Elk On The Spring 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

A herd of elk soak in the beauty of a warm May afternoon on a hillside dotted with wild yellow mustard 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.

Peek-A-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 Kittattiny 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.

Saturday Night At The Roxy ...

“I adore the theater and I am a painter. I think the two are made for a marriage of love.

I will give all my soul to prove this once more.”

                      ~ Marc Chagall

                                ~ 1887-1985

     ~ on painting new ceiling for the Paris opera

                                ~ October 14, 1963

A crowd teems around The Roxy Theatre, Northampton, Pennsylvania to purchase their tickets to a Saturday night show on a warm May evening.

The Roxy originally opened in 1921 as the Lyric. This theatre was renovated in 1933 in the tremendously popular art deco style - and renamed The Roxy after the famous New York City theater and its namesake showman Samuel “Roxy” Rothapfel.

Today, as the city’s only commercial theatre, “the Roxy continues to be the greatest show in town,” presenting both Hollywood favorites and live entertainment. It features a seven rank Wurlitzer pipe organ.