Happy Thanksgiving Links

On this particular holiday, I want to thank all of you who read, comment and regularly check out my blog. This thing continues to be an adventure and as always, I am excited about where Remember is heading.

I hope you all have a nice holiday.

I'll be back Friday morning with a couple of new posts to get you through Black Friday and the turkey hangovers that linger into the weekend.

Eat well.

Happy Thanksgiving.
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From what I can tell, this site is still developing, but it is an amazing resource and the more that is added to it, the better. It is an online database of trails in Pennsylvania.

Check it out:
ExplorePaTrails.com

The video below is about Pennsylvania's D+L Trails. It is from Green Life Pennsylvania, a website chock full of outdoor activity and other "green" stories. Check out the bird tagging video as well and the Lehigh Gap Nature Center video.

I had the chance to meet Greg Huber at the Old fairgrounds clean up and he got the chance to write a great column about it. Greg is the new Allentown parks columnist for the Examiner in Philadelphia. Check out his column below:

Sharp Contrast
No good deed goes unpunished

This is a great list I found on The DCNR website. It identifies the state parks in Pennsylvania that are "must see". I was surprised to find that there are many National preservation areas here in PA. Next summer I intend to get out to alot of these places, given that PA just won a National award for best State Parks. That is, if they aren't closed...

Twenty Must See Pennsylvania Parks

This website offers loads of information about conservation programs in the state of Pennsylvania. If you have any lingering questions about native versus non-native plants and why the issue is so important, this site will answer them.
Check it Out:
Conserve Pennsylvania

A fantastic blog to check out, PA Environmental Daily is an awesome resource for environmental news in Pennsylvania. I check out this site every day. Check this blog out, it rules.

PA Environmental Daily

I think those sites should keep you interested on Thanksgiving.

At the bottom of a Canal

Allow me to begin with the now emptied canal; there exists an opportunity here that should not be allowed to get passed by. Inside the nearly dry canal, there is visible trash. Now, with the water gone, I think it is an amazing chance for a group of volunteers to get in there and clean it out before the water comes back. I would love to get this project underway myself. It certainly needs to be done but it is going to take some manpower. Here, I must congratulate Judith Ross. Ms. Ross has taken it upon herself on the Bethlehem side of the Canal to rescue the wildlife put in peril by the absent water of the canal. You are doing a great job Ms. Ross, thank you.

In all the visits I have made to Canal Park, I have never not found significant piles of dumped trash in the undergrowth. During a visit a few years ago, a picture was taken of me standing on the boat launch. Upon further observation, a dead cat was clearly visible in the water next to me. Standing on the boat launch and looking across the river yesterday, I saw this:



When I turned around, I saw this:


It is a damn shame that the Parks department has suffered the staff cuts it has. The maintenance job they do is difficult and tiresome. Our parks system is huge. It is increasingly apparent to this observer that the maligned volunteer projects of late need to increase tenfold.

On Sunday in Canal Park, the parking lot was full of huge stones which I assume are part of the breach repair:

There is no other park in the city of Allentown that is as naturally powerful than Canal Park. Steeped in history, the park now serves as a window to the state of Allentown and her parks today. Much more than that breach requires repair in Canal Park. I hope someone recognizes it soon.

The Hidden Threat in our Parks

At a city council meeting this summer, Dr. Abigail Pattishall addressed the assembled body and spoke about the benefits of Riparian Buffer restoration. She gave a thoughtful and well executed presentation but even her sage words of science could not snuff the flames of worry that some on the council had. I particularly remember Councilman Guridy being concerned about snakes. Everyone seemed to be worried about a coming plague of angry snakes bent on warfare against us in the parks.

However, knowing now that the snakes are a non issue and the battle over the plans still goes on although slightly muted, there is a growing threat in our parks that everyone needs to be made aware of.

I first caught sight of the fearsome species in Trexler Park last spring. I managed to take a quick picture before fleeing from the fearsome sight. The creature is called The Feral Bucky.

