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.

Sunset Blue ...

“Summertime is always the best of what might be.”

          ~ Charles Bowden

             ~ journalist

            ~ 1945-2014 

The light of a gorgeous summer sunset illuminates a Great Blue Heron perched atop a spillway at Hopewell Lake on a July evening at French Creek State Park, Elverson, Pennsylvania.

The 7,526 acre park straddles northern Chester County and southern Berks County along French Creek and is located in the Hopewell Big Woods.

Set amidst the old, quaint and picturesque farmland of southeast Pennsylvania, French Creek State Park offers two lakes – Hopewell and Scotts Run – extensive forests and almost 40 miles of hiking trails. Adjacent to the park lies Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site that features a cold-blast furnace restored to its 1830s appearance.

French Creek State Park was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and its Bureau of State Parks as one of “25 Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks.”