Silhouetted ...

 “Never waste a shadow in creating art.”

         ~ attributed to John Constable

                 ~ English painter

                   ~ 1776 ~ 1837

 General Harry C. Trexler looks majestic and stately on horseback, silhouetted on a late October day when the autumn sun and clouds gave play to light and shadows around this beautiful bronze statue of his image at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

 

The statue depicts General Trexler on his horse, Jack ‘O Diamonds.

 

A silhouetted bird, likely a Canada Goose or gull, flies at bottom right in a V formation, visualizing a sense of freedom. 

 

General Trexler (1854-1933) is the father of Allentown’s park system. He was an industrialist, agriculturist, philanthropist, conservationist and soldier. The park is his namesake.

 

During his lifetime, General Trexler contributed a great deal to the growth and quality of life in the City of Allentown and the surrounding County of Lehigh. 

 

This bronze statue of General Trexler was presented to the City of Allentown by his trustees Nolan P. Benner, William B. Butz, Joseph S. Young, Carl J.W. Hessinger and Richard E. White. It was commissioned January 16, 1979 and dedicated May 8, 1982.

 

General Trexler was a great man, and I’m personally very thankful to him, as Trexler Memorial Park and Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania are two of my very favorite places to be and to photograph.

To See A Mockingbird ...

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy …”

      ~ “To Kill a Mockingbird”

        ~ Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee

              ~ 1960

A Northern Mockingbird ~ the first I’ve ever photographed ~ keeps an eye on spring perched in the grass enjoying a late March afternoon at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

According to All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Northern Mockingbirds continue to add new sounds to their repertoires throughout their lives. A male may learn around 200 songs throughout its life.

 

Northern Flicker On The Edge of Spring ...

 “A forest bird never wants a cage.”

   ~ Henrik Ibsen

            ~ 1828 ~ 1906

I spotted this yellow-shafted Northern Flicker – the first I’ve ever captured in a photo – nestled in the grass gazing upon the looming late winter sunset of a March day at Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

According to All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Northern Flickers are large, brown woodpeckers with a gentle expression and handsome black-scalloped plumage. On walks, don’t be surprised if you scare one up from the ground. It’s not where you’d expect to find a woodpecker, but flickers eat mainly ants and beetles, digging for them with their unusual, slightly curved bill. When they fly you’ll see a flash of color in the wings – yellow if you’re in the East, red if you’re in the West – and a bright white flash on the rump.

Snow Cardinal ...

“Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.”

    ~ Rabindranath Tagore

     ~ 1861 ~ 1941

 

A beautiful male North American Cardinal brings a pop of red to an early March snowfall on a beautiful late winter afternoon at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

 

Swan On Snowy Pond ...

“Those who find beauty in all of nature will find themselves at one with the secrets of life.”

           ~ L. Wolfe Gilbert

     ~ Russian-born American songwriter of 

        Tin Pan Alley

              ~ 1886-1970

A beautiful trumpeter swan gracefully glides along the pond as a mid-February afternoon segues into evening at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.