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Cades Cove Wildflowers.. wildflowers cades cove [Flickr].. Wildflowers - Jack-In-the-Pulpit & Buttercups.. jack-in-the-pulpit [Flickr]..
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Cades Cove Wildflowers
Hubby and I took a short trip to the Gatlinburg/Smokey Mountains National Park area this past weekend. Here is one of the photos I took while taking a break on our 11-mile bike ride around the Cades Cove Loop.
 
wildflowers cades cove [Flickr]
amh615 posted a photo:
Wildflowers - Jack-In-the-Pulpit & Buttercups
I was dumping some twigs in our woods last week and looked around and noticed how the forest floor is in bloom. I, of course, ran and got my camera to capture a few of them. These two came out the best. I've done nothing to the photos. I liked them the way they were.
The first is of a cluster of Buttercups. The sun was getting ready to go behind the hill and was shining on them through the trees. I loved the way it was brightening the top petals, but the bottom one was still almost shadowed.
This is a Jack-In-The-Pulpit. They are very abundant around here. Their flower is very odd.
jack-in-the-pulpit [Flickr]
amh615 posted a photo:
Buttercup [Flickr]
amh615 posted a photo:
Magnolia Blossoms - Green Thumb Sunday
I just took this last week but it's quickly becoming one of my favorite photos! I love how clear and crisp the center of the bloom is, and though the background is blurred, it has just enough of the pink from the fallen petals to blend perfectly.
Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.
Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll 
magnolia blossoms [Flickr]
amh615 posted a photo:
Cherry Blossoms
They Cherry Blossoms are just gorgeous this year! Spring is FINALLY here and everything is in bloom. We decided to visit Bernheim Arboretum & Forest at the last minute this morning, and boy am I glad we did!
It was a gorgeous, warm day and everything was in bloom, including the Cherry Trees!
I wanted to focus in on the blooms but still show the grandeur of the tree in the background for this photo. My son insisted that it would look better if only the close-up blossoms were in color and the background in black and white. I do agree that they certainly stand out. Do you like the contrast, or do you think it would look better if everything was in color?
 
cherry blossoms [Flickr]
amh615 posted a photo:
Snow Day
I think our threat of snow is finally past. My daffodils are now in full bloom - I actually need to get out and photograph them, if we could just get the rain to stop! Here are a couple reminders of what our weather was last month...
 
