Button Buck On The Bloomin' 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

 

With the late afternoon air perfumed with the scent of honeysuckle and the early May landscape brightened with bloomin’ wild yellow mustard, this beautiful white-tailed button buck pauses from grazing ~ with his mama doe nearby ~ on a hillside of the Central Range of the 1,100-acre Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

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.

 

May Springs Up At The Grist Mill ...

 “The world’s favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May.”

  ~ Edwin Way Teale

   ~ 1899-1980

   ~ American naturalist, photographer & writer

  ~Teale’s works serve as primary source material documenting environmental conditions across North America from 1930 – 1980. He is perhaps best known for his series “The American Seasons,” four books documenting over 75,000 miles (121,000 km) of automobile travel across North America following the changing seasons. 

 

It’s a beautiful Saucon Valley spring as the evening sun dapples upon the historic Heller-Wagner Grist Mill, located just off the Saucon Rail Trail, Hellertown, Pennsylvania, in this HDR image I shot on the first day of May.

 

The Grist Mill dates back to the 18^th century and operated into the 1950s. The Borough of Hellertown took ownership in 1965, and nearly two decades later it was turned over to the Hellertown Historical Society. The Grist Mill is now an historical museum and a portion of it, the Tavern Room, may be rented for private functions.

 

The grounds include The Wash House, the smallest stone structure overlooking the mill chase and ponds. Built in the 1700s, it most likely served as housing for early millers and their families, along with a portion of the Grist Mill. It is now referred to as The Wash House, because after the construction of the Miller’s House in the 1800’s, it was utilized to wash sacks for the grain and possibly as the family’s wash house.

 

The Grist Mill grounds also include The Miller’s House, home of the offices of the Hellertown Historical Society; and the 1860 Walnut Street Pony Bridge and a barn across the street.

Gold Nugget ...

“Taking pictures is like panning for gold. You do it again and again, and sometimes you find a nugget.”

          ~ Raghubir Singh

           ~Indian photographer

             ~ 1942-1999

Talk about autumn gold! I spotted this painted rock etched with the phrase “Gold Nugget” in the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) at Lehigh Gap, Slatington, Pennsylvania on an October afternoon.

This painted rock is likely part of the The Kindness Rocks Project, which was founded by Megan Murphy of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, who wanted to spread encouraging messages to strangers by writing them on rocks she found on the beach. The practice spread and launched similar projects across the United States.

The grassroots project encourages people to leave rocks painted with inspiring messages along the path of life. People are encouraged to take one, share one or add to the pile. You can see just how much impact she’s made when looking up #TheKindnessRocksProject. Learn more about how to join the movement at http://thekindnessrocksproject.com.

The Lehigh Gap is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the 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.

 

When Autumn Leaves Start To Fall ...

“The falling leaves drift by the window

The autumn leaves of red and gold

I see your lips, the summer kisses

The sun-burned hands I used to hold

 

Since you went away the days grow long

And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song

But I miss you most of all my darling

When autumn leaves start to fall …

     ~ “Autumn Leaves”

    ~written 1945, released 1946

 ~Popular song & jazz standard composed by Joseph Kosma with original lyrics by Jacques Prevert in French, & later by Johnny Mercer in English. An instrumental version by pianist Roger Williams was a number one best seller in the U.S. Billboard charts of 1955. It was recorded by Nat King Cole in 1955 and many other artists throughout the years, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra & Tom Jones.

 

I captured this candid shot of a man walking alone along the Saucon Rail Trail, Hellertown, Pennsylvania as sunset loomed on a beautiful mid-November afternoon.

 

Though autumn is the season of colorful fall foliage, I thought presenting the image in infrared was in tune with the melancholy mood of that beautiful song, “Autumn Leaves.”