"Bless the beasts and the children ...
give them love, let it shine
all around them."
~ "Bless The Beasts and The Children"
~ 1971
I feel so blessed personally and as a photographer
to have witnessed this tender, precious moment as
this beautiful white-tailed deer doe nuzzles her sweet fawn on an October afternoon on the Saucon Rail Trail, Hellertown, Pennsylvania.
"An early morning walk is a blessing
for the whole day."
~ Henry David Thoreau
~ 1817-1862
The words of Thoreau seem to fill the air
just after sunrise on a chilly October morning at the historic Wehr's Covered Bridge, Orefield, Pennsylvania.
The Jordan Creek spills over Wehr's Dam, built in 1904, to flow beneath the covered bridge, creating a picturesque autumn postcard.
Wehr's Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge in South Whitehall Township.
It is a three span, 117-foot-long Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1841. It has horizontal siding and a gable roof. It crosses the Jordan Creek and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
"There is a harmony in autumn,
and a luster in its sky."
~ Percy Bysshe Shelley
~ 1792-1822
I love Indian Summer and its harmony
of warmth and crispness. On this warm
October evening, God paints the sky
with a lustrous sunset at
Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The sun-dappled porch of Wanamaker's General Store,
Kempton, Pennsylvania says "Wilkum" (welcome) to
customers on an October afternoon.
The quaint Wanamaker's is an authentic, family owned
general store nestled in the heart of
Pennsylvania Dutch country.
Wanamaker's has been welcoming friends, neighbors
and passersby since the late 1800's.
The classic Pennsylvania Dutch Wilkum Home hex sign is
often seen on porches and other entry ways, extending a warm
and friendly welcome.
Beautiful white-tailed deer doe shares a tender moment
with her button buck on an October evening in the park.
I've been blessed to photograph this doe and her fawns
for two and a half years, and it's truly a joy to me
personally and as a photographer!
Regal Red-Tailed Hawk surveys the landscape from a high perch on an October morning at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania. This bird of prey is the most common hawk in North America.
"Life without love is like
a tree without blossoms or fruit."
~ Khalil Gibran
~ 1883-1931
I saw these X's and O's - symbols of hugs and kisses - etched on a tree on an autumn afternoon at
Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania,
just in time for Sweetest Day!
"If you tame me, it would be as if
the sun came to shine on my life."
~ "The Little Prince"
~ 1943
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
~ 1900-1944
Beautiful red fox pup peers out from behind the high grass on an October evening at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
"All good things are wild and free."
~ Henry David Thoreau
~ 1817-1862
A wild, free and beautiful red fox pup
peers out into an October evening
at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
A colorful and artistic view at this year's Oktoberfest
on Nineteenth Street in the quaint West End Theatre District,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.
"Wrinkles should merely indicate
where smiles have been."
~ Mark Twain
~ 1835-1910
When I saw this man fishing on
the Delaware River in Phillipsburg, New Jersey
on an early September evening, I wondered from his
expression what thoughts and memories were
crossing his mind. The man was fishing near
the historic Northampton Street Bridge,
commonly called The Free Bridge, which spans the
Delaware River between Phillipsburg, New Jersey
and Easton, Pennsylvania. The Free Bridge was completed in 1896
and survived the damage from massive flooding from
Hurricane Diane in 1955. It undersent a thorough
restoration in 1990.
This adorable chipmunk poses on a sunny September day at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
This Great Blue Heron may well be contemplating how fast the summer flew by while perched at the historic Wehr's Dam on a late September afternoon.
The dam, built in 1904, is next to Wehr's Covered Bridge, which dates back to 1841, at Covered Bridge Park, Orefield, Pennsylvania.
"Your kisses take me to
Shangri-la ...
A land of bluebirds and fountains ...
For anywhere you are is Shangri-La."
~ "Shangri-La"
~ Carl Sigman, Matty Malneck and Robert Maxwell
1946
With the Jordan Creek gently flowing under a sparkling
September sun, it seems like Shangri-La on a late summer
afternoon at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
The historic Schlicher Covered Bridge is in the background.
It is a wooden, 108-foot-long Burr Truss Bridge constructed in 1882.
It has vertical plank siding and a gable roof. It recently reopened
after needed restorations.
Great Blue Heron high in the trees
is awash in the glow of a summer sunset
at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
"The summer knows ...
one last caress
it's time to dress for fall ..."
~ "The Summer Knows,"
Theme from "Summer of '42"
~ Michael Legrand, 1971
Bright pails, a melancholy mood ...
A few autumn leaves scatter around pails
left behind by children catching tadpoles
in the Jordan Creek at Trexler Nature Preserve,
Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
On this September afternoon it reminded me
the waning summer will soon give way to fall.
"Twilight drops her curtain down and pins it with a star."
~ Lucy Maud Montgomery
~ 1874-1942
Twilight begins to steal across the waning summer sky like a painter of dreams over Easton, Pennsylvania as viewed from across
the Delaware River in Phillipsburg, New Jersey next to the historic Northampton Street Bridge, commonly called The Free Bridge.
The bridge that spans the states was completed in 1896 and survived damage from massive flooding from Hurricane Diane in 1955. It underwent a thorough restoration in 1990, and is one of my very favorite places to photograph.
"Dream no small dreams ..."
~ Victor Hugo
~ 1802-1885
This sweet white-tailed deer fawn will grow to be
a proud buck one day. But on this August evening
grazing in the park he had only to dream of what will be.
I've been blessed to photograph this fawn's mother doe
and her fawns for more than two years, and it's a true joy
for me personally and as a photographer.
"In summer, the song sings itself."
~ William Carlos Williams
1883-1963
Geiger's Covered Bridge paints a pop of red
to the country landscape in North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania
on a picturesque summer day.
The bridge is an historic wooden covered bridge. It is a
112-foot long Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1860.
It has vertical plank siding and an entry portal of
stepped square planks. It crosses the Jordan Creek
and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1980. It can be accessed from The Covered Bridge Trail
of the Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
"I found the poems in the field
and only wrote them down."
~ John Clare
~ 1793-1864
The words of the English poet John Clare came to life
to me when I photographed this scene just before sunset. It
was a waning summer evening just off the Ironton Rail Trail,
Whitehall, Pennsylvania, with the chirp of crickets and the
soft coo of a mourning dove the only sounds filling the air ...
a simple peace and a beautiful reminder to me of why
I love nature photography.