Peek Of Blue ...

“The reason birds can fly and we can’t is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.”

               ~ J.M. Barrie

                     ~ 1860-1937

                 from “The Little White Bird”

                           ~ 1902

    ~  Barrie is the creator of Peter Pan, who first  appeared in “The Little White Bird”

A beautiful tree swallow – known for its iridescent blue-green color upper parts – peeks out of its nesting box on a May evening at Lehigh Gap Nature Center.

While there are young or eggs in the nest, adult tree swallows frequently dive bomb intruders, including curious humans, and attempt to drive them from the area – I personally know this to be true, and so does my camera!

In the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, the Lehigh Gap in Slatington, Pennsylvania, is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the Delaware and Lehigh Heritage Corridor Trail (D&L Trail). 

The Appalachian Trail, a foot path, follows the ridge on both sides of the Lehigh Gap, running 1,245 miles south to Georgia and 930 miles north to Maine. Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

No Winter Lasts Forever ...

“No winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn.” 

              ~ Hal Borland

                        ~ 1900-1978

     ~ American author, journalist & naturalist

A beautiful hyacinth at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania droops into the spring snow a day after a snowstorm on the first full day of spring March 21 brought more than a foot of snow to the region.

Elk On The Winter Range ...

“There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm.”

                ~ Theodore Roosevelt

                      ~ 1858-1919

                    ~ Naturalist & Conservationist

~ 26^th President of The United States of America

                                  ~ 1901-1909

Elk on the winter range enjoy a rare warm February evening at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, where elk live as a herd on the hillsides of the 1,100-acre preserve’s Central Range.

When the late General Harry C. Trexler established the preserve in the early 1900s, he did it to save the American bison, elk and white-tailed deer from extinction and assure the species’ survival.

A conservationist along the lines of Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir, General Trexler understood the importance of nature and preserving wildlife in its natural habitat.

A successful businessman who amassed a fortune in the timber and cement industries and founded the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company, General Trexler began purchasing small farms in the low hills of Lehigh County in 1906. By 1913, he had transported eight bison and 20 Virginia white-tailed deer to the preserve. The elk followed soon after.

When General Trexler died in 1933, he bequeathed the property to the residents of Lehigh County. Today, the Trexler Nature Preserve is open to the public for passive recreation and nature watching.