With the bridge of entry provided by Ken Pienkos and Staff from the new Oxford Library, Whisperings Along the Octoraro is a transformational journey of poetry replete with photographs through the rolling hills of Chester County from its early roots, Indian Hannah with its bucolic farms, Frozen in Time teaming with wildlife: Reinventing Wilderness, Wildlife on the Brink of Discovery; its Amish in Tradition; its celebrated artists like Andrew Wyeth “On Meeting Face to Face,” and its artisans, “Marquetry” as well as the plight of the homeless man in “Who Will Take You in, Arvin?” It’s a celebration of the enduring values which have been promulgated by the attributes of the thrifty Hausfrau in “Nana’s Jewels” and “Kitchen Life” with a penchant for Goethe and Shiller, and the philosophical father in “The Art of Pipe Smoking.” Interspersed within are Love Knots, Spun Jewels, and Natural Wonders, “The Maternal Spinster: ” Is there a way, we can duplicate your fail-safe instincts, delicate sensory hairs, or the silken threads of your woven nursery, maternal spinster with your fine lines of sensibilities? Let Freedom Ring is an affirmation of the spirit of Americans, stirring the fires of a core belief–united we’re free, divided we fall–duty-bound for freedom’s call, while the “Peace Rose” containing the colors of many roses beckons the young to circumvent old battlelines drawn! The meaning of life is confronted in When is it Time to Die first with our favorite pets, then the people we love best. Stripped bare, defenses lowered, we can absorb the beauty around like a flower past its bloom all shriveled up except for the essence reflected in the soft forgiving light of the moon…….but even strategy has certain bounds, deciding the perfect time to go, God alone is discriminating saving soul by soul. The photographs serve to capture the essence of the area with a special ethereal warmth and glow illuminating from the eloquence within.