Skywatch Friday!

Hurricane sunrise. Bands of leader clouds of a hurricane far, far away caused this brief but luscious sunrise over Wheeler Lake. Some may know the Hubs is still healing and I'm housebound and currently participating in Skywatch Friday using past favorite photos. Enjoy!

Above the Waterfall
Sevierville, Tennessee
Sony Cybershot
July 2003

Hubs and I took the offspring, at that time eleven years old (oh my!), to Sevierville, Tennessee, to visit some relatives and friends. Our friends, Steve and Beth, live in an artistic jumble of a house nestled - I swear - in a hollow. Steve turns scrap metal into pieces of art, which can be seen throughout their yard of rambling perennials. Beth's heart lies in social work, working with children. Their home is an angular frame home Steve built piece by piece, backed into a "V" of a mountain. You can practically touch each hill through windows on both sides. Wild maidenhair ferns and ferns of all manner grow wild along the mountainside and act as natural outdoor curtains. My favorite part of their home is the skeletal remains of a piano Steve playfully mounted on the outside wall. Mallets are close at hand and the children loved to rap the strings, making their own rusty music.

Sevierville is just down the road a piece from Gatlinburg, the tourist's Mecca and not my cup of tea at all. Sevierville is a calm place filled with winding roads and artist's cabins and holds a bit of magic. I adore it.

My trio and the Hubs oldest daughter and her family met us here for a long playtime weekend. One of the places Steve and Beth took us to was a local water playground called "The Y." Here, the children (big and small, old and young!) could tube down a low, tumbling waterfall. They would hike a trail far up into the woods, set their tube down into the frigid water which would gently take them down to the waterfall where they would bump and spin downward, yelling with glee, only to do it again and again. When they tired of that they would swim across the narrow ribbon of water to a huge cliff on the other side, climb up, up, up, up, up and jump into the water. Ick to THAT I say but to the kids it became a Badge of Courage.

I did none of that. Instead, I explored paths, picked up rocks and took some photos. Above the waterfall was this little waterfall, above. There I sat surrounded by the sound of tumbling water, the laughter of children way off in the distance. My bare feet played in the icy mountain stream and it was one of the happiest times I've ever had. The entire visit was Bliss. Thanks, Steve and Beth, for such wonderful memories.

New England Asters

Gulf Fritillary
New England Asters
October 14, 2002
Sony Cybershot

We moved to the lake house in December 2001. Before the house was built I'd marked areas where flower beds would be created so that the sod guys wouldn't lay sod there. Right by the garage, in the showiest corner of the yard, I planted these New England Asters. They were a passalong plant from my mom, who had an original from her own mother's yard. These are family plants growing and blooming several generations later.

As best I know the term "passalong plants" might'a been coined by Steve Bender (Southern Living Magazine) and Felder Rushing (King of his own domain). They wrote a book together, published 1993, called Passalong Plants. My mom gave me a copy long ago. I've seen both these gentleman give talks at Master Gardener events and the like and I've never laughed so much in my life. They are truly artists at giving talks about that which they love best - gardening. They are both Characters, completely deserving the capital "C!" But, I digress.

This passalong plant was at first completely well behaved but over time it grew huge and ungainly, and even began dying in the circle so now it looks like a big donut. Every July I whack it nearly to the ground, whereby it pouts for a bit before bushing up perfectly rounded in time for autumn, filled to overflowing with blooms. And it's a good thing, too.

Because the butterflies and bees adore this plant! The second year it was in the ground it bloomed heavily, profusely, abundantly. That is when I discovered butterflies, really. Never noticed them much before, but when this Gulf Fritillary landed and began sipping I was enchanted. The Sony Cybershot was fairly new then and had an annoying shutter delay but eventually I got this shot. Only 5 megapixel and the colors are a little wonky, but it's a cool shot filled with wonderful memories of that first October at the lake house with my passalong New England Aster, discovering butterflies. Ah, bliss.

Spiritual Sunday

Wheeler Lake
July 2003

"I thank you God for this most amazing day,

for the leaping greenly spirits of trees,

and for the blue dream of sky

and for everything which is natural,

which is infinite,

which is yes."

e.e. cummings

Gulf Fritillary

Gulf Fritillary nestled among my heavily fruited possumhaw holly, a deciduous holly native to our area. An early, crisp autumn morning this fritillary and others were dangling from the plants along our walkway, hanging for all the world like holiday ornaments. Such a sight, such a sight.

Since I'm home bound for a spell while taking care of the Hubs that means I'll be sharing some of my favorite photos with everyone. While doing so I think perhaps participating in some of these popular memes might be sorta fun for a change. This is my first Camera Critters entry.