Evening sky at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May 2, 2011.
This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world. To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.
The sun went down over land when we were at the beach last week, but the color of the sky at sunset was still gorgeous. I missed the sun this evening, but the sky was still beautiful.
Black bear seen along Skyline Drive in Virginia. August 6, 2010.
As most of you know, Betsy and I do a fair amount of hiking in our search for waterfalls. Many of the trails are in remote areas, but we’ve always enjoyed them. We’re often the only people on a trail, and that’s fine with us.
We have a friend who is scared to death of bears. Just the mention of the word can upset her. Betsy and I have encountered bears on the trail only once. We were hiking near the entrance to Cade’s Cove in the Smokies and saw a Mama Bear and two cubs cross the trail quite a way ahead of us. We stopped and watched the three of scamper up the side of the hill.
The picture above was taken at an overlook on Skyline Drive in Virginia back in 2010. The bear was close enough to be easily seen, but this picture was taken with my long lens, so he really wasn’t that close. But just between us, I’m glad he didn’t come any closer.
"I wonder if it's too late to change my mind?" Bull Sluice on the Chattooga River. April 30, 2011.
This is my post for Watery Wednesday. To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.
On our way to the beach Betsy and I stopped by Bull Sluice on the Chattooga River. Bull Sluice is a Class V whitewater rapid, and we saw several kayakers shoot the rapid while we were at the observation deck.
I was fortunate to be able to read the mind of this kayaker as he went through the rapids.
"So far, so good!"
"I think I'm going to get wet!!!"
"Oops!!"
What happened? If you look at the tip of the arrow in the last picture, you can almost see the end of his paddle.
Our front yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 7, 2011.
This is my post for the My World meme. It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, and Fishing Guy. To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.
Betsy and I came home to a yard full of color, thanks to the wet Spring we had here on the Plateau. The grass was green, the iris were still blooming (they had started before we left for the beach), the azaleas in the front yard were putting on a show, and the roses were full of buds and blossoms. All in all it was a beautiful welcome home.
Both of these pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them, but if you do that please don’t look too closely. The grass desperately needs to be mowed. I guess that’s my welcome home.
The view from our room at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May 2, 2011.
This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world. To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.
Betsy and I just got back from a wonderful week at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. The view from our room was gorgeous, as you can see from the picture above. The weather was nearly perfect, and the seafood was delicious. Is it any wonder that we escape there whenever possible?
Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine, Florida. August 4, 2009.
This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world. To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.
I was working with some pictures taken back in August, 2009, when I came across this picture of a watch tower and walls of Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida. Since I captured the fortress under a bright, but cloudy, Florida sky, I thought this was an appropriate picture for Skywatch Friday.
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Betsy and I enjoyed our last blogging break so much that we are taking another. Hopefully we’ll be back about May 9.
One of the places I visited on my first trip to China in 1987 was the Ming Tombs, which are about 30 miles northwest of Beijing. The Ming Tombs refer to the mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China from 1368 to 1644.
The first two Ming emperors ruled from Nanjing in the south of China, but the third emperor, Zhu Di, moved the capital to Beijing. It was Zhu Di who began building the Forbidden City and who built the first of the Ming Tombs.
One of the most unusual of the thirteen tombs is Dingling, the tomb of Zhu Yijun. This tomb in an underground palace complete with a throne room for the spirit of the emperor. I was fortunate enough to be able to tour Dingling.
The tombs are approached along a Spirit Way, also known as the Avenue of the Animals because of the large stone animals and officials who stand guard along the road.
The Ming Tombs are truly fascinating both for the architecture of the structures and for the glimpse they provide of Chinese culture and history. If you are ever in Beijing, the tombs are well worth a visit.
To see larger versions of these pictures and others, click HERE.
Piney Falls, Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2011.
This is my post for Watery Wednesday. To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.
Piney Falls is a beautiful waterfall in Fall Creek Falls State Park here in Tennessee. Unfortunately the waterfall is practically inaccessible. This photo was taken with my long lens from the overlook about half a mile away.
Honey Glaze Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 22, 2011.
This is my post for the My World meme. It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, and Fishing Guy. To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.
We were down to one lonely tulip in the front yard, but then the iris started blooming and we are once again enjoying beautiful blossoms. The first iris to bloom was Honey Glazed, which is shown above.
Blatant Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 22, 2011.
It would be hard for me to pick a favorite, but this one — Blatant — would certainly be in the running.
Clarence Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 23, 2011.
Another iris that is blooming is Clarence.
All three of these are re-blooming iris, so if Mother Nature cooperates we’ll have another show in October.
Fall Creek Falls, Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2011.
This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world. To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.
This past Thursday Betsy and I went to Fall Creek Falls State Park here in Tennessee. Fall Creek Falls is one of our favorite places to visit. We had our first ‘big’ date there on April 21, 2001, and we’ve gotten back there on the anniversary just about every year since. The picture above shows Fall Creek Falls, one of six waterfalls in the park.
Betsy and George at Cane Creek Cascade, Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2011.
It was this first date that got us started ‘collecting’ waterfalls. We’ve visited over 430 different waterfalls in the past ten years.
I also got my first kiss on that day — a tradition that I’ve happily continued.
