True to my word, my blogging has slowed down this spring. To the point of stopping for a bit so I could put in as much time outdoors as possible. But I'm alive and well, truly. So to start back, I'm posting some photos from a hike we took in the Smoky Mountains last month, on Porter's Creek Trail.
We were there while the white-capped phacelia were in bloom, turning the woods in to a fairy land.
One of my favorite wildflowers is Turk's cap lilies. They just seem so whimsical.
We hiked two miles to Fern Branch Falls, which drop 60 feet down the ridge.
This big flat rock at the base of the waterfall was our picnic spot.
The trillium, another favorite, were not yet in bloom. I love these so much I have several varieties in the shaded parts of my garden.
Hiking back out, we crossed the boulders into the river and sat for a while just enjoying the sun and the sound of rushing water.
These are just wild violets, but they're called halberd-leaved violets because their leaves are shaped like the axe head of an old long-handled battle weapon. I thought that was interesting.
At one point on the hike back out, another couple was hiking in. The woman in the couple was walking, but the man had stopped to take a picture of the phacelia and was standing there staring at them with a goofy smile on his face. I know a fellow nature-lover when I see one, and I asked him,
"Isn't it magical?" He turned to me and said,
"It's amazing!" I've traveled all over the world and I sometimes forget the beauty in my own backyard.
We hiked close to five miles all told, our first real hike since my ankle surgery. And it was great! I feel like I am slowly getting back to my old self. And I'm not kidding about being a less dedicated blogger for the time being - I need to be outside healing.
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