Elk of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

What a thrill to see a huge bull Elk in the Cataloochee Valley at the north end of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The last native elk was killed in North Carolina in the late 1700's and in Tennessee elk bulged no more after the mid 1800's. Thanks to the efforts of a lot of people and organizations, the elk are here once again.

"Once again the bugle of the bull elk is heard across the mountains. With every heave of his great lungs, his breath glistening in the early morning light of a crisp fall day. And all is as it should be, as it once was."
            Randy J. Schultz

Whats Wrong with this Picture?

Just happened to walk by as these two were getting ready to run off with their owners car! Ha Ha! They let me know not to get too close!



"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed comtempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts."

   John Steinbeck (1902-1968): American Novelist and Writer

Contemplation!

Looking across the smokies from Newfound Gap. One of those places you just want to sit and take it all in for a while. 

It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.

Rachael Carson (1907-1964): American Nature Writer, Marine Biologist

Highlighted by the Sun

Fall colors highlighted with the soft light of an autumn afternoon.

Most of the time it doesn't work to take a picture into the sun light, but in this case the sun highlighted the colors of the trees and brought the ridges to life by giving them a gentle glow. 

"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the Earth are never alone or weary of life."

        Rachael Carson (1907-1964): American Nature Writer, Marine Biologist

Black Bear

Black Bear at Grandfather Mountain

"When a pine needle falls in the forest, the eagle sees it, the deer hears it and the bear smells it."

Old Indian Proverb

There's Gold in Them There Hills!

Gold in the Smokies.

While many may search for gold the in the mineral form, I go in search of another kind of gold in them there hills! 

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.

          Henry David Thoreau (1817- 1862):  American Author, Poet, Naturalist, Philosopher

Which Wolf Do You Feed?

What an amazing carving of an Indian overlooking Spring Creek near downtown
Tuscumbia, AL. Someone took the time to carve an Indian out of a dead tree standing on the bank near Spring Creek. It is amazing the talent and abilities God has given each of us. Do you know and use your talent?

How often do we look at things or someone and only see the outer shell? As in the case of the ole dead, weathered gray body of a tree with no limbs and leaves in the picture above, how many of us would have seen the beauty within as did the person who sculpted out the Indian. Do you look at life and only see the outer shell or do you see  into the heart?

"A Native American Grandfather talking to his young grandson tells the boy he has two wolves inside of him struggling with each other. The first is the wolf of peace, love and kindness. The other wolf is fear, greed and hatred. "Which wolf will win, grandfather?" ask the young boy. "Which ever one I feed," is the reply."
            Native American Proverb

A Smell of Fresh Air!

 

Nothing quite like the smell of cool, fresh air after a rain. A shot of two turkeys(lower right) in the field after a late summer rain in Cades Cove. Don't you just want to reach up and touch the clouds?

 "Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential and fight for your dreams."
      Ashley Smith (1978-    ): Author and speaker

Pink Bows and Rosie Cheeks!

Calliana enjoying a beautiful fall day in the cotton fields. Little girls just have a way with your heart! Especially their Grandpas!

" Only those who look with the eyes of children can lose themselves in the object of their wonder."
Eberhand Arnold (1883 - 1935): German Christian Writer, Philosopher, Ttheologian   

Goose'n Around!

Some times words are better left unspoken!

"You don't drown by falling in the water, you drown by staying there."
     Edwin Louis Cole (1922-2002): Founder of Christian Men's Network

Look Into My Eyes!

Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)

Hunters of all kinds work tirelessly at creating and finding the perfect camouflage to better conceal themsleves in the woods. Well I hate to tell  you guys but God designed the best camouflage ever made. The colors and patterns of this female Mallard Duck help it to blend in perfectly with the grass in which it usually nest. Amid the tones of browns blending together, this shot just pulls you to look into the eyes! The eyes are the only spot that stand out a little bit from the rest of the body.

"Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts"
            Albert Einstein (1879-1955): German born American Physicist

More Swallowtails!

Black Swallowtail  (Papilio polyxenes)

"Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it."
                   Confucius ( 551BC - 479BC): Chinese thinker and social philosopher.

Raining Snakes!!! Huh???

