Despite it raining all day, I didn’t allow those Monday blues to swallow me. Music always has a happy effect on me, and if you stopped by for the A-Z Challenge yesterday then you got a chance to boogie with me. What’s that? You missed out! No worries, there is always time to for a little one-on-one with me on the dance floor!
Tuesdays are my day to go random. I am a member of an élite group of bloggers who like to sit around in Blogosphere chatting over a cup of coffee. Oh, you belong to this group, too! That’s fabulous, then you know this morning, I am throwing together a montage of my life through photographs lately.
Good news! Motivation and moving is a paying off. In the past 3-weeks, I have lost 4-pounds. The scales read 113 yesterday. Yay, me!
I would love to shed two pounds this week, but as long as the number is dropping then I will happily take what I can get. 😉
How was your weekend? Ours was quite nice. In fact, the past two Saturdays we spent in the mountains.
Cades Cove is an isolated spot nestled in the Smoky Mountains, settled by Europeans in 1818 and families lived in the Cove up till the 1930s.
The 11-mile loop road is one the most popular parts of the park for motor tourist and bicyclist to visit today.
Remnants of the past dot the valley ~ log cabins, churches, and graveyards. My FIL always referred to Cades Cove as a piece of heaven.
I think he’s right. I know the way of life in the cove was a hard one for those early pioneers. A way of life I am not accustomed to or want to know. However, I know they loved the surroundings ever bit as much as each person who passes through the valley and secretly I am sad they gave up their land for people like me to soak up.
It is not uncommon to see horses grazing in the field at the loