The Candid Doe ...

“If you are not filled with overflowing love, compassion and goodwill for all creatures living wild in nature, you will never know true happiness.”

                      ~ Paul Oxton

              ~ founder & director

                of Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation

 My favorite white-tailed deer doe seems to say hello as she strikes a candid pose while seeing me walking toward her on a beautiful July evening in the park.

I’ve been blessed to photograph this doe and her fawns since 2012, and it’s a true joy to me personally and as a photographer.

Where The Honeysuckle Blooms ...

“What a pity flowers can utter no sound! A singing rose, a whispering violet, a murmuring honeysuckle – oh what a rare and exquisite miracle would these be!”

               ~ Henry Ward Beecher

                  ~ 1813-1877

 I love the heady perfume of Japanese Honeysuckle in bloom! I captured this shot in the late day sun of May at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

When the day draws to a close, the scent of honeysuckle joins with the natural chorus of spring peepers and the call of the whip-poor-will for spring perfection!

Japanese honeysuckle flowers are edible to humans and appreciated for their sweet-tasting nectar. The flowers can also be a significant source of food for deer, rabbits, hummingbirds, and other wildlife.

Baby And Mama On The Range ...

“The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must and we will …”

              ~ Theodore Roosevelt

                 ~ 1858-1919

             ~ Naturalist & Conservationist

          ~26^th President of the

                  United States of America

                        ~ 1901-1909

What a sweet baby bison, and the first I’ve ever photographed!

I captured this beautiful female American Bison calf with her mother on a late August evening three months after her birth at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, where bison 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.

The American Bison was designated the first national mammal of the United States on May 9, 2016. The majestic bison joins the bald eagle as a national symbol.