Grey Rat Snake-Chicken Snake 

Well you just never know what might fall out of the sky when visiting the woods as I learned some time ago! While traveling through a mature stand of hardwood trees

near an open field I was amazed when this snake landed on the windshield of my pickup truck. Now how many folks out there can say this has happened to them? Ha Ha! Well as it turns out this young speciman of a Chicken Snake had obviously climbed up one of the big hardwood trees and out on a limb. I assume he must have gotten a little excited when I passed under him and lost his grip on the limb he was laying on causing him to fall and land on my windshield. Chicken Snakes are non-poisonous and actually help by eating small rodents and other pests.
        
"A journey into the wilderness is the freest, cheapest, most nonprivileged of pleasures, anyone with two legs and the price of a pair of army surplus boots may enter."
                      Edward Abbey (1927-1989): American author and essayist

Leipers Fork, Tennessee

Leipers Fork, Tennessee is a place I happened upon by accident on a trip to Nashville up the Natchez Trace. It is one of the oldest towns in Tennessee and has a rich history and a real quaint atmosphere, the kind of place you want to spend a little or maybe a lot of time. The day I came thru town they were having a Chili Cook off (this years cookoff is Oct 16, 2010) and the town was a buzz with people and music and food and stuff. It is a very neat and interesting place to say the least and I will have to visit some of the other events they have there on a regular basis. Check out the events page on the link if you want to do something different one weekend. I snapped this photo of  a full size bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin sitting on a bench in the front yard of a local house.

"Speak ill of no man, but speak all the good you know of everybody"
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790):  American Statesman, Scientist, Philosopher, Inventor, Writer

Who Called the Meeting?

Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)

     Caught these bunched up on an ole rotten, punky, piece of driftwood along the bank of the Tennessee River in northern Alabama. Seems they like each others company or they all like something on the piece of wood. Maybe just resting before they take flight again. Notice the very orange top side of the wing but the bottom side is all yellow. These are all the same specie in this picture.
          
"The difference between what the most and the least learned people know is inexpressibly trivial in relation to what is unknown."
                      Albert Einstein (1879-1955): German born American Physicist

What is Beauty?

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

Thought I would throw a little orange at you. How awesome are the colors on this beauty? The picture to the right is a little out of focus but I wanted you to see the contrasting patterns and color of the bottom side of the wing verses the orange and black topside.

"Beauty as we feel it is something indescribable; what it is or what it means can never be said"
                 George Santayana (1863-1952): American Philosopher, Poet

A Sign of Summers End

Cloudless Sulphur(Phoebis sennae)

I wait with anticipation for August every year when the first little yellow sulphurs begin their migration. It starts slowly with only a few noticed every now and then, but gradually toward the middle of the month, the numbers increase and they seem to be everywhere. Can fall be far behind when these little beauties begin appearing along field and road as you travel most anywhere in the south. 
                               
"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
               R. Buckminster Fuller(1895-1983):American Inventor, Poet, Philosopher

Would you have noticed the little lavender flowers had a butterfly not graced them with it's presence?

"I Was Looking Back To See"

Praying Mantis

I was looking back to see
If you were looking back to see
If I was looking back to see
If you were looking back at me.

Photo above reminded me of an ole song from several years ago by Jim Ed Brown ( I Was Looking Back To See)

I found this carnivorous insect hanging
onto a dead tomato vine in my garden. We humans like to watch other creatures, but how cool when they turn their attention on us. That is what happened here when I got a little too close to this Praying Mantis. They get their name due to the way they hold their front legs together as if praying. Praying Mantis are predatory insects and they eat almost any insect that gets within reach of their claws. There are accounts of a Praying Mantis catching a hummingbird. 

"On every stem, on every leaf,... and at the root of everything that grew, was a professional specialist in the shape of a grub, caterpillar, aphis, or other expert, whose business it was to devour that particular part."
          Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894): Physician, professor, lecturer, author.

Do You See the Beauty?

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Everyone is quickly drawn to the beauty of this colorful butterfly of the brushfoot group, but did you notice it had suffered some damage to it's left wing? Did you notice the beautiful round shapes on the wings? Did you notice the orange bars outlined in black on the fore wings? Did you notice the fuzzy, hairy appearance of the caterpillars body? Did you notice the beauty of the flower it rests on? Did you notice that more flowers are getting ready to burst open?

"Beauty in things exists in the mind which comtemplates them."
                   David Hume (1711-1776): Scottish philosopher and historian.

Awesome Transition

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

The eastern tiger swallowtail belongs to a genus that contains around 200 species around the world. Different patterns of blacks and yellows dominate the color pattern of swallowtails but many other colors are present also.

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."
                 Maya Angelou (April 4, 1927-present): American biographer and poet