Spiritual Sunday: Calm and Bright
The Smokies got a short-lived winter snowstorm earlier this week. By lunchtime the weather turned warm and sunny, and the snow was but a memory. I was out early, hoping to get up to Newfound Gap while the scenery was still fresh, but the route over the mountains was...
Short-lived winter snowstorm
This week we awoke to what has been a rare sight this winter: a blanket of snow! However, the forecast was for temperatures in the 50s, so I scampered out to take some Smoky Mountains photos of the winter scenery before it all disappeared. My plan was to head up to...
Smoky Mountain Zen
It's Philosophical Friday once again. Today's post is about making stacks of balanced stones as art and therapy. Some days you just need to go out and stack some stones. Right? Just head out along some creek and start wandering, looking for a good selection of rocks....
Wordless Wednesday: Winter Light
Miles Away on Monday: Winter Hot Tub!
This scene is classic winter-get-away-from-it-all Gatlinburg-style. The snow-capped Smoky Mountains in the distance, snow laying on the rooftops of surrounding log cabins, and the hot-tub fired up and steaming. Ready for some serious cold weather relaxation and...
New in the Gallery: Magnets, Mugs and Notecards!
We've added several new products here in the William Britten Gallery to showcase our Smoky Mtns photos. This has been a goal for a couple of years now and we are very excited to finally be introducing these items. In the picture above are notecards and magnets. The...
Smoky Mountains History: Dutch, Harvey and Luther make Camp
Another Smoky Mountains history entry from the journal of Dutch Roth, recounting a long Smoky Mountains hike taken in 1931 by Dutch and his friends Harvey Broome and Luther Greene on Hughes Ridge, which is known as Pecks Corner nowdays. HUGHES RIDGE FROM GREENBRIER...
Smoky Mountains Wildflowers: Star Grass
Star Grass (Hypoxis hirsuta) is a common perennial herb that grows to 8 inches or so. It blooms in mid-May, and when not in bloom looks much like a clump of grass. These Smoky Mtns wildflowers are similar to Blue-eyed Grass, and in fact I found both of these blooming...
Smoky Mountains Wildflowers: Blue-eyed Grass
Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) is a petite, delicate Smoky Mountains wildflower. It's a member of the Iris family, and there are four varieties of Sisyrinchium: Pale, Eastern, Stout, and Slender. To be honest, I don't know which ones are pictured here,...