Welcome To My World ...

The expression on this Elk's face seems to say "Welcome To My World"
on a summer afternoon at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

Savoring The Sweet ...

"We live in the world when we love it."
               ~ Rabindranath Tagore
                  ~   1861-1941                                                                        
Beautiful monarch butterfly savors summer's sweet nectar on a recent morning at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

It's Only A Paper Moon?...

"It is only a paper moon ...
It is only a canvas sky ...
But it wouldn't be make-believe if
You believe in me."

                           ~ "It's Only A Paper Moon"
                                      ~ written by Harold Arlen
                                          lyrics by E.Y. Harburg & Billy Rose
                                                                    1933



 The supermoon of August 10, 2014 - 
the largest full moon of the year -
rises in beauty at Trexler Memorial Park,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.

                        
                   
                              

The Morning Hunt ...

A Great White Egret, also known as a Great White Heron, is on the hunt in the sun splashed waters of the Jordan Creek
on a summer morning at Trexler Nature Preserve, 
Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

The Innocence of Youth ...

 

Beautiful white-tailed deer fawn poses on a summer evening
just off the Ironton Rail Trail, North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

Colors Of Main ...

 

The Martin Building colors the corner of South Main and Stockton Streets
in the historic downtown of Phillipsburg, New Jersey on 
a summer evening.
 

Silence Is Golden ...

"Silence is golden, but my eyes still see ..."
                                ~ "Silence Is Golden"
                                          ~ The Four Seasons
                                                                      1964

A man takes in the silent beauty of a summer
golden hour at Leaser Lake, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania. 
The lake's namesake is Frederick Leaser, who in
September 1777 with his farm team hauled
The Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to Allentown where it was concealed 
in Zion Reformed Church. His homestead is located one mile
to the north of the lake. 
 

                                                         

Eye Of The Papillon ...

"Life is like a butterfly, you can chase it,
or you can let it come to you."
                                       ~ Ruth Brown 
Though he has an intent gaze and orange and black coloring, this is not a tiger, but an Eastern Comma Butterfly.

This beautiful papillon pauses at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania on a summer evening before once again taking flight.

Once Upon The Long Ago ...

"Some days in late August at home are like this,
the air thin and eager like this,
with something in it sad and nostalgic and familiar..."
               ~ William Faulkner
                        ~1897-1962
             ~ Southern American author 
           & Nobel Prize Laureate

         "The Sound and The Fury"
                             ~ 1929
A high contrast monochrome and painterly view of the Lehigh Valley on a summer evening from one of the beautiful summits at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. 

How Green Is My Valley ...

"How green was my valley then ...
and the valley of them that have gone."

                                        ~ "How Green Was My Valley"
                                                       ~ Richard Llewellyn
                                                                                1939

The Lehigh Valley is wrapped in the lush  green
of summer in this view from one of the beautiful
summits at Trexler Nature Preserve,
Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. 





     

Happy ...

Beautiful white-tailed deer doe wears a happy face
after eating apples in the park on a spring evening.
I've been blessed to photograph this doe and her fawns 
for the past two years.
 

Sidewalk Stop ...

 

Thisilldous Eatery provides a great place to stop and sit in the shade on a summer afternoon on Front Street in Belvidere, New Jersey, a charming and historic town on the banks of the
Pequest and Delaware Rivers.

Twist On A Midsummer Night ...

"Art enables us to find ourselves
and lose ourselves at the
same time."
                      ~ Thomas Merton
                                     1915-1968
 
 Red traffic lights from across the street
reflect in the creek on a midsummer
evening at Trexler Memorial Park,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Flare For Life ...

"...A million tommorrows
shall all pass away
Ere I forget all the joy
that is mine today."
                       ~ "Today"
                                ~ Randy Sparks
                                    New Christy Minstrels
                                                             1964

A man paddles through a magical like
sunflare during a summer golden hour
at Leaser Lake, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania.
The lake's namesake is Frederick Leaser,
who in September 1777 with his farm team
hauled The Liberty Bell from Philadelphia 
to Allentown where it was concealed
in Zion Reformed Church. His homestead is located
one mile to the north of the lake.

Deep Purple Dreams ...

"When the deep purple falls ...
through the mist of a memory
you wander back to me ...
here in my deep purple dreams."

                       ~ "Deep Purple"
                               ~ composed by Peter DeRose, 1933
                                ~ lyrics by Mitchell Parish, 1938

Twilight sweeps across the summer sky
like deep purple dreams at
Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.



                              
 

The Heron Speaks ...

A Great Blue Heron seems to have something to say
in the trees of Trexler Memorial Park, 
Allentown, Pennsylvania, on a summer evening.

At The Ready ...

A Great Blue Heron
is keenly aware of 
his surroundings 
from the trees
on a summer evening
at Trexler Memorial Park,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Portrait Of A Summer Doe ...

Beautiful white-tailed deer doe pauses while grazing
on a summer evening just off the Ironton Rail Trail,
North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

They Call Me Tangerine ...

"Yes, she has them all on the run,
but her heart belongs to just one
Her heart belongs to Tangerine ..."
                        ~ "Tangerine"
                                     ~ Victor Schertzinger & Johnny Mercer
                                                                          1941 

With beautiful tangerine colored wings, an Eastern Comma Butterfly
rests on a summer day on a bench in Garett D. Wall Park, 
Belvidere, New Jersey, a charming and historic town on the
banks of the Pequest and Delaware Rivers. 

The Country Church...

"I like the silent church before the service begins,
better than any preaching."
                                        ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
                                                       1803-1882

I always love photographing country churches such as
Frieden's Evangelical Lutheran Church, which dates
back to 1793. The Sunday afternoon sunlight
streams on the church nestled in rural
Center Valley, Pennsylvania on a summer's day. 

Chasing Sunset ...

"Life is no brief candle...
it is a sort of splendid torch ...
make it burn as brightly as possible ..."
                               ~ George Bernard Shaw
                                             1856-1950

 A man on his personal watercraft
chases a summer sunset on the golden
waters of the Delaware River near the
historic Northampton Street Bridge 
(commonly called The Free Bridge)
that spans Phillipsburg, New Jersey
and Easton, Pennsylvania.

Splendor In The Spring Video ...

Ella Fitzgerald's "My One And Only Love" sets the jazzy backdrop
for the this celebration of the splendor that is spring showcased in 
my original nature photos. My greatest joy as a photographer is
harmonizing my favorite original photos to music to create
a lingering snapshot of the season.

Bridging Sunset ...

"Life is a train of moods like a string of beads; and as we pass through them they prove to be many colored lenses,
which paint the world their own hue, and each shows us only what lies in its own focus."
          ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 
                       ~1803-1882

Sunset hues begin to steal across the summer sky 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.

The Monochrome Blues ...

"But there ain't no cure for the summertime blues ..."
                                           ~ "Summertime Blues"
                                                                ~ 1958

The song says there ain't no cure for 
the summertime blues, and there
ain't no cure for monochrome 
Great Blue! This Great Blue Heron
sits for a portrait in high contrast
monochrome on a summer evening at
Trexler Memorial Park, 
Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Close To You ...

"Why do birds suddenly appear
Every time you are near?
Just like me they long to be
close to you."
                    "Close To You"
                            ~ Burt Bacharach & Hal David
                                                   1963


Perhaps these mourning doves were thinking
of the song made popular by the Carpenters as they
shared a spot on the wire on a summer afternoon
in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Summer Yearling ...

Beautiful white-tailed deer yearling strikes a regal pose 
in the park on a summer evening.
I've been blessed to photograph this young buck's 
mama doe and her fawns for two years.

Glittering ...

 "All that glitters is gold."

 
All that glitters is gold in the night sky during the
2014 Fourth of July fireworks set off from
J. Birney Crum Stadium, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Ah, to have fireworks every day!

At The Twilight's Last Gleaming ...

"Oh say can you see
by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed
at the twilight's last gleaming ..."
                    ~ "The Star Spangled Banner"
                                       ~ Francis Scott Key
                                                       1814

The waning evening sunlight illuminates
The Star Spangled Banner this spring at
Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY AMERICA!
         

Here We Come ...

"Here we come ... we're the young generation,
and we've got something to say ..."
                          ~ "Theme from The Monkees"
                                                         ~1966

A whimsical view of two adorable white-tailed deer
fawns as they ran out of the thicket to greet a June
sunset just off the Ironton Rail Trail, North Whitehall
Township, Pennsylvania.

Age Of Innocence ...

Sweet and beautiful white-tailed deer fawn poses 
in a field just off the Ironton Rail Trail, North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania
at sunset in June.