This picture evokes the idyllic tranquility of another era. The dogwoods add a symbolic touch of love and peace, and the promise of rebirth that comes with every spring. Even though life in this rustic cabin would have been harsh in the 1800s, it’s fun to imagine living here as an antidote to our hectic modern lifestyles.

Take a moment to imagine: walking down the lane pictured below and arriving at your modest home in Cades Cove. The glory of nature is all around you on this fabulous spring day. The scene is nature’s role model for happiness: the cold, dark winter is over … replaced as it always is with bright, warm sunlight, the chirping of birds, the endless activity of insects, and the blooms announcing the cycle of renewal once again.

This is Carter Shields cabin out in the Cades Cove area of the Smoky Mountains. I’m thinking that Carter had a lot of hard work to do, but he appreciated how lucky he was to spend his days on this earth, in this place.

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The next time you visit the Smokies,  stop for a moment at some of the settlers homesteads in Cades Cove or along the Roaring Fork. These are great places to have some of your own daydreams and also great photography locations.  And please consider a stop at the William Britten Gallery on the historic Arts and Crafts Trail along Glades Road in Gatlinburg. In my complete display of photography of the Smoky Mountains you may find a special memory to remember the peace of the mountains. The photo at the top of the page is called Dogwood Home, and you can see it hanging in the gallery.