Winding Winter Way ...

“The road is life.”

                   ~ Jack Kerouac

                             ~ 1922-1969

                                         ~ “On The Road,”

                                                     ~ 1957

Standing near the Lehigh Valley Zoo at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania offers a beautiful winter vista overlooking the historic Schlicher Covered Bridge in North Whitehall Township.

Game Preserve Road becomes a winding winter way through the bridge, painting a picturesque rural landscape on a March afternoon.

Schlicher’s is an historic wooden covered bridge. It is a 108-foot-long, Burr Truss bridge that crosses the Jordan Creek and was constructed in 1882. It has vertical plank siding and a gable roof. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and was closed for a time for needed renovations.

The Elk Of Winter ...

“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 
                                                                           
The Elk of Winter strike a regal and thoughtful pose on the first day of March 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.

Plumage On Parade ...

"You musn't be afraid to dream 
a little bigger, darling."
                        ~ from the film "Inception,"
                                             ~ 2010  
A domestic turkey puffs up, struts and parades
its beautiful plumage in March at the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.  

Waiting For You ...

"There's nothing half so sweet in life
As love's young dream."
                          ~ Thomas Moore,
                                    Irish poet
                                        ~ 1779-1852

A spring sunset beckons as a bud brushes a
beautiful blossom while it waits for the bud to bloom on my favorite magnolia tree at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania. 

Hope Springs Eternal ...

"Hope springs eternal ..."
                          ~ Alexander Pope
                                ~ 1688-1744

Hope springs eternal, just as surely as
the daffodils bloom in the early spring.

I always fill with happiness like a child
when I see spring's first blooms.

This is the first daffodil bud I've seen this season, 
captured in mid-March a little more than 
a week before the official beginning of
spring, a time of hope, beauty and fresh possibilities.

Daffodil, Jonquil, Narcissus ... whatever 
name you choose, this bud says spring
is awakening at Trexler Memorial Park,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Hope, like spring, is ever near.     
                                    

Dancing In The Mirror ...

"There are two ways of spreading light:
to be the candle or the mirror 
that reflects it."
                    ~ Edith Wharton
                                   ~ 1862-1937 

The light of a waning winter sunset
dances as it is mirrored in the waters
spilling over a crest of the 
Little Lehigh Creek in Lehigh Parkway,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.   

Snow Mates...

"Faith is the bird that feels the light
when the dawn is still dark."
                                 ~ Rabindranath Tagore
                                        ~ 1861-1941

Beautiful North American Male Cardinal
is joined by a cute female house finch
as sunlight filters through the branches
surrounding their perch after a fresh
March snowfall at Trexler Memorial Park,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.    

The Fruits Of Spring ...

"In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous."
                                             ~ Aristotle
                                                    ~ 385-322 B.C.

My favorite white-tailed deer doe enjoys an apple
in the early spring, painting a sweet sight as 
sunset draws near 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.