Let It Snow -- In Black & White
Here are a few more of my snow photos. All of the photos that I am posting today are in black & white. I'll get around to my color ones another day. Hope you enjoy!
These poor old mailboxes have seen all kinds of weather through the years!
This little Robin constantly kept the same distance from me. I'd take a step, she'd take a step...
My Uncle's old shed looks as if it may only see a few more winters! 
Snow Shadows -- Green Thumb Sunday
It was 70 degrees Fahrenheit just last Sunday, and yesterday we woke up to 11 inches of snow! It's beautiful... but I'm ready for spring! I feel like I'm living in Alaska, not Kentucky! I took a few photos of it yesterday, and will post them this week. I'm busy today getting ready to host an anniversary party tonight and have run out of time, but here's a preview.
The sky was a beautiful clear blue and the sun cast wonderful shadows on the snow. I took this in color and black & white, and I liked the black and white a little better. I found it more interesting. Without the color you can let your imagination run... could it be snow, or sand, or even sugar perhaps? :) Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information. Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll 
It's Winter! (Part 3)
This is hopefully my last winter post... I'm done with winter. I can't remember the last time the sun was shining. The first 2 parts of the winter series were taken on the same day, but 2 of the photos in this series are from a different day. Yes, we had more than one ice storm! Actually, school was cancelled again today! Bring on summer!!! 
It's Winter (Part 2) -- Green Thumb Sunday
More shots from my venture out into the cold this past week. The snow is almost gone now and I really won't miss it. I'm not a winter person. But I do think these turned out pretty well! There's a pine, a crape myrtle and my weeping mulberry... all covered with ice!
Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.
Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll 
I Received An Award!
When I returned home tonight I had received a comment from Sue at http://sues-daily-photos.blogspot.com/ that said I had a surprise waiting for me at her blog. I excitedly ventured over there and found that Sue had selected me as one of recipients of the 'E for Excellent' awards she was passing on. Sue definitely has an excellent photo blog. Her archived photos are of her previous residence in Key West, FL, and her newer photos are taken at her new residence in Charleston, SC. Sue has been a professional photographer for quite a few years and her photos show it. You will feel as if you are transported across miles and are visiting the places she is photographing. Thank you Sue for this wonderful award. I am truly humbled and flattered! I am going to pass this award on to a couple of photo blogs that I enjoy and frequent: http://davids-pics.blogspot.com/
Congratulations!
It's Winter!
Here are a few photos from the hour I spent out in the cold today. I hate cold, but the ice was very pretty!
"Knotty" Tree - Gree Thumb Sunday
 This is just a tree I found interesting while we were hiking one fall. This was taken in Red River Gorge area in the Daniel Boone National Forest. If you've never been there and love the outdoors -- you must visit! It's just as pretty, if not more so, than the Gatlinburg area, but without the commercial aspect. I have many more photos of the area I will be posting in days to come, as well as a Squidoo Lense I'm developing with things to see while visiting the area. Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.
Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll 
Sea Oats - Green Thumb Sunday
I'm still dreaming of warmer days and dug up this photo as proof that it will be summer again soon! It is getting up in the high 40s/low 50s todays... so maybe I'll be able to get out and get some photos. Although it is Superbowl Sunday...
Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.
Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll 
Fishing Boat - The Capt. Fuzz
The boats sat in the harbor just waiting to go out and catch us some fresh fish... or shrimp! 
Waiting
The gulls sit waiting for someone to throw them some food while in the background you can see the masts of the boats waiting to be taken out to sea.
Downy Woodpecker - Green Thumb Sunday
When I posted the Tufted Titmouse, I mentioned in the comments that I had a Downey Woodpecker that I wanted to capture. Well, it's not the greatest photo I ever taken, but here it is!
I noticed the Woodpecker on my feeder through the window so I went and grabbed my camera. Now the trick was to get the door open without scaring it off. I managed to crack the door open enough to zoom in and get a few shots before it flew off. I had to work quickly and from a distance so this was the best one I got. Hopefully, when the weather breaks, I can get a better one. But for now this will have to do.
 Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.
Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll 
Nandina - Green Thumb Sunday
I'm posting a little early today... although in about a half hour it will be Sunday. I know I won't have time until late tomorrow, so I figured I'd post now.
This is a close-up of the berries on the Nandina (Nandina domestica). I love Nandinas because they turn such lovely shades of red in the fall, and they don't lose their leaves in the winter! It's hard to find an evergreen that isn't prickly (i.e. fir, spruce, etc.) around here. The berries last quite a while too -- until the birds find them and clean them off!
Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information. Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll
Cincinnati Trip
I promised some pics of our Cincinnati trip. These are the more interesting photos I took! I posted explanations beneath them. Hope you enjoy...
This is me taking a picture of myself. I am sitting on the edge of the hotel lobby's holiday display and the reflection is in mirrored tiles that were on the back of the escalators. If you look closely the train is a little blurred because it was moving. I actually wish this was squared up a little more, but the family was waiting and grumpy because I was taking so long! 
I have no explanation for this other than I found it interesting. DH doesn't like it at all.  This sculpture is the in the lobby of the hotel we stayed at. I am actually on the 2nd floor so I'm almost at eye level with it. I took it off-center on purpose. Notice the flag outside on the building across the street.
 It was bitterly cold, but the sky was so blue I couldn't resist taking a photo of the contrasting building against it.  From the brick up you are looking outside, but from the brick down is a mirrored reflection. 
Flowers For Me -- Green Thumb Sunday
This week I received not one, but two sets of flowers -- for no special reason! A lovely arrangement from a friend and my mom bought me a dozen roses.
This variety of rose has white a white center with edges that are very dark pink. They are just beautiful! And since winter is here and I can't walk outside and see any flowers, they were especially appreciated!
So this week for Green Thumb Sunday, I am sharing a few photos I took of them.
Have a great GTS!
A closeup of the flowers from my friend. Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information. Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll 
Gulls
I think seagulls are one of the easiest birds to photograph. They are such scavengers they don't mind humans coming near them, they just hope you have food with you!
I've always termed the birds above as seagulls. However, after doing a little research on them, it seems the term seagulls or sea gulls is "just a name is used by the layman to refer to a common local species or all gulls in general, and has no fixed taxonomic meaning." In addition, I found that there are MANY types of gulls! Unfortunately, I don't have time today to figure out which one these are, so if you know... feel free to post the answer!
Orange Butterfly - Green Thumb Sunday
 I'm a little late today, and my photo isn't current. It's been a very busy two weeks for me, we traveled out of town (will post some of those photos in the next few days) and there will be around 20 people at my home tonight, which required cooking and cleaning. So to make this long story short, between all that and the cold dreary weather, I'm posting a photo from the fall of 2006.
Because St. Mark's, Florida, which is just a short drive from Panacea where I took this photo, has an annual Monarch Butterfly Festival, I wanted to say that these were Monarch Butterflies. However, after looking at other photos of Monarchs, I'm not convinced they are.
In any event, there were hundreds of them. They loved these yellow (Goldenrod?) flowers at the edge of the beach. It was quite a lovely site to behold! Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information. Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll
Spoiled Rotten!
Yes! He's rotten! He looks so innocent and sweet. Truth is, this little mutt rules the roost. He pretty much keeps our Lab, who is 4 times his size, in check! Must be little dog syndrome... 
Ocean View
I'm sorry! I keep going back to my beach and ocean pictures. It was rainy here all day and it was dark before I even got home from work... so the thought of being in the sun with my feet in the sand sounds like heaven!
I took this at Okaloosa Island, Florida, early one morning before the throngs of sun worshipers (like myself) hit the sand.
Tufted Titmouse -- Green Thumb Sunday
I love feeding the birds in the winter. Watching them is such a treat. They dart back and forth, fighting for the bird seed as if it's their last meal. It always surprises me how fast they can empty a feeder!
Today I sat on my back deck (only for a few minutes as the high today is only 31 degrees!) and tried to capture a few of them, which is a little harder than you'd think as they all act as if they have A.D.D. and don't hold still for more than a few seconds at a time.
This one, I got a good shot of, is a Tufted Titmouse. Wikipedia says that Tufted Titmice "tend to be curious about their human neighbors and can sometimes be spotted on window ledges peering into the windows to watch what's going on inside. They are more shy when seen at bird feeders; their normal pattern there is to scout the feeder from the cover of trees or bushes, fly to the feeder, take a seed, and fly back to cover to eat it." This describes the ones I was watching to a "T". They would hide in the nearby Rhododendron and when they felt safe, they'd come to the feeder and eat. But yet one of them was actually brave enough to land briefly on my knee while I sat there photographing them!
If you don't have a bird feeder, or suet feeder in this case, I encourage you to get one. Watching how cheery the birds are can make a dismal, dreary winter a little brighter!
Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information. Green Thumb Sunday Blogroll
Reflection
 
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