the little flower

The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.
--Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897), known as "The Little Flower of Jesus," Saint Therese was a Roman Catholic nun who was canonized a saint and recognized as a Doctor of the Church, one of only three women to receive that honor. Pope Pius XI called her "the greatest saint of modern times."

astonishment

Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment.
--Ellis Peters

Let there be hope

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.
--Bern Williams

I love the look of new leaves in springtime -- so vibrant, crinkly and sharp. They burst on the scene with such hope and joy.

Fear Factor

Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile...initially scared me to death.
--Betty Bender, American professor

This is a your common, run-of-the-mill black snake. This non-venomous snake is common in east Tennessee -- sometimes referred to as a black rat snake or pilot black snake. Known to reach up to eight feet in length, it's the longest snake in North America. This particular one was about five feet long. The other interesting attribute of black snakes is their climbing ability. Just after taking these photos, this snake headed for a large tree, climbed it without the aid of any branches, and balled itself up into a small hollow in the side of the tree eight feet off the ground. Makes me wonder how many of these guys I pass on any given day hiking through the woods. The good news is that they're shy and will avoid confrontation. When threatened, they will usually flee or do as this one did, and wrinkle themselves into a series of kinks. They may also shake their tails against dried leaves in an attempt to mimic a rattlesnake. If they continue to be provoked or feel threatened they will strike. Black snakes eat mice and rats and other small animals by way of constricting them -- for this reason, the advice you'll usually hear is to never kill a black snake - they're helpful neighbors to have around.

Young black snakes are often confused for copperheads because of their colorful patterns and markings -- it's only as they mature they become black (see photos here). There are only two venomous snakes in our immediate region, the Timber Rattlesnake and the Copperhead. The quick and easy way to know if you've encountered one of these venomous snakes is to look at the eyes. If the pupils are round, it is non-venomous. If vertical or cat-like, then it's venomous. Also, the two venomous snakes in this area are both pit vipers, which means they have a heat-seeking pit located between their eyes and their nostrils. Click here for photos which depict these important distinctions.

For more information on blacksnakes, click here, here and here.
And click here, here and here for helpful snake identification websites.

pesky weeds

I always think of my sins when I weed. They grow apace in the same way and are harder still to get rid of.
--Helena Rutherford Ely, A Woman's Hardy Garden, 1903

spring optimism

An optimist is the human personification of spring.
--Susan J. Bissonette

silent quest

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.
--Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian Philosopher

Unfurling fern frond.

spiritual exercises

The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another's, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises.
--Leo F. Buscaglia (1924-1998) author and professor

landscape photography

Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment.
--Ansel Adams (1902-1984) American Photographer

A farm in Gray, TN. Tom Ang suggests in his book Digital Photographer's Handbook that there are three essential elements of landscape photography: place, time and means. I certainly found a wonderful place for this photo, and I especially liked the old tree leaning in, and the old gravel road leading the eye into the scene. In terms of means, I used a graduated neutral density filter to hold back the highlights in the sky, while allowing the detail of the grass to be exposed. If I have a disappointment about this shot, it's the timing -- I didn't get there in time to get the golden rays of the setting sun lighting up the barn in a warm glow. But hey, two out of three ain't bad. :) Hang around landscape photographers long enough and you'll hear lots of sentences beginning with the words "Next time..."

Details: Nikon D90, 18-200mm lens at 48mm, f/29 for 6 sec, ISO 125

Dream lofty dreams

Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.
--James Allen (1864-1912) British writer

She's an internet phenomenon and a singing sensation -- this plain, unassuming, quirky 47 year old woman who appeared before a cynical audience for the show 'Britain's Got Talent.' Nothing in Susan Boyle's initial appearance gave any indication of her extrordinary talent. I love this video of her powerful rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical "Les Miserables." It's funny, touching, suprising and inspirational. And a great reminder to us all to dream lofty dreams. (Above: Sunset at Watauga Lake in Carter County, TN)

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent
by dwarthy

Lower Dick's Creek Falls

With the help of my friend Jeff Miller, I finally made it to the elusive Dick's Creek Falls outside of Erwin, TN. This beautiful 22 foot waterfall is tucked away in a remote area that has logging roads and old trails every which way. Needless to say, it's hard to give directions. One of the reasons I never tried this one before is because I heard from experienced hikers what a difficult waterfall this one is to find. But for the adventuresome among us, this waterfall is well worth the effort -- especially in times of high water like we're experiencing now.