The Feral Bucky appears randomly throughout our park system and without warning. If you see deer, in their midst, you may see a Feral Bucky using the deer for cover. He goes unseen, unnoticed, silent, waiting. Here, as I journeyed through the thick vegetation of summer at Trexler Park, I was trapped as The Feral Bucky approached through the cattails.

Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the Feral Bucky’s behavior is the seeming fearlessness the species has of us. In what was a traumatizing moment for her and now after months of solitary confinement and therapy, local blogger Katie Bee has survived her encounter. You can see in this picture the ability of The Feral Bucky to mimic human behavior and blend in as if it were a human chameleon at the Lehigh Valley Zoo.

Alone on the waters of Muhlenberg Lake, The Feral Bucky landed in my paddle boat and startled, I quickly snapped a picture before The Bucky disappeared. His look of seriousness is that of a ruthless creature bent on my destruction. I was lucky to have survived.

During a disc golf game at The Parkway, the appearance of The Feral Bucky on the tenth hole quickly ended our game and sent us running to the tree line for protection.

I was lucky to have snuck up on a Feral Bucky once while I walked in Cedar Creek. I quickly dove out of the water and The Bucky never noticed me.

Perhaps the most terrifying encounter with The Feral Bucky occurred nearly 1500 feet above ground on the bare rock peak of Bake Oven Knob. In typical Bucky fashion, it appeared from nowhere and alighted itself on the rocks below me. I managed to frighten him off by throwing vegetables; and after tossing a Strunk and White off the cliff, the Bucky was lured away.

I warn you fair citizens of Allentown to fear The Feral Bucky. Do not attempt to hunt the creature for his mane of hair provides him with an impervious shield to all weapons but a steady job.

BEWARE THE FERAL BUCKY!

(Dedicated to my brother with love, for taking many a journey with me)


And don't worry readers, I'll be back with the serious stuff tomorrow with a look at conditions in Canal Park. I'll be posting about a trip to the trail of much dispute later in the week and I'll be taking another look at Jordan Park. There may even be time for another piece on Cedar Beach. Those paved pathways... ugh.

Allentown, The SEIU, and Fox News

Last week The Morning Call ran a story concerning local SEIU president Nick Balzano and his apparent interest in an Eagle Scout project done at Kimmet’s Lock. Mr. Balzano was allegedly troubled by this project. It would seem to him that it may be the kind of project that Union workers could have done and bee paid to do. I would imagine that Mr. Balzano thought this volunteer effort violated terms of the Union contract with the city of Allentown.

The story made the rounds across the local mostly conservative blogosphere. It’s a polarizing story that adds a little local heat to a long running conflict between conservatives and unions. The difference here is that Mr. Balzano and his issue with this volunteer project is uniquely rooted in a particular problem with layoffs, volunteer projects and the city of Allentown.

Given that the SEIU has suffered the greatest amount of layoffs here in Allentown, I understand why such a volunteer project would be troubling to Mr. Balzano had it been sponsored or encouraged by the City of Allentown. It was not however and the story should have ended there. It has not. As a matter of fact, this morning I found the story on foxnews.com which is disturbing because god only knows what those hucksters will use this story to legitimize or spin.

The bottom line here is that there is an issue in Allentown that is unfortunately, difficult to solve. There should be an active volunteer park stewardship in this city. Any city that isn’t Allentown, that would have the amount of park land we do, would have such a stewardship. I guarantee it. People want to be a part of things like this and I know first hand how difficult it is to attempt volunteer work in our parks because of the fear of violating the Union contract.

This story never should have made it to faux news. There really isn’t a story here to begin with which is why I hesitated before writing about it. The SEIU is not going to go after this kid. In truth, we do not even know in what context Mr. Balzano made his now infamous comments. Bottom line, this is a non issue and the actual issue here is the need for the City to work with the Union to figure out a compromise that will allow greater volunteer efforts in our parks. It is a glaring issue in my opinion and one that needs to be addressed.

