Mother Goose & Her Golden Eggs ...

“Rock-a-bye baby, thy cradle is green;

Father’s a nobleman, Mother’s a queen …”

          ~ “Mother Goose”

 ~ The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales & later of English nursey rhymes

  ~ In 1697, Charles Perrault published a collection of folktales with the subtitle “Contes de ma mère l'oye” (Tales from my Mother Goose), which became beloved throughout France and was translated into English in 1729

Talk about the wonder of nature in action! A Canada Goose looms over her eggs just before sitting on them as the gander stands guard in the spring waters of the Monocacy Creek on a late April afternoon at Monocacy Park, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Soon precious goslings will hatch from these eggs.

Once nesting has begun, the male and female will both defend the nest. The female lays eggs about every 1.5 days. Once all the eggs are laid, incubation begins.

Between one and ten, but normally five to six eggs are laid in the nest in March, April or May. Eggs are incubated by the goose (female) while the gander (male) stands guard nearby. The female leaves the nest only briefly each day to feed. Eggs hatch after 25 to 30 days.

 

Moon River Morning ...

“Moon river, wider than a mile

I’m crossing you in style someday

Oh, dream maker

You heartbreaker

Wherever you’re going I’m going your way

Two drifters off to see the world

There’s such a lot of world to see

We’re after the same rainbow’s end

Waiting round the bend

My huckleberry friend

Moon river and me.”

                  ~ “Moon River”

        ~ composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

The moon meets the river on a beautiful morning in the surreal.

I created this image by blending my shot of the full Hunter’s Moon ~ when hunters used moonlight to hunt prey and prepare for winter ~ of October 20, 2021 as it shone its beauty at 8:22 p.m. over the West End of Allentown, Pennsylvania, with my capture of the early morning of May 31, 2022 at the Ford of the Jordan Creek, one of my very favorite places to be and to photograph, at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. I shot this after taking sunrise photos at the preserve. I spent several hours walking through the preserve’s beautiful spring scenery with the air soft and warm in the low 70s before temperatures soared into the 90s.

For more than 50 years visitors have enjoyed driving through the Jordan Creek. Kids and kids at heart cite “Crossing the Water” as one of their fondest memories.

 

Fording The Early Morning ...

“An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”

               ~ Henry David Thoreau

                        ~ 1817 ~ 1862

A vehicle crosses the spring waters at the Ford of the Jordan Creek, one of my very favorite places to be and to photograph, at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

I shot this in the early morning of May 31, 2022 after taking sunrise photos at the preserve. I spent several hours walking through the preserve’s beautiful spring scenery with the air soft and warm in the low 70s before temperatures soared into the 90s.

For more than 50 years visitors have enjoyed driving through the Jordan Creek. Kids and kids at heart cite “Crossing the Water” as one of their fondest memories.