The best way to get to the falls is through Rock Creek Park. Once there, drive through the picnic area and park near the bath house just before you enter the campground. From here, walk towards the campground and you'll immediately see the trail head for the hiking/biking trail that follows Rock Creek. After a short ten minute walk, you'll reach a footbridge -- cross it and you will soon come to a fork with a sign pointing to Rattlesnake Ridge to the left, take this trail. You will follow it approximately 3/4 of a mile (there are a few small creek crossings and some steep parts) at which point you'll reach Dick's Creek Gap.

As you enter Dick's Creek Gap, you'll see that this clearing contains the intersection of two trails and two roads. One of the trails you just came from -- the other trail (on your right) leads to Rattlesnake Ridge and eventually makes its way to Unaka Mountain Overlook (a.k.a. Pleasant Garden). Straight ahead from where you emerged into the clearing you'll see two roads. I'm not exactly sure where the road to the left leads (it's marked 'Dark Hollow'), but the road to the right is the one you want to take to get to Dick's Creek Falls. Follow that road for about 3/4 of a mile where you'll cross over Dick's Creek. A little ways further (30 yards) you'll turn right on an unmarked logging road. From here it is 1/3 of a mile (approximately 600 paces) to an unmarked opening on your right (by my count, it's the second such 'opening' on the right). Now when I say opening, I mean there might be room for one car to pull half way in. If you listen closely, you'll hear the falls, and if you venture in a few steps, you should see the beginnings of a faint trail which will lead to the falls (approx. 30 yards). The waterfall is nestled (practically hidden) in a very cool little grotto. You can view the falls from above, or can carefully climb down to the base of the falls for a better view. It's a gorgeous little waterfall that's worth the trip -- Good luck with this one!

For more photos and information, click here, here, here and here.

I call this "Lower" Dick's Creek Falls because I've been told the real Dick's Creek Falls is on up the creek (description below in the comments, photo here). RATtreks has thorough descriptions of the hike to the upper falls here from Rock Creek Park side in Erwin, and here from Limestone Cove side outside of Unicoi.

Directions to Rock Creek Park: From I-26 take the Erwin Main Street Exit (#36), at the end of the ramp turn east towards town and you will immediately arrive at a stop light. Turn right onto Rt. 107 and drive 1/2 mile, turn left at stop light onto Rock Creek Road (Rt. 395) -- continue on for 3.1 miles, turn left at entrance to Rock Creek Park.

For my discussion of the Highway 107/Unicoi approach to the falls, click here.

Mysterious MacRae

There was still some snow on the side of the road and temperatures were in the 30s this past weekend when I visited Grandfather Mountain. ...And the wind was whipping through MacRae Meadows when I shot this. At one point one of the park workers came up behind me to see what I was doing in the middle of the picnic area on such a lousy day. Okay, that was a bit scary to hear someone come up from behind while in the midst of such dense fog. He asked how I could possibly be getting anything in that soup. Well, it was pretty thick. And this was the foggiest shot I took, but I have to say there's something about this shot I like. You'll probably have to click the photo and enlarge it to really get a good look at it. And even then you might not like it -- But I like the mystery, the spookiness, and the subtle forms that emerge through the dense fog.

A word on composition here -- I broke a major rule, which is not to divide the frame in half either horizontally or vertically. I had some distractions off camera on the right which prevented me from shifting the frame that way. And I could have zoomed in a little more, but I liked the context the trees on the left. So sometimes you make a decision just to break the rules, and this was one of those times.

Click here to visit my gallery to see some other fog shots from that day -- and to see more long-exposure sunset shots from Watauga Lake like the one I posted yesterday.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
--Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German born American Physicist


Details: Nikon D90, 18-200mm lens at 90mm, f/29 for 1/2 sec., ISO: 100

Be not afraid.

Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.
--R. I. Fitzhenry

Fishing Pier on Watauga Lake at Sunset.

Nikon D90, 18-200mm lens at 24mm, f/25 for 30 secs., ISO:100

A Walk in the Woods

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.... I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms[.]
--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American Essayist and Philosopher
Say hello to Aaron and Jon, Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers Class of 2009, who I met last night at the Beauty Spot on Unaka Mountain. Those who start in Georgia on their six month, 2,175 mile trek to Maine are called "north bounders" -- or NOBOs. Fewer adventurers start in Maine and hike the trail south to Georgia -- they're predictably called SOBOs. While it's estimated 3-4 million people hike some portion of the AT each year, only a total of 10,543 people have completed the entire span since the trail was completed in 1936. To give you an idea of what a difficult feat this is, consider that of the 1,125 people who started out last year on Springer Mountain in Georgia, only 302 made it all the way to Maine (a completion rate of 27%). March is the traditional start time for NOBOs, this will hopefully mean a completion sometime in September. Jon and Aaron began on March 18th - and so far are making good progress and said they're holding up well. For the most part they've missed the bad weather and have already logged approximately 350 miles on their journey to Mt. Katahdin in Maine.

