Ringneck Snake

Happened upon this little Ringneck Snake while

hiking a trail recently. I couldn't help but think of the 

 ole saying "Lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut."

This ole saying was usually intended to describe someone

with low moral or ethical qualities. If you were as low as

 a snake's belly, you were pretty low, but to be lower than

a snake's belly in a wagon rut, was just about as low as one

could get. Of course this was as seen by the eyes of the two

persons who were doing the gossiping about someone else

whom may or may not have deserved the description. Another

use of the same phrase often referred to how one was feeling

from a health related or emotional standpoint. This little snake

was not in a wagon rut but it was in the lowest part a very worn

 hiking trail. Ringneck Snakes are non-poisonous.

Diadophis punctatus

"Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snake bite and further more always carry a small snake."

   W.C.Fields(1880-1946): American comedian, actor and writer



A Perfect Sunrise!

With fall here and the leaves changing color fast, I am

planning a few days off to visit the mountains of Virginia,

North Carolina and Tennessee to soak up some of the

beauty of God's Creation. In anticipation of the trip, I

was foraging through some of my photos and ran across

this one taken earlier this year from the Pisgah Inn located

at mile post 408.6 near Waynesville, N.C. on the

Blue Ridge Parkway. I love the sunset shots but

due to an insatiable desire to "be asleep" at the sunrise

hour I often overlook the beauty to be found with a

perfect sunrise. I'm not usually together enough at this

time of the morning to operate a camera but on this

occasion I managed to stumble out and take this sunrise

picture. Needless to say, it set the tone for the rest of the

day.

"What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives."
      E.M.Forster(1879-1970): English novelist, essayist, short-story writer

Wild Thing! You Make My Heart Sing!

Had to take a trip to Nashville this week and while

driving on the Natchez Trace Parkway I was falling

into that trance you get when mile after mile of road

starts to look like the previous 100 miles, boring! All

of a sudden as I round a curve there is this beautiful

field of yellow daisies. Talk about a mood changer! It

was like I had just drank a V-8, Ha Ha! I had to stop and  

snap a picture or two and as I left I was surprised how

much better I felt after seeing the field of beautiful "Wild"

 flowers. A little further down the road as I pondered the

field of "Wild" daisies, I remembered a song from the

Troggs in 1966 that kinda spoke about "Wild Things" 

and put me in a whole lot better mood for the rest of

my trip. It is amazing how flowers just bring a smile

to your face and a little joy to the heart!

Narrowleaf Sunflower - Helianthus angustifolius

footnote: I know the song wasn't referring to flowers, but on

"this occasion", they kinda gave me the same feeling as the subject

in the song!  They did make my heart sing! Ha Ha!

Have a great week, everyone!

"Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity."

John Ruskin(1819-1900): Art critic, social thinker & philanthropist