For the record, these volunteer projects should exist, not because the City shouldn’t pay people to do the work. They should exist because as I have documented just two weeks ago, these kinds of projects reinforce and help build community ties and identity. These projects allow a deeper connection to develop between citizens and their parks. They allow people to quite literally become part of a park or playground.

I wish Mr. Balzano luck. It would seem only a matter of time before this story reaches the nonsensical hands of jester Glenn Beck or one of the other ideologues parading around on that channel.

In the meantime, I hope a compromise can exist soon to end future conflicts over volunteer activities. Until then, things are pretty much going to continue like this:


Warning, opinion below.

Glenn Beck is a moron, for the record.

Don't miss today's other post:
Indian Summer

UPDATE

The aformentioned moron, Glenn Beck, has already commented about this on his crazy time hour TV show. No surprise but his coverage was misinformed and inane.

Indian Summer

These are the days when birds come back,
A very few, a bird or two,
To take a backward look.
These are the days when skies put on
The old, old sophistries of June, -
A blue and gold mistake.
Oh, fraud that cannot cheat the bee,
Almost thy plausibility
Induces my belief,
Till ranks of seeds their witness bear,
And softly through the altered air
Hurries a timid leaf!
Oh, sacrament of summer days,
Oh, last communion in the haze,
Permit a child to join,
Thy sacred emblems to partake,
Thy consecrated bread to break,
Taste thine immortal wine!

- Indian Summer-Emily Dickinson

Indian Summer is defined simply as a meteorological phenomena that occurs following the first frost. A strong southern or southwestern wind pattern establishes itself and in turn pumps unseasonably warm across an area, resulting in humid and nearly summerlike weather long after summer itself has passed.

Over the last few weeks in the Lehigh Valley we have had a couple little Indian Summers and they certainly did not go by unnoticed. The parks were full of people taking in what I heard repeatedly referred to as “the last nice day of the year”.

I have made no secret of my distaste for hot weather. I loathe it. I do however enjoy Indian Summer if only for the weirdness that occurs on account of it. Amongst barren trees and in silent forests sits heat, and it is entirely confusing to all of the senses. You expect to see leaves. You expect to hear the call of birds and the buzz of insects. You expect to smell the sweetness of blooming flowers.

You do however feel the warmth as if June had returned. You see no leaves. You hear no noise in the underbrush. You smell the sickeningly sweet smell of decay as the rot of summer speeds into decomposition across the forest floor.

The pictures in the post were taken during what I assume will be our last taste of Indian Summer, of St. Martin’s Summer, of Babye Leto, of Gypsy Summer or whatever else you may happen to call it. If this truly is the last stand of a fallen season I bid it the kindest farewell. I certainly had a wonderful summer entangled in nature. Bring on the Winter! I swear I can almost hear the old man’s cane tapping at the front door.

Monocacy Nature Center

I made my first ever visit to Monocacy Nature Center on a true August afternoon; the kind of afternoon that earns the nickname “dog day”. It was oppressively humid, disgustingly hot and mostly the kind of day that beckons the soul toward water. In other words, it was the perfect day to dwell in the cool shade of sanctuary and better still to sit on the side of the Monocacy Creek as it passes on its journey to the Lehigh River.

Across the street from Monocacy Park, the Nature Center sits aside a parking lot and would barely have its concrete path noticed if not for the large blue sign. That path is deceptive as well. As quickly as you make enough footsteps to place yourself inside, the concrete disappears and the walkway returns to the wild it winds through.



Inside the Nature Center, there are no signs. There are no mowed grass meadows. It is simply unadulterated Nature and is incredibly beautiful.

I recommend visiting this website for a detailed guide to the available trails before making a journey yourself. The Nature Center itself is not incredibly large but you can sure get lost in it. On this August afternoon, summer was just past its peak. Autumn was an unseen faraway threat and the view in all directions was lush with the green of leaves.


