Smoky Mountain Sky

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While driving Newfound Gap Road through the Smokies from Cherokee, North Carolina, to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Betsy and I stopped at an overlook in North Carolina to admire the mountains. I noticed the sun rays streaming through the clouds in the background and snapped this picture.

A Glorious End to the Day

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This picture was taken in December, 2010. Betsy and I had gone to Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina to enjoy the beach and get some good seafood. An advantage to our December beach trip was that we could enjoy the sunset from our room at the inn.

Beauty in the Conservatory (2)

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Betsy and I often spend a great deal of time wandering through the Conservatory when we visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. I admit that I don't often know the names of the plants I'm seeing, but I do enjoy seeing them anyway. I like the color and shape of the leaves of this plant in a picture taken last February.

Morning in the Mountains

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I captured this wonderful sight on an early November morning last year at Hazel Mountain Overlook on the Skyline Drive in Virginia. The day started very foggy and cloudy, but as the sun came up it started to break through the fog and clouds. We came upon this sight a few minutes later.

Another Sign of Spring

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Crocus blooms are usually our first sign that Spring is getting closer. There still might be more snow and cold to come, but these bright and colorful blossoms mean that warm sunny days are ahead. The little bee in the third blossom is a nice bonus.

Can Spring Possibly Be Here?

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Yesterday was a bright, warm, Spring-like day, and although I enjoyed it, I was surprised to see these beautiful daffodils in bloom in our front yard. I love those cheery, sunny blossoms, but they've opened about three weeks earlier than last year. I hope we don't have any more freezing weather, but it's a long time until Spring really gets here.

Beauty in the Conservatory

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I've mentioned several times that Betsy and I have season tickets to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. While we enjoy the beautiful gardens, we almost always visit the Conservatory when we are there. I'm not up on all the names of the gorgeous blossoms we see, such as the beauty above, but my breath is always taken away by what we find in the Conservatory. It's a good thing there was a 'Do Not Touch' sign, or I would have touched this just to convince myself it was real.