The Candid Doe ...

“If you are not filled with overflowing love, compassion and goodwill for all creatures living wild in nature, you will never know true happiness.”

                      ~ Paul Oxton

              ~ founder & director

                of Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation

 My favorite white-tailed deer doe seems to say hello as she strikes a candid pose while seeing me walking toward her on a beautiful July evening 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.

Tiger Wings ...

“Just as the bird sings and the butterfly soars, because it is his natural characteristic, so the artist works.”

                ~ Alma Gluck

                          ~ 1884-1938

Though this papillon has orange and black coloring, this is not a tiger, but an Eastern Comma Butterfly.

This beauty alights on an early June afternoon along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) at Lehigh Gap.

In the shadow of the Kittatinny 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 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.

Where The Honeysuckle Blooms ...

“What a pity flowers can utter no sound! A singing rose, a whispering violet, a murmuring honeysuckle – oh what a rare and exquisite miracle would these be!”

               ~ Henry Ward Beecher

                  ~ 1813-1877

 I love the heady perfume of Japanese Honeysuckle in bloom! I captured this shot in the late day sun of May at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

When the day draws to a close, the scent of honeysuckle joins with the natural chorus of spring peepers and the call of the whip-poor-will for spring perfection!

Japanese honeysuckle flowers are edible to humans and appreciated for their sweet-tasting nectar. The flowers can also be a significant source of food for deer, rabbits, hummingbirds, and other wildlife.