The trails loop around the Center and one particular path leads directly through the vegetation alongside the creek.


Here, at Monocacy Nature Center, the trail only begins. You can continue journeying all the way through Bethlehem to Sand Island Park. I sadly did not complete the hike this past summer but I surely will soon. I did walk a bit past the Center to the Burnside Plantation. I will be posting about that a bit in the future.

Visiting this place was wonderful and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to take a bit of a journey on an idle afternoon. I look forward to returning.

My Opinion: Cedar Beach Parkway

It seems as if, judging by recent comments and questions received, that my stance on the construction projects at Cedar Beach has not been stated clearly enough. Today, I will share with you my opinion on those projects, one by one, so that you know exactly where I am coming from.

1. Rose Garden and Old Fashioned Garden Pathways

I love this project. I love what has been done. The day that the stone was installed I was a little apprehensive about its appearance given that it was raised a few inches from the ground. That issue has since been remedied and the ground has been entirely evened out. I commend all who labored in the summer heat to get the job done. It looks great.

2. Riparian Buffer Installation

I care more about this than anything else. I am 100% behind this and I was proud to be able to spend a couple of days at Cedar Beach helping plant the buffer. When spring returns you can expect to see a chronicled documentation on the growth of these plants and the development of this incredibly necessary project.

3. The Playground

I realize what a hot button subject this is for people but for me, a glance at the eroded banks of Cedar Creek and the bared roots of Willow trees puts this project in perspective. The environmental restoration of Cedar Beach should be the absolute priority of any construction project in the park. I believe that Muhlenberg Lake should have been addressed and fixed before the playground. Again, I do not oppose it. I question what “phase” of construction it should be involved in. It will undoubtedly serve as a gateway into a park that will hopefully offer a new generation an invaluable experience, which will be, a first real connection with nature.

4. Reflecting Pond Restoration and Path Paving

Cleaning up the ponds that were obviously becoming victims of eutrophication is a no-brainer. It absolutely should have been done, and I am glad it has been done. There is still work needed to be finished around the large pond and as I posted on here two weeks ago, Greg Weitzel has pledged that the work will be done.
I am completely, 100%, against paving the paths that have been paved. It does not benefit runners who are the most frequent path users. The environmental impact is negative and as they paved the paths they destroyed a large section of newly planted natural vegetation that was to serve as one of the most beautiful areas of flora in Cedar Beach. Dropping asphalt onto that was reprehensible and while I realize the paving is still a work in process, it currently looks poor and is negatively contrasting the good work done in the Gardens.

5. Future Projects

At this moment, I am not entirely sure what is going to be done when, so I am going to refrain from speculative commentary until I know what is next. I will say that I am against creating extraneous paths that will remove more vegetation in a park area that barely has any to begin with. It would also give me great satisfaction to see the projects that are being done now completed and immediate plans put forward to fix Jordan Park, Trout Creek Parkway and Canal Park.

It is my belief, and I think I have made this rather apparent, that those three parks should be priority and until they are, we are doing a disservice to our parks system.

I am not entirely for or against the project at Cedar Beach and I think it would be silly if I said I felt one of those two ways. This is not a black and white generalization kind of situation and to think that it is, is nonsensical. Unfortunately, I cannot say that I am 100% behind everything because I would love to be. That would mean of course, that the vision I would have for the parks was being implemented and I can easily be 100% certain that my plan would go over like a fart in church. Overall, I think what is being done is good. There are some things that could/should have been done differently, but no one/nothing is perfect.

So, there you have it. Andrew Kleiner likes the pathways in the Gardens. Andrew Kleiner has Buffer madness. Andrew Kleiner is supporting the playground because he can see the good that will come from it rather than dwell on speculative negative possibilities. Andrew Kleiner is militantly opposed to the recent pave job and extraneous path creation. Andrew Kleiner believes that there are more dire environmental circumstances at Muhlenberg Lake, Jordan Park, Canal Park and Trout Creek Parkway that should be addressed immediately and before any further development at Cedar Beach.

