The name Pussytoes (Antennaria neglecta) certainly conjures a soft, cute impression, and in real life, this wildflower is just that. Blooming in April and May, Pussytoes usually forms a clump of many plants. As the flower goes from bud to bloom, it’s almost hard to tell the difference, as it stays compact and tight the…
It’s philosophical Friday once again. Something about being among Big Trees speaks to a person’s soul. If you’ve ever stood in a grove of California Redwoods, you know the feeling. They’ve lived for so long, and withstood so many of nature’s hardships. They tower above their peers, leaving you to gaze at the massive trunk,…
I roamed around Cades Cove on a glorious spring morning last week. Here is a collection of panoramas that were created by stitching several images together. No words can add to the beauty that is Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Click on an image to get a larger view. Please stop…
Here’s a tip for those hot summer days touring around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: the best lemonade is over in Mt. Sterling near the entrance to the Big Creek section of the Park. It’s a bit of an effort to get to this lemonade stand, but it could be worth it, especially if…
Cataloochee Valley is one of the hidden wonders of the Smoky Mountains. The best way from Gatlinburg is to schedule an entire day for the journey to Cataloochee. Either take the back road from Cosby, or exit 20 off I40 in North Carolina, then meander into Catalochee on NC284. Palmer Chapel dates from 1898, and…
Gatlinburg kicked off the fabulous Farmer’s Market this past Saturday. The inaugural season will run through the weekend before Thanksgiving, every Saturday from 8-11:00 am. A good crowd turned out for the first morning. There was music, and some intriguing booths.
Bluets (Houstonia serpyllifolia) are identified by the four blue petals surrounding a yellow spot. Common names for this wildflower include Thyme-leaved Bluet, Prostrate Bluet, Mountain Bluet, and Creeping Bluet. The plant is tiny, only 3 to 5 inches tall, but growing in a large group they can make a beautiful statement. The photo above was…
The weather around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is characterized by humid days and cool nights — perfect conditions for early morning fog. Morning mist is ephemeral, chased by the sun like dew on blades of grass, like smoke rising from burning incense. Earlier this week, driving along the Foothills Parkway near Cosby, I…
If you are ever traveling on NC Route 284 between Cosby, TN, and the Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains, you might find yourself in need of a rest stop. Now this is a fine gravel highway with some excellent gift shops along the way (see below). If you watch for the sign pointing…
The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a narrow, one-way loop in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Start from stoplight number 8 in Gatlinburg, proceed up the hill and enter the Smokies at the Cherokee Orchard entrance. Jim Bales place is one of several early homesteads that are preserved in the Park. Who was…
Pennywort (Obolaria virginica) is a diminutive wildflower that can easily be overlooked among the fallen leaves in the Smoky Mountains forests. There is a nice colony of them at the start of the Schoolhouse Gap Trail, just to the left, blooming in mid April. Look for groups of these tiny plants with their green, waxy…
Beaked Violet (Viola rostrata) is an April blooming wildflower in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. See the beak? It’s an exaggerated protrusion from the flower’s lower petal. There are many varieties of violets in the Smokies, but this one is unique because of the beak. It is also called Longspurred Violet. Like all violets,…
Welcome to Friday. A weekend! Gratitude for another day. The simple beauty of dawn drifting towards the fullness of the day, weather becoming whatever it will. The road beckons, cares and worries in the rearview mirror. Miles away. There are many opportunities in the Great Smoky Mountains to let the road carry you away. Even…
Photographing one of the many creek scenes in the Smoky Mountains presents a few challenges. First is the desire to capture the sense of flowing water, rather than water that is frozen. To do this you will need your camera on a tripod with an exposure time of one-half to three-quarters of a second. If…
It’s that beautiful time of year again when the Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) bloom along the trails and in the woods of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Mountain Laurel are similar to, and often mistaken for, Rhododendron. In the Smokies the Laurel bloom primarily during May, while the Rhododendron come along in June…
We traveled to flood-stricken Nashville, TN this past weekend to attend the Tennessee Association of Craft Artists (TACA) outdoor fair. The fair is nestled in Centennial Park every May, beneath the view of an 1897 full-scale replica of the Parthenon. Most of the art fairs on my schedule are in the Convention Center in Gatlinburg,…
Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) is a quiet and reserved April wildflower of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Like so many of the early April bloomers, this one can be found along the Chestnut Top Trail. Look very low to the ground for this two-inch plant. You may find it growing in large groups on…
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) is a knee-high woodland wildflower and a member of the same Saxifrage family as Bishops Cap. Both have delicate white blossoms on a tall leafless stalk. The leaves below the blossom stalk are reminiscent of maple leaves, and the entire plant is about a foot tall. In the Smoky Mountains look for Foamflower blooming…
If you do much hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you’ve certainly found yourself in the situation pictured above. Love them or hate them, footbridges are common along Smokies trails. Some are vertigo-inducing challenges, and others are tame alternatives to hopping rocks across the stream. Most of them are simple log bridges spanning…
Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis) is a member of the same plant family as Dutchmens Breeches and Bleeding Heart.It’s an early bloomer that appears in early April. This spring (2010) a profusion of hundreds of Squirrel Corn plants could be found along the Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail in the Chimneys Picnic Area in the Great Smoky…
Wild Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum) is a member of the Sedum family. Mountain legend correlates thriving Stonecrop to the prosperity and health of a homestead. Identification is easy with the thick rubbery leaves and the black-tipped anthers. In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park look for Wild Stonecrop clinging to rocky outcrops along the Chestnut Top…
Taking a break from Smoky Mountain wildflowers today to eat some cake! Grandson Lakin had his 3rd birthday party this past Sunday. Lakin and his three brothers know how to party, and we all had a good time. My daughter Sarah made the lemon car cake above and below. There was some fooling around ……
Continuing our theme of spring wildflowers of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, first up this week is the Crested Dwarf Iris (Iris cristata). This flower is an April bloomer, especially along the Chestnut Top Trail near Townsend. On the Bud Ogle Nature Trail there are some large colonies. The flower gets its name from…
Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera) is a delicate beauty that blooms in April in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As seen in the image below, the anthers are dark globes that float above the petals, giving the flower a delicate, jewel-like appearance. Star Chickweed is easily spotted along both the Chestnut Top Trail and the…
I live in Gatlinburg TN, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Smokies are a very spiritual place, and I attempt to capture some of that spirit in each of my photographs.
If you are in Gatlinburg, please stop in at my gallery .
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