The Face of Spring

"Miss Tulip, we're ready for your closeup now."

Spring Flowers

Northeast Pennsylvania had a bloomin' wet April with rainfall well above average.  

Blue Skies Above the Riverwalk

Graffiti Above the Lackawanna River

Graffiti done well can be fine art.  Graffiti done poorly and without thought or care can be the equivalent of visual dirt.  This graffiti, located under a bridge crossing the Lackawanna River in the middle of Scranton, is rather uninspired.  While it is fairly vibrant, it lacks focus and emotional impact.  Call it colorful visual dirt.

Sonia's Cuban Deli

One look at Sonia's Cuban Deli will tell you everything you need to know about the popularity of Cuban food in Scranton.

Pocono Mountains Springtime Sunset

The trees are just starting to bud their leaves at the higher elevations in the Pocono Mountains.  In about two weeks the mountains will look totally transformed when the forests will once again be lush green.

The Housetruck

Yeah, it's big enough to live in!

Spring Along the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail

This view of Scranton from the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail looks across the river to the eastern bank.  Leaves are just beginning to bud on the trees and bushes. 

Scranton Softball

Softball is quite popular in Scranton and Northeast Pennsylvania.

Bear Creek Dam

A rare sunny and cloudless day in the Poconos really lights up the Bear Creek Dam. 

The Grave on Hungry Hill

The plaque is engraved with "Revolutionary War Veteran".

Hungry Hill Iroquois Chief

The Indian Chief statue at the Hungry Hill monument is a mystery.  The monument recognizes revolutionary soldiers that were clearing a road for Sullivan's army to march against the Iroquois nations that had sided with the English in the war.  The spot marks the grave of a revolutionary soldier.  The small statue is free-standing and appears to have been left as an unofficial part of the monument.  Some individual may have felt the Iroquois also need to be remembered when remembering  General John Sullivan and his army.  George Washington gave General Sullivan the order to carry out the scorched earth campaign against the Iroquois, and the surviving Iroquois gave him the nickname  "Town Destroyer".

Hungry Hill

Hungry Hill was given its name due to the privations suffered by those soldiers sent out to clear a road for General John Sullivan's army which was to march from Easton, Pennsylvania, to the Susquehanna Valley, and then into New York on a scorched earth campaign against the four nations of the Iroquois that had sided with the British in the Revolutionary War.  The name also portends the fate of those Iroquois that Sullivan was campaigning against.  George Washington had given slash and burn orders in the summer of 1779, and after Sullivan had defeated the Iroquois and destroyed some forty villages and their crops, the Iroquois suffered widespread famine and the demise of the Iroquois Confederacy of Six Nations.

Danger Dam View #2

Judging by all of the debris pushed up against this little dam in the Poconos, it is easy to imagine the strong and turbulent water that must come rushing down this stream when the weather gets real wet.  I'd say this sign offers good advice.  

Danger Dam

Wading, maybe.  But it is hard to imagine anyone being tempted to swim or launch their yacht in this little creek in the Pocono Mountains.  

Spring Is a Llama Time Coming

Rooftop Garden

This is definitely not your ordinary rooftop garden.  In fact, going by looks I'd say any gardening should be done by the local HAZMAT team.  

Leo the Lion, King's College Mascot

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This statue of Leo the Lion, the King's College mascot, exudes some serious character.  King's College is located in neighboring Wilkes-Barre.

Got Milk?

This giant fiberglass cow in Wilkes-Barre is udderly amazing!  Tourists are hoofing it and coming in herds to see this unusual attraction.  The cow is named Three-O-Nina.  She is owned by and permanently pastured next to Krugel's Georgetown Deli and Beer. Her owners milk her for all she is worth as a landmark and tourist attraction.  She is quite famoos and has been featured in Parade Magazine.

Pirate Pickup Truck

It looks like this picture on a pickup truck could be of a pirate.  But then the American flag and eagle suggest a revolutionary freedom fighter.  Then again, the truck was parked at the Luzerne County courthouse, home to a huge corruption scandal, and could belong to a lawyer or an elected official.  Must be a pirate.

Battleship Maine Memorial in Nay Aug Park

I have walked past the Battleship Maine Memorial in Nay Aug Park many times, always finding it a bit odd to see it there because it does not fit with any particular theme on the grounds of the park or the Everhart Museum.   It is visually striking and quite interesting with the ten inch shell on top flanked by fish, and the porthole cover on one side.  Why is it here?  A Google search took me to the Centennial Website of the Spanish American War, and it turns out that recovered artifacts from the sunken battleship have been disseminated to towns, cities and organizations all across the country.  Thinking about it, this does seem to be a remarkably effective way to share and keep alive the memory of the lost battleship and her crew.

Riverside Along the Lackawanna Heritage Trail

The Lackawanna Heritage Trail is a thread of nature that snakes right through Scranton along the Lackawanna River.  It is ideal for walking, jogging, biking, stretching the dog's legs, and enjoying a little scenic beauty in the middle of a metropolis, and it helps a person put on their happy face.   Unfortunately, seeing this sign from the trail is a bit like having a glass of cold water tossed in your happy face.  Icky, cold water.

Lackawanna River Heritage Trail

Lackawanna Coal Car on the Road of Anthracite

Traveling by train in the late 1800's and early 1900's could be a very grimey event for passengers who often completed their rail journey covered with coal soot.  Unless, of course, they were riding on a train pulled by an engine powered by relatively clean-burning anthracite coal.  The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company owned huge tracts of land rich with anthracite coal which they used on their trains.  This allowed them to boast about having clean passengers at the end of a journey.  They capitalized on this by creating an ad campaign that featured pictures of a fictional woman named Phoebe Snow dressed in clean white clothes, and the following poem:

Says Phoebe Snow, about to go
Upon a trip to Buffalo,
"My gown stays white from morn 'til night
Upon the road of anthracite."

Engine 663, Ready to Rumble

Say hello to the front end of the pushmi-pullyu train.

April in the Poconos

To Spring or not to Spring?  That is the question; I'm not sure I like the answer.  April has arrived and there is still plenty of snow in the Poconos.  Well, at least the roads are clear.

The Pushmi-Pullyu Train

When I saw these train engines I immediately thought of the pushmi-pullyu (pronounced push me pull you) from Dr. Doolittle.  It was a gazelle-unicorn cross in the original book, and a llama in the movie with Rex Harrison, and now two Lackawanna engines at Steamtown National Historic Site.