Thanks for reading, it is after all, just one man's opinion.

My Opinion: Where did everybody go?

Writing this blog has taken me on a journey entirely of surprise. I would never have guessed that engaging myself in this sort of an activity could have possibly yielded the countless wonderful experiences I have had but it sure has. Without this blog, in truth, I have genuinely no idea where I would be today but I can tell you with certainty that it would not be anywhere half as pleasing.

One of the biggest surprises along the way was the sudden flare up of local controversy this past summer over "renovations" at Cedar Beach Parkway. All of the dissent and support built up to one, long, hot, crowded City Council meeting that trended towards over the top generalizations and wild accusation. Behind all that though was genuine concern, expressed by both sides of the argument and demonstrated by a truly involved citizenry. Without a doubt, that is something good to see.

Now, here in November, the hot fires of that argument have been extinguished. Work is continuing at Cedar Beach Parkway, for better or for worse depending on how you look at it. This post today is not about Cedar Beach Parkway. It is about my wonderment at the ability of that same citizenry, to now be so quiet regarding the future of our parks.

In particular, there are two things that have occurred or are occurring that have me wondering where everybody went.

First, the arson at Bucky Boyle Park. At the height of the Cedar Beach frenzy, most other local blogs were littered with posts regarding the subject. The Morning Call was actively running opinion pieces and news articles about it. WFMZ covered it as well. Excluding the initial story in the Morning Call, there has been little to no coverage or discussion of the sad vandalism that happened at Bucky Boyle Park and as a matter of fact, the "blogosphere" has been entirely silent about it. I cannot help but wonder why? If the construction of a playground in one park can cause such a fury, does not the deconstruction of one through an act of crime warrant a similar if not more furious response? I think it does. I think that what has happened at Bucky Boyle should be a rallying point for the community of Allentown and by community, I mean of the entire city. Strange how little noise has been made about this. It is actually sad and makes me curious about something that will lead into my second point. It makes me wonder if people think one park is more important than another one.

I ask this because, as you are reading this and I have documented many times, there are parks in Allentown that are in the crapper. There are no demonstrations for Trout Creek Parkway or Jordan Park or Canal Park. There is nothing out there excepting what I have put out there on here. These parks are in a bad way and now in the new cold of November, with added time for reflection, do they not warrant the same attention as say the Parkway?

Of course they do! And as a matter of fact, they need more attention considering the state they are in.

If I would be so bold as to call upon the same citizenry that showed up in droves to that Council meeting, I would ask them to relight the fire. I would ask them to bring these parks to the front of attention for City Council, Greg Weitzel and Mayor Pawlowski. I would demand upon them, as the lovers and defenders of the parks they claimed to be in support or protest of the Cedar Beach plans to make these parks the priority of the future of park development in Allentown.

So, where did everybody go?

The Construction at Cedar Beach: So Far

When I started writing this blog, The Cedar Beach construction had yet to begin. Now, nearly eight months later, a significant amount of construction has already been completed and more construction is currently underway. Today, I am going to show you the journey that Cedar Beach Parkway has thus far undergone; primarily the construction of pathways in the Rose Garden and Old Fashioned Garden and the refurbishing on the reflecting ponds. Take a look.

June 2nd


June 25th: Work Began on the Ponds


July 10th: Pond work hits a fever pitch



July 16th: The Pathways are starting to be dug


July 23rd: Pond Work is Finished



August 4th: The Ponds are Refilled




August 17th: The trenches in the Old Fashioned Garden are filled, Work begins in Rose Garden



August 20th: Final Pathway created in the Old Fashioned Garden, Towers rise in the Rose Garden


August 25th: Trenches dug in the Rose Gardens



October 26th: All Rose Garden Work Finished



They have entered into new phases of construction down there now. The paving of the pathways around the reflecting ponds in nearly complete. I'll have a complete photo log and comment next week. There is alot more left to happen down there and I'll make sure to show it on here.