A Fine Southern Morning ...

“Grace comes into the soul, as the morning sun into the world; first a dawning, then a light; and at last the sun in his full and excellent brightness.”

                    ~ Thomas Adams

                       ~ 1818-1905

      ~American scientist & inventor who is regarded as a founder of the chewing gum industry. He eventually joined with well-known chewing gum maker William Wrigley Jr.

The early morning sunlight whispers through the Spanish Moss that reflects in the lagoon on a beautiful May morning in the Lowcountry of Beaufort County, South Carolina.

Youngin' 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

A sweet baby bison enjoys an early May afternoon on the range at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, where I captured this portrait of an American Bison calf on a spring day as its mother grazed close by.

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.

Waitin' On Supper ...

 “May my heart always be open to little birds who are the secrets of living.”

                   ~ ee cummings

                         ~ 1894-1962             

A sweet tree swallow fledgling waits for its mother to deliver supper to the nesting box on a beautiful late spring evening in early June at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

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!