

Late Summer is clear skies and warm sun, but with the golden hues of Autumn slowly slipping in.

Today was a great way to celebrate the arrival of Autumn  at the Rodale Organic Apple Festival. Here is a view of the festival from the organic apple orchard.

Fall is pumpkin time!

Bethlehem VegFest 2012

Sunday was Bethlehem VegFest. I had a great day eating delicious food, engaging in uplifting conversation, and meeting some of my favorite cookbook authors! I had a Buddha bowl from Balasia and a peanut butter brownie from Vegan Treats (recently named one of America's Top Ten Bakeries by online magazine Departures). I was fortunate to meet Victoria Moran of Main Street Vegan and Allyson Kramer of Manifest Vegan.

Jamie K. of Save the Kales telling her vegan story and showing us we can all be activists.

The Cinnamon Snail line. I didn't want to wait that long in the heat, but I'm sure what they were selling was delicious! (I just read on their website that they sell "food to help you transform into a being of pure light who can serve all living creatures simultaneously and eternally". Had I known that, I would have waited in line!)

Lydia from From A to Vegan, Allyson Kramer from Manifest Vegan, Chris from From A to Vegan, me, and Jamie K. from Save the Kales.

September is the new January

Gretchen Rubin of the Happiness Project recently wrote that "September is the new January". September is an appropriate time for starting over and new resolutions; it's the start of the school year, the change of seasons, a time for reflection and contemplation, and also action.

It's a time of change for me as well, and I've made a few resolutions of my own. I recently started the seemingly never ending task of decluttering once again, clearing out closets and shelves. shedding old possessions and leaving room for new life, new energy, new thoughts. Today I had my windows cleaned (I will not confess how long it's been since I've had really clean windows), and I savor the light, the brightness, the clear September sky now easily visible through all the rooms of my house! I also start a new job this month full of hope, promise, and new direction.

There is a passage in the Baha'i scripture The Hidden Words which says "I loved thy creation, hence I created thee... " * I have always taken this to mean that we were loved even before our inception (much like the Psalm "you knit me together in my mother's womb" *, I always visualize a tiny little crocheted skeleton!) I recently came across a different interpretation, that what we create: our life, our actions, our contribution, is loved. I never thought of it that way before.

So in this September, this time of transformation and renewal, I begin again the task of creating a life, my life with my own hopes, dreams, interests, aspirations, values...... And as I look out my newly cleaned windows, I look forward to what the new season brings!