Fall in the Rockies — how splendid.  I took tons of pictures and virtually every one turned out wonderful.  It’s hard even for an amateur like me to take a bad picture with such marvelous scenes.  I happened to be there last Fall when the aspens were at their peak.  In this picture, I especially like the play of light and shadow on the birch tree trunks.  Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado

Such delightful days when the various pollinators find our abundant wildflowers.  These thistle grow in Cone Park near Mr. Cone’s grave.  Blue Ridge Parkway mp 294

 
Looking at buttercups, to me, is like looking at the sun — such shiny deep yellow brilliance.  An entire field is glorious.  These are located on the dam at Trout Lake.  And shortly after they bloom, the Park Service mows the field. So, catch them late Spring.

Rosebay rhodos are beautiful when they bloom en masse.  But, the individual blossoms are also gorgeous.  And they take so many forms as they are just coming into blossom.  I love the shades of pink, the darker pink buds in contrast to the fully blooming flowers, some of which are such a pale pink that they look white.  This bloom was on the Rich Mountain Trail above Trout Lake, Blue Ridge Parkway, mp 295.

Mayapple

I suppose there is no doubt how this flower gets its name — it blooms in May.  Isn’t it gorgeous!  The Mayapple plant is low growing, and congregates in groups.  I always think of them as little lilliputian armies — gnomes, almost — bent over and about to rise up and march across the forest floor.  Later on, the flower matures into an edible ‘apple.’  It’s poisonous when green but supposedly dilicious when mature.  I’ve never found a mature one because the deer love them and evidently keep such an eagle eye out that they consume them all as soon as they ripen.

Mayapples are everywhere in the forests here.  You’ll see them from any of the hiking trails.  I took the picture of this one on one of the Cone trails, mp 294 Blue Ridge Parkway.

Hawk and plane heading the same way

Out hiking one morning — obviously, a clear gorgeous day — I rounded a curve in the trail.  The landscape changed from a canopy of rhodos to an open field.  Looking ahead, four hawks rose up, flying helter-skelter above me.  I began shooting pictures, simply trying to frame as many shots as I could with a hawk or a couple hawks in them.  In about 60 seconds, they’d flown away.

When I returned home, I found this shot.  At the time, I hadn’t noticed the airplane. 

Location:  Cone Park, off mp 294, Blue Ridge Parkway.  Walk up from the gate on Shulls Mill Rd.  After climbing up for about 10 minutes, you’ll come upon an open field.  That’s where this pic was taken.