A multi-media account of my travels through life
The snow and clear, arctic air have combined to give absolutely gorgeous lighting for my bird shots. This Slate-colored junco has some beautiful highlight on his brilliantly white underside and all thanks to the snow. Had I walked outside and placed a spotlight I could not have done it better. ❧
I think practical. The bird seems young and it is probably her first snow fall so why not take as many seeds as the beak will hold? ❧
We had snow today, at least three inches. It started in the early morning and lasted all day with varying degrees of intensity. I was delighted since it was what I had stayed for–winter. Photographers want to record experiences and I wanted some pictures of winter. I’m not sure why. I hate the cold but, oddly, snow seems warm to me. Tango and I had a good walk in the early afternoon, up Potts Branch Road to Little Cove Rd. The snow was coming down steadily. It was quite lovely.
Tango had never seen snow and he thought it was …well, who the heck knows what he thought? He seemed to enjoy it. I could tell he was confused about smells. He would nuzzle his nose deep into the snow, trying to follow a scent. I worried a few times that he would topple over into one of the many creeks that was along our walk but he is too clever for that. In the end, as you can see, he was happy and, like me, enjoying the experience. ❧
Here’s another view of the Cullasaja River. Yesterday’s post (#188 – Cold, Cold, Cold) showed a peaceful portion of the river but it is more renown for its remarkable series of waterfalls, there are four major falls on a relatively short span of river and all can be seen from the highway that runs between Highlands and Franklin. In fact, the Cullasaja River is solely contained in Macon County. It spills out of the mountains near Highlands and then empties into the Little Tennessee River near Franklin. Eventually the water makes its way to the Mississippi River after passing through the Little Tennessee, the Tennessee, and the Ohio Rivers.
This post gives you two very different views of the rather oddly named Dry Falls. There is certainly plenty of water so I was unclear as to why it is called Dry Falls but learned it is because you can walk behind the falls and remain relatively dry — most of the time.
On Friday no one was walking under the falls. The ice was too severe, the way too treacherous. Quite a contrast to the second photo of the very same falls taken last July. People strolled leisurely under the falls in the warm summer day. ❧
My friend Bonnie on the Cullasaja River. Don’t let the sun fool you. It was cold!
Cullasaja means “honey locust place” in the Cherokee language. It runs through a gorge that has multiple waterfalls and scenic overlooks. The gorge is part of the trail followed by Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto in 1540. ❧
This sparrow, I think it is a White-crowned Sparrow, landed on the handrail of the deck near my gargoyle. During this frigid weather, that has seized most of the nation, the birds are flocking to my feeders in great numbers. Normally there are waves of birds who will all fly off at once and leave the feeders empty for a while. Now, however, it seems the feeders always have visitors. Some look very ragged and I wonder if they will make it through the night. The wonder is that any of them make it through this cold. ❧
That’s my cousin Bridget Perry with her ten-week old son, Winston, watching the sunset at Point of Rocks in Sarasota, FL It was taken about two weeks ago, just after the first major cold front passed through, affecting about 2/3 of the nation. Now we are enduring the second cold front and I think I posted this particular picture because it is full of hope and warmth–two qualities we need just now. ❧
That’s my friend Mary with two of her standard poodles. Until I stayed at Mary’s house I had never spent any time around Standard Poodles. I can see the attraction to them. Their intelligence is very obvious and they move with a certain grace that is hard to describe. I was hoping to get a nice portrait of Mary and her poodles but the picture above is as close as we got. Trying to corral these canines proved to be a chore, as the picture below demonstrates. The dogs had other ideas. ❧
And its even better with friends! ❧
It may sound odd but after nineteen years in Florida but I am enjoying the process of getting re-acquainted with winter in North Carolina. Don’t get me wrong, I am not about to move to Minnesota. It has been plenty cold for me with temperatures dropping into the teens at night and sometimes barely breaking 40 degrees during the day. But there is treasure everywhere and there is certainly treasure in winter. It is an integral part of the automatic earth, a time of slumber and re-alignment. It is also a time of crisp, rich blue skies with low-slung cirrus clouds that seem to materialize before your eyes and quickly join forces to make a bright day gray.
Armed only with the iPhone camera I enjoyed a walk down Potts Branch Rd. today and climbed a pasture hill to enjoy the view and snap this photo. Tango, of course, was at my side and he too enjoyed the smells and sights. Every day is a gift. ❧
Alice's WanderLand 