Another rich cove...

This one, Till Ridge Cove, is closer to home than the last. There is still a lot blooming out there, and this is one of the best places i know. Very magical. I hope these macro images are not getting boring. I'm having a lot of fun with them. I hope you enjoy them, too...

I think this is an Umbrella Plant (Peltiphyllum peltatum)


Trillium Grandiflora


The Blood Root (Sanguinaria canadensis) just loves it here...


I've seen Foam Flower (Tiarella cordifolia) before, but somehow never noticed the orange...




Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis)


Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum commutatum)


Solomon's Plume (Maianthemum racemosum) (aka False Solomon's Seal)

This morning's chorus

It may be a bit boring (visually anyway) but put on your headphones and listen to what I hear in the morning. You can also hear beeping of the camera, but it's not too bad. I sat on the hammock so there is a little rock, and my stomach gurgled once. But all in all, pretty good sound for a tiny little video camera. While filming, I was enjoying watching the cloud shapes behind the trees...

Good Morning!

I was up way before dawn this morning. As I was listening to some music on my computer (Smetana's Vltava and Vaughan Williams' Fantasia, to see why they confuse me so) and I heard the melodious song of the wood thrush, well before light. Ah, the pre-dawn chorus... I took a video, which doesn't look like much, but gives you an idea of what normally wakes me up. I'll see if I can put it on here. Then as dawn came, I took a few photos of my pond...

Moonfog Hollow Morning

I was heartened this morning by my first clematis bloom of the year. The reason is that I planted it last year and didn't know if it would be back. It seems pretty happy and is full of flowers about to open. There are a few others blooming in Moonfrog Holler this morning, too...




Native Southerner (Rhododendron canescens) (this is one of the native azaleas we have here - unfortunately I don't have any of the beautiful orange ones on my property, but these ain't bad, either)


Displaced Southerner (I brought this home from a ramp hunting excursion a few years ago) I looked for this on the web, and I think it's Trillium Sulcatum - if not please let me know!

The Ladybug Shimmy

I went down the road a piece today, to visit my friend Holli. We had a nice visit, walked around Athens some and had lunch at "The Grit." While I was waiting for Holli in her driveway, I noticed these ladybugs on a bush at the edge of her yard. There were quite a few pairs. They even did a nice shimmy for us (see last photo). Spring is definitely here...

Beautiful Day...

I painted at the river today. Saw a few snakes and sat in a favorite tree. It was a lovely afternoon.

This afternoon's snack...

I went on a really nice outing today with my friends Jack and Brent and some others. Brent mans the southeast office of The Wilderness Society, Jack is a nurse who also happens to be a botanist/ornithologist and we also had another botanist (by trade) and a gentleman who is in the process of raising some hybrid American Chestnut trees. (I'm so lucky!) We were ostensibly on a birding outing led by Jack, but since the higher elevations in western NC where we were are a little behind, we didn't see as many birds as expected, but we did see some RICH cove forest with loads of wildflowers. As the day warmed up and we changed locations, we did see some good birds, too (black throated green warbler, black and white warbler, hooded warbler, cedar waxwing, junco, solitary vireo and a couple others). Sorry I didn't take my camera with me, but I did bring a little something home with me. Interestingly, I have only ever seen one before and was really hoping to find one this year so I could see how they taste. (It was delicious!)

Yesterday's Painting...

I painted this yesterday, but was running out the door as I was finishing. Back to the small abstracts, this one inspired (i think) by the fresh green leaves just beginning to bud out from the shadows.

Camp Creek Burn

I went out in the woods today - in an area where the USFS recently did a controlled burn. I had been out there a couple of times recently and last time wanted to return. So I returned with my camera, hoping to double up my work with my leisure. I got a lot of photos that I really like, and now will see if I can cut it down to a small group for the blog. It was a lovely afternoon, sunny and breezy.

(This first one is a shot of the area where I was making photographs)









I just love these mushrooms on mushrooms!





To me, this one looks so much like a snake with perhaps another snake choking it....