Did you know? Each year Damascus, Virginia has an annual festival celebrating the Appalachian Trail (and the many other trails that traverse this small town -- including the magnificent Virginia Creeper Trail) called "Trail Days." They have events scheduled throughout the month of May, culminating the weekend of May 15-17. Click here for a schedule of events.

Happy Easter! (and happy birthday!)

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
--Tenneva Jordan

Happy Easter and Happy Birthday, Mom!

Stack Rock Overlook

Stack Rock Overlook is found along a very popular stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Located at mile 304.6, it is between the Grandfather Mountain entrance to the BRP and the Linn Cove Viaduct. A short trail (approx. 1/2 mile) leads to enormous boulders (which are so large they're hard to photograph) which the trail climbs around. Above is a small cascade found near the rock formations.

The trail is actually part of the Tanawha Trail that leads from the Beacon Heights Overlook to Price Lake 13.5 miles away. When entering the woods from the parking area at Stack Rock Overlook, turn left on the Tanawha Trail.

Good Friday

To love means loving the unlovable.
To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable.
Faith means believing the unbelievable.
Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.
--G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) English writer



Above: Coon Den Falls, a beautiful 50' waterfall in Carter County, TN. For directions, click here.

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
--Ro­bert Ro­bin­son (1726-1790) Methodist pastor and hymnist

Kiner Creek Falls, Laurel Run Park, Church Hill, TN.

Not necessarily an Easter hymn, but it's the one that came to mind -- and it fits the photo for today. In a way, this is a song for Peter -- Whose heart, like ours, was prone to stray. Here's a very moving version of this beautiful hymn...

Contrast

In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.
~Mark Twain

Unfurling, delicate spring fern covered in snow.

We tend to think of contrast as involving the interplay of light and dark. But there are many other kinds of contrast that we can capture: smooth/rough, hard/soft, still/moving, much/little, horizontal/vertical, liquid/solid, high/low, straight/curved, warm/cold, blurred/sharp, etc. As Michael Freeman points out in his excellent book, The Photographer's Eye, it's not just a contrast of light that can be depicted, but of shapes, color, even sensations can be the basis for a composition.

Where have all the flowers gone?

Unwelcome truths are not popular.
--Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr. (1859-1930) Scottish writer

A photo of tulips rescued from my yard against a view of my deck covered with the unwelcomed reality of our April snow. Bah.

Divine Design

Nature is the art of God.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American author and philosopher

The first of four falls at the the Blue Hole, outside of Elizabethton, TN.

Directions: From Elizabethton, take Route 91 (Stoney Creek) for approximately 10 miles, turn left on Panhandle Road, continue for approximately 1 mile to parking area on left. Click here for map.

Details: Nikon D90, 18-200mm at 20mm, f/18, 8 sec., ISO 125.

thrillium

Now every field is clothed with grass, and every tree with leaves; now the woods put forth their blossoms, and the year assumes its gay attire.
--Virgil

Above: White trillium at Laurel Run Park in Church Hill, TN.

beauties and mysteries

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.
--Rachel Carson

This image was taken recently just below Watauga Dam. There's a small campground there along the river as it heads from Watauga Dam to nearby Wilbur Lake. I'm not sure what the flowering tree is on the left. It's too early for the dogwoods -- and, well, that's basically my only guess. So maybe someone out there can help with the identification. :)

a rough road

It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.
--Seneca (mid-1st century AD) Roman philosopher

I wasn't sure it was worth stopping along this section of the Unaka Mountain Road - I opened the door, stepped out, cranked the ISO to 800 and took a quick hand-held shot. I quickly decided that although it looked okay, it wasn't really worth setting up the tripod and spending additional time working this scene. After all, I thought, there's more road up ahead. Now I wish I had worked harder on this shot and not given up so quickly. Even with a 'VR' lens (vibration reduction), nothing sharp in the above photo. There's the moral of the story. On a misty, foggy day, don't be lazy. Set up the tripod, take advantage of the unique atmosphere. I don't know if you like this kind of shot, but I love the leading lines of roads, trails and fences. In this shot, I like that the road, with its gentle curve, fades away in the distance, but is still visible -- and that the trees, too, fall away in the mist.

For directions and a full discussion of all there is to see and do on Unaka Mountain, click here.

For similar Unaka Mountain Road scenes, click here, here and here.

Details: Nikon D90 with 18-200mm lens at 52mm, f/22, 1/10 sec, ISO 800.