Photography
A picture may be worth 1,000 words, so photography tells many stories.
Ground Fog In Cataloochee Valley
On a recent morning, I left the house before sunrise with the intention of capturing some photographs of the elk in nearby Cataloochee Valley. I arrived just before sunrise to find the fields covered in their normal fall ground fog. Unfortunately, as you can see in the photograph, the elk themselves were being quite uncooperative…
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Elk Calf In Cataloochee Valley
The majestic bull elk are always a photographer’s target, but this young elk calf just kept mugging for the camera and was irresistible. With the Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park just a few minutes drive from the house, heading over for sunrise photos of the elk is a common trip. The…
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Beginning Fall Colors 2016
Driving through Cataloochee Ranch yesterday on the way home, the clear blue skies and beginning fall colors called out for the camera. Our nighttime lows have been flirting with freezing and the days are shortening. Fall is such a lovely time in the mountains, perfect for a person like me who just thrives on being…
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Elk In Foggy Cataloochee Valley
Living on the Eastern edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I am blessed with a short drive into the foggy Cataloochee Valley for elk viewing. Last year’s fall weather was much more seasonal, so September mornings in the park were frosty and clear (see some fall Elk pictures here). The warm temperatures this…
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Traffic Created By Wild Turkey Flock
Obstacles abound on the simple drive to our house. In this case, a wild turkey flock was blocking our path, so I took photos. A female turkey lays a dozen or more eggs in the spring, so a large flock like this is not uncommon (16 poults based on my best counting efforts). The adults…
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Reflections in Lake Junaluska
Sunny, blue sky walking day at Lake Junaluska. The reflections of buildings, trees and clouds shimmered in the calm water. A popular walking path circles the lake and offers near constant beautiful views of the water and the community that surrounds the lake. On a late summer day, the haze can still be seen against…
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Good Morning, Miss Spider
Turned on the floodlights to let the dogs out and discovered this beautiful web spread between the roof and the top of the fence. Good morning, Miss Spider. Normally, the web would have been invisible in the fog and dark of the rainy morning, but the floodlight was perfectly positioned to illuminate my subject. As…
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Summer Evening For Horses
We had a perfect late summer evening for horses last night. Our weather has been unseasonably hot the last few weeks, though that is still much cooler than most of the east coast. Yesterday evening, however, was near perfect for this time of year with clear skies and little threat of showers. We were driving…
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Sarge’s Downtown Dog Walk 2016
Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation held their 11th Annual Downtown Dog Walk 2016 yesterday (August 6) in Waynesville, NC. As the largest fundraiser for this terrific animal rescue, the event is very well attended with well over a hundred of man’s best friends in attendance. For the past several years, I have edited a video of…
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Queen Annes Lace and A Mushroom
A walk around our property with my visiting Super Nephew allowed us to explore the various plants, including Queen Annes Lace and a bright orange mushroom. Queen Annes Lace grows commonly in our mountains. Most people do not realize, however, that it is a member of the carrot family and is commonly called Wild Carrot.…
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Staring Steer (Nope. Don’t Want to)
More than wild animals wander into our yard, as shown by this staring steer. He wandered over from next door and resented my suggestion he go home. The horses of Cataloochee Ranch are the stars, but a herd of cattle also lives on the ranch through the summer. With the ranch approaching a thousand acres,…
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Woodpeckers
Our woods are alive with so many colorful birds, but my eye was drawn to two different woodpeckers foraging for their dinner. The Downy Woodpecker is common to our forests, but can be hard to spot. The males have a bright red splash of color on the top of their head, but the females, like…
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