The Fawns Of August ...

 “… I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief …

For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”

  ~ “The Peace of Wild Things”

 ~ Wendell Berry

 ~ born 1934

 ~ American novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic & farmer

 I came into the peace of wild things when I spotted the sweetest sight of summer ~ two beautiful white-tailed deer fawns, twice the joy of seeing just one! ~ showing affection and enjoying their first summer on an early August evening along the Ironton Rail Trail, which loops more than nine miles through Whitehall Township, the Borough of Coplay and North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

The Ironton Railroad was a shortline railroad in Lehigh County. Originally built in 1861 to haul iron ore and limestone to blast furnaces along the Lehigh River, traffic later shifted to carrying Portland Cement when local iron mining declined in the early 20^th century. Much of the railroad had already been abandoned when it became part of Conrail in 1976, and the last of its trackage was removed in 1984.

In 1996, Whitehall Township purchased 9.2 miles of the right-of-way from Conrail, transforming it into the Ironton Rail Trail.

 

Summer Riverscape ...

“The life in us is like the water in a river.”

       ~ Henry David Thoreau

            ~ 1817 ~ 1862

            ~ “Walden”

              ~ published 1854

Folks enjoy a sun splashed late July afternoon on the Lehigh River along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) on a perfect day in summer, my most favorite of seasons.

I captured this shot this after setting out from the Cementon Trailhead of the D&L Trail in Cementon, Pennsylvania, part of the Asher F. Boyer Eagle Trail section of the D&L.

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

 

Light Of August ...

 “Memory believes before knowing remembers.”

              ~ William Faulkner

                  ~ 1867 ~ 1962

 ~ one of my favorite authors, Southern American author and Nobel Prize Laureate

               ~ “Light In August”

                    ~ 1932

It’s a sunset to remember as the summer sun radiates a gorgeous light over the rolling hills in late August surrounding the rooftop observation area of Trexler Environmental Center.

The trees in the foreground have reserved seating to witness the splendor that God paints in the sky as the day segues into night.

Located in the Central Range of Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, the center is at one of the preserve’s highest elevations and one of the spots that offer spectacular views at the 1,100 acre preserve.

Solar panels provide a significant portion of the energy needs of the building.

When the late General Harry Clay Trexler (1854-1933) 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.

Peeking Through The Milkweed ...

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”

            ~ William Shakespeare

               ~ 1564 ~ 1616

In the softness of a summer twilight, a sweet white-tailed deer doe peeks through the milkweed on a beautiful mid-July evening at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.