Sandhill Cranes, Seymour, IN

These Sandhill Cranes were grazing in farmlands just south of Seymour today. These birds are so amazing to watch and to hear. They have a clickety click sound they make. Nothing like anything I've ever heard. I had to drive past the exit to Henryville on I-65 today to get to Mustatatuck. It was a heart wrenching experience seeing the damage what little I could see from the highway. I wanted to stop and offer my help, but the media has said they had so many volunteers they can't possibly use them all. Perhaps in a few weeks when things have calmed down. I still pray. ENJOY!

In Memory

My heart aches for all of those individuals . . .

Whose lives were lost,
Whose jobs are gone,
Whose homes were flattened,
Whose school was destroyed,
Whose businesses are ruined,
Whose life as they knew it, is gone,
Whose loved ones are now mourning their passing,
In Memory of all of those whose lives will never be the same.

Twenty five miles up the road from my hometown, sits a community devastated. I would go up to Henryville, get off the expressway and drive through the town to get to Clark State Forest. The next time I visit the park, there is no town to pass through. It's all gone. I PRAY!

Weeping Pagoda, Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest

A Weeping Pagoda Tree sits just inside the main entrance of Bernheim. I took this image in spring of last year. It seemed an appropiate image given the name of the tree after today's devastating weather. We lost several lives in Henryville, Indiana, a bedroom community, directly north of the Ohio River, north of Louisville. The high school there was totally destroyed as well. The small little town of Henyrville, they say, is virtually no more. Many businesses and schools had closed very early today in anticipation of this inclement weather.

All is calm for now, but the night is not over yet. I say a prayer for the loved ones of those who lost their lives today. Mother Nature is sometimes violent. I PRAY!

Rural Scene, Cataloochee Valley, GSMNP!

On my late Spring visit last year to Cataloochee Valley to photograph the elk that grazed there, I stopped to take a photo of this church which sits back off the road. This area of Cataloochee is deep inside the valley. It takes a 30 minute drive on gravel roads working one's way back around the mountain, twisting and turning, to get out of this valley. Before I leave you today, let me say, there are more storms coming tomorrow to the Midwest, everyone try and stay safe. ENJOY!

Wildflower Field, Cade's Cove, GSMNP!

A little wildflower field to spark your 'Spring Fever'. Sorry can't help it. It was nearly 70 degrees here today. Unbelievable. Please Weather God don't rain on the weather parade and bring some 20 inch snowfall. It's just too late in the winter. ENJOY!

More Views, Clingman's Dome, GSMNP!

Looking out over that landscape to those mountains that stretch out going on forever it seems. This is Clingman's Dome.

My fear is that one day I'll be photographing this tree looking much like the dead trees you see in the background dotting the landscape of adjacent mountainsides. So sad. I hope not. ENJOY!