An Offering of Three...

More...
of the Elk River
road views
and the nearby
neighbor's
butterfly bush
with a glowing
yellow, delicate
visitor.
:):)
Hope
your day
was a
revelation!

Nature's Delights

These delights
I have ~found...
'under my nose
today;'
a front yard
fuscia lilly
slick with
the rain,
the wee
green melon,
and tomatoes
well hidden~
a red
and juicy
offering
amongst
the greenery.

Weekend Journey

Top: Elk River Road;
what a ride down
and out!!
...It is an awesome
1200 foot drop
off the Parkway.
Harrowing
(with switchbacks
galore...) and
absolutely fun;
it ends in gravel!!
Sky views:
A stripey sky
(below) and
the quiet of
mountain ridges
that speak
peace (above.)
Middle:
A wonderful
old house full
of texture
with a very
very old
fireplace
and a gently
sloping field
of flowers
and pine trees.
What color!
What an
invitation
to romp!
I'm sure, here,
the deer, rabbits
and the like
have found
a hideout
and a place
to frolic.

Mr. Polka-Dot

(An amazing horse
full of color
in a field
of wild flowers!
Note the action
of his tail
swatting flies off;
what a great pic!
I was in love
with this
particular
shot!!)

Mauve Sky with Moon

Heading
home from
a drive
in the mountains
Saturday,
we came around
a bend
in the road
and
caught the moon
playing
over the mountains
in a mauve sky.
(Needless to say,
we quickly
pulled over
for some photos
to bring
this
to you!)
Enjoy.
:) :) :)

Summer Days

Summer (!)
in the
Blue Ridge
Parkway;
taken July 22nd
:)

Pumpkin Blossom

This
pumpkin blossom
came out
surreal-looking
in the early
morning light.
(If you can eat
pumpkin
leaves we
are
in fat
city.)
:)

Butterfly Bush

Life
(as we
know it)
on the mountain...
a garden
offering,
a closeup
of the
pollen in
our
backyard lilly
and an
amazing butterfly bush that attracts
all different sizes, colors
and shapes of windswept
fluttering
butterflies.

Good Morning

The Watauga River

Color!
Top: I did not get
too awfully close.
Bottom: The
Watauga River
here is
a very lovely
hue of
greeny-blue.
I could not seem
to capture
this in a photo,
though. Perhaps it
was the lighting...
:( This was my
best attempt
here.

Tennessee Photo Journal: A Saturday's Journey

Favorite Pics:
Our car trip
into Tennessee
was filled
with beauty
and so relaxing.
What a great day!
Along with
some pretty
incredible
country stores
and a few diner-type
restaurants
where we met
some great, friendly,
kind and helpful
people along
the way~~
we were able
to procure
these shots...
Colorful
bee hives
all in a row,
a lively green
barn quilt,
and the
butterflies
in a secret
meeting
of some kind
by a shallow
river bed.
Whatever
it was all about~~
they were excited!!

Tennessee Road Trip: Colors Swirling

These are two of
a series of photos
of a convocation
of butterflies
by a shallow
river bed.

Top: More illusion
Middle: Another close-up
Bottom: Original in motion

More~~
coming soon
:)
Happy Sunday
to you all...

Voila!

Open...
:)
:)

Front Yard Happenings

Today's Guessing Game:
Answer and assign the
appropriate number
to the photo.

1. Front Yard Movie
(Now Playing...)
Attack of the:
t_ _ _
_ _ _ _ l

2. What flower is this?

3. Bee's Playground

Zucchini Boats, Bread and Top of the Morning to you!

Top-A Departure:
My husband made these stuffed zucchini boats the other evening.
They were filled with a tomato/panko breadcrumb and lima bean based stuffing. He put in a heaping amount of this said same stuffing and they were extremely tasty!
Yum. Yum. And yum-- like
totally. He's the dude in my book when it comes to creative vegetivity.
:)
Thus far we have (also) had: 1. Zucchini thinly sliced in salad, 2. a cold pasta, zucchini and vegetable dish, 3. Zucchini cake (absolutely scrumptious I might add. It was a HIT and even with my kids...amazing-- for sure!)
Hey wee garden...keep them coming!!
Middle: Yesterday, I am so proud to announce, I made my first homemade bread completely and utterly by hand. I do have a bread maker, but the loaves come out oddly shaped and sometimes they just don't fully rise. Voila!!
:) Won't you join us?!
Bottom: The sunrise yesterday here with a light morning misting in the Appalachians...
:) Enjoy!!

There is such quiet here

on the mountain. The wind is building, building and whipping up big today. It is sunny and bright with a intermittent long, cool mountain breeze. Me thinks that I have found a taste of heaven (here.) Even the dog, with her head held high and nose up-- stood strong next to me today (in a real sense to honor the lovely breeze) ...on top of the big road up with the cool mountain breeze ruffling her heavy fur all the way down to her skin. :)
Pick of the Day:
A Quiet cabin,
some weathered
barn board and
a red and bold flower
(of unknown name)
that we transplanted
into our front
garden plot
from a wet
rocky outcropping
on a winding
mountain
road high up.

Country Barns, Bee Hives and B-I-G.

Some photos
from last weekend's
road tip!
My dear sweet
husband loves
photographing barns...

What do YOU think of
the rather LARGE fungi
in our front yard??

...Did I not tell you that
items are LARGE in the
High Country (beetles,
mountains and their
wondrous tops,
butterflies, rock formations,
the snow accumulations
and the like...?) :)

Also- the active bee hives
were an interesting
hue of greeny-blue
lined up on a farm
that you could visit.

P.S:
I spent yesterday
annihilating an 8 (to ten) inch
hornet nest around
our corner to the left.
The ornery fast moving
mob attacked my son
(who was stung) and Ginger Bear (unscathed...)
--Had to-- remove them.
You should have seen me
(in stealth)
shooting a 15 foot
stream of poison (twice;
two whole cans...)
from the seclusion
of our white van; windows UP.
It might have looked
a bit unusual but...
it did the JOB. :)

So Proud...

of our
first
watermelon.
:) :)

Color