Winter Wonderland

Winter paints the landscape as an early storm moves swiftly across our country. First comes a frigid icy layer covering everything, then . . .



comes a white dusting with several inches of snow as if Winter is blessing each branch, each tree, each patch of earth in an effort to transform the landscape.



Only Mother Nature could create a scene so beautiful as this one as I stroll about the city taking in the beauty Mother Nature left behind.



Tendrils of water droplets frozen in time tease this Robin red breast. I suppose he'll have to wait for Winter to bring a warming sun to melt away the icicles it has left behind. Tomorrow brings a deep freeze. An early Winter across North America. Stay safe, stay warm. ENJOY!

Its Trees, GSMNP!

Can you see the beauty in this tree that I see? It has such graceful branches reaching up to the sky. The lichen covering each and every branch and the trunk of the tree adds such beauty and depth. I photographed this beautiful tree while standing looking out at Newfound Gap in Great Smoky Mountains National Park several weeks ago. It stands along the main walkway at the Gap.Trees are one of many plants that make up this beautiful park and make it a treasure to visit. The diversity of the trees from Cade's Cove to Newfound Gap to Clingman's Dome is vast. There is such stark contrast. This red pine tree I photographed while driving through Cade's Cove. I was close to the end of the drive through the Cove where you travel through a dense forest. Such beauty I encountered here. I chose this image as one of the main images in my header because I believe of all of the many components that make up our natural world, trees are at the top of the list.Notice in this next image, the stark contrast of the trees from Cade's Cove, the lowest elevation in the park, to Clingman's Dome, which is the highest elevation within the park. A beautiful healthy Fir tree grows next to a dead Fir tree destroyed by the Balsm Woolly Aphid. You'll notice this process is repeated time and time again throughout this higher elevation. The Balsm Woolly Aphid has killed 95% of the mature Fir trees in the higher elevations of the park.I visit Clingman's Dome almost every time I come to this park. While it is sad to see so many dead Fir trees, it is a reminder that Mother Nature has her own plan. And it also serves as a reminder to all of us that we are just visitors here, while this beautiful Earth is forever.

The beauty of this park, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Every time I visit, I find myself marveling at its diversity and beauty. If you haven't visited this park, I hope you will some day. Stay cool, it's going to be a hot weekend. ENJOY

Porter's Creek Trail, GSMNP

On my recent trip to the Smokies, I hiked a less visited trail, the Porter's Creek Trail, which is situated at the very end of the Greenbrier section of the park. Famous for its wildflowers in spring, I knew I had missed them as it was too late in the season for them to still be blooming. Not letting that deter me, off I went with my walking stick and camera in hand. The trail is about three miles round trip and is a very easy hike. A road goes about three quarters of a mile in where a trail finally takes over for the balance of the hike. The elevation gain is only about 400 feet. At the end of the trail there were large boulders with the Roaring Fork River rushing over. There's also a small waterfall on the other side of the boulders, but I didn't trust the log bridge to venture over.

This old twisted fir tree was growing next to the trail. You know how I love odd looking trees. And normal looking trees as well. OK, just trees in general.

These long stemmed white flowers were blooming in clusters in many areas of the park where moistured lingered. I first encountered them on the Porter's Creek Trail. I think they are White Bog Orchid. If you know otherwise, please share.

Diana Fritillary Butterflies were everywhere along the trail and throughout the park. But in this particular area of Porter's Creek, there were six or seven butterflies in a cluster. It was beautiful to watch them.

I don't know if you can see in these images, but they have one little red spot on each side of their wings.

I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as I enjoyed taking it. It's been a long time since I've hiked. It was fun just to see how far I could get. In this case, I walked the whole trail which was a great feeling of accomplishment.

Have a fantastic Memorial Day. In remembrance of all of those who have fought and are fighting still for our freedom, I dedicate this post to you. ENJOY!

Fir Tree, Bernheim Arboretum

Just a pic I took while at Bernheim recently. I love fir trees and just about any tree with unusual bark. I have no idea why. They just intrigue me. It's supposed to snow here tonight but I haven't seen a flake yet. On the radar it appears its all around me which means shortly I should see a snowflake. I do know Kentucky is getting pounded farther south as is a great deal of many other Southern states. Perhaps I'll have photos of the snow later this weekend. For those of you who don't like snow or get far too much of it, sorry but I love snow. Enjoy!