In the woods and back at home

I had so many wonderful photos from that last trip to the Smokies, I just had to share. The first seven photos were taken on a lovely trail on the Doughton Park Trail system. We were there on a weekday and pretty much had the trail to ourselves.
As far as I am concerned that trail was just about perfect. There was some up and some down. Short stretches of strenuous walking mixed with easy strolls. The weather was also perfect. At one point when we were on our way back out, it started to sprinkle. We could hear it on the canopy of trees but only felt a drop or two. The trail winds around the hillside. In some places it is quite narrow then it widens out and
goes through trees and wildflowers. Pure peace!

















There are wild berries blooming all over the place. It is also a bear sanctuary. Do you think there is a connection? We did not see any bears on this trail, but I bet they know where the berries are. I particularly like this photograph with the Berry blossoms in the foreground.

















We did not see any bears on this trail, but evidently, the trees are hungry. See this one is eating the bottom sign. I have not photoshoped this picture, but you can bet I will. You can almost see the face already, it only needs a little help.

















Isn't this the most amazing mushroom you have ever seen? There were three of these grouped together. this one is at least two feet across! The second is probably about eighteen inches and the third much smaller. It looks like a pile of some sort of dough.
Can't you just see a whole flock of fairies perched on this?























Another pretty wild flower. I will have to ask my friend Lynn what this one is called. (She is brilliant!) These grown in clumps together and they remind me a little bit of some my Mom had growing in her garden.

















Another great view, these are the reward for climbing. The air is cool and crisp, just a light breeze. We stopped right here for a while. It feels a little like being in church.

















Here is an historic moment with our trusty Toyota Corolla. She reached 100,000 miles on this trip and she still looks great (runs great too). That is of course my favorite chauffeur, also known as my Sweet Hubby. We knew she was getting close to the big number so we were watching. He glanced down at just the right moment and pulled over for me to take the photos.

















When we got back home we were greeted by a lovely smell. The Magnolia is blooming. As usual these blossoms are huge.

















This little gem was going across the road in front of us when we went out for a walk the other day. Isn't he pretty? I think he looks a bit like a "Gummy" snake, you know made from the same stuff as "Gummy Bears" (I love the little German ones made by Haribo). This little guy is only about a foot and a half long.

















Another one of the rewards that go with living here. This is a stuffed crust pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. It was made completely from scratch by my Sweet Hubby. It was even better than it looks!

















I went out to take photos of my tiger lilies while they were at their best and spotted a visitor in my lavender (isn't the lavender doing great too)? I will have to harvest some soon. If I cut the flowers now and bring them in to dry, the plant will produce more before the summer is over. It drys easily and is the smell lingers nicely. I make old fashioned lavender wands to put in our dresser drawers and with the linens. It smells nice and discourages moths. I will have to post a photo and some instructions.

















One of the tiger lilies. They are also close to perfect this year. I have a great crop. My Mom grew these in her garden when we were young too.

What is Black & White and Lazy all over? Spontaneous the cat. She has such an expressive face.

And, last but not least, the star of the show! This fine specimen was crossing the road. He is a snapping turtle. He is also huge! Big enough that even the eighteen wheelers were slowing down and driving carefully around him. Usually my Sweet Hubby will stop and remove turtles from the road to keep them from being run over( he carries heavy duty paper towels in the car just for this). However, we were warned not to try it with this guy, he has a very long and agile neck. Did you get a look at those claws! We left well enough alone. Kind of him to pose so nicely for me though.

That is the end for this week. See you soon. Kat

View through someone else's eyes

We have a visitor. Our friend Dianne from Singapore is staying with us for a few days. It is wonderful to have her here. She is a sweet lady and has so many stories to tell. She is originally from the states and lives overseas now. She has traveled all over the world, yet she really seems to like our little corner. I love to read her letters and emails. Her writing is so evocative. She can describe something in just a few sentences and I feel like I know it. (I am trying to encourage her to blog!)

There were several of these dragonflies keeping us company as we walked.

This bashful guy is the first spotting of the season.

One of the great things about visitors is that you gain a new appreciation for things by looking at them through someone else’s eyes. Things I have become accustomed to and things that seem ordinary to me, take on a new life when they are shared. We went for a walk the other day (is anyone surprised?) and I found myself paying close attention so that I could show Dianne some of the treasures around us. It was a beautiful day and we took our time. Dianne spotted some flowers growing way up high in one of the trees. Glen and I had both passed them numerous times without seeing them.

Our Narcissus are at their peak. We put some in a vase for Dianne before she arrived. (They smell nice too).

Gotta love the wildflowers

Shelf fungus formed on a fallen log. Fascinating stuff. It looks a bit like sea shells. Have you ever noticed how often nature repeats patterns?

More visitors. These vultures made their appearance after the storm. I think they are under appreciated, these at least, look quite dignified.






That is all for this week. Hope you are enjoying spring!

Kat

Inspiration

What inspires me? All sorts of things! Nature provides a constant source of inspiration. Going for a walk outside always improves my outlook on life. One of my favorite books is "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" by Annie Dillard. She has the most wonderful way with words and she loves the out of doors. (That is the only book I took to Lackland AF Base for Basic Training.) Another great source of nature inspiration when the weather doesn't cooperate it the "Planet Earth" Series from BBC. We rented it from Net Flix. The photography is amazing. I would not mind

re watching it over and over. The series is also full of good information on the condition of our planet, (without preaching.) The armor on my dress form, gets dressed up for Christmas. The hat and beads have been put away for next year, but I still have to smile every time I look up at it. Airplanes and clouds inspire me too. My Father actually took this photo of a propeller in flight. It is one of his old slides that I scanned. I love it. The photo not only shows the propeller and the clouds, looking at it makes me feel like I am part of another era. I will probably have to
have this one printed to hang on a wall. I just love it.

The moon and moonlight inspire me too. There is
a peaceful quality to moonlight, as well as an expectancy, anything might happen. This photo was taken early in the evening and I like the colors.

The photo of the stream was taken in between rain showers. It has a very different color scheme. The light sparkles on the water and some of the branches seem to glow.
Misty mornings inspire me.
The tree looks great year round. It is home to several squirrels. (Bashful Squirrels, they disappear whenever the camera comes out.)
The church is one we drive by regularly. I am not even sure what denomination it is. The other day when we drove past, the clouds parted just above the steeple, and I had my camera ready. I really like the composition of this photo and it was pure luck. I took it with my trusty digital, from inside the car with the window up while we were driving by. (Another thing I love about digital, the fact that you can easily delete anything you don't like without
printing it or even wasting film, makes me braver.) I guess you could say my camera inspires me too.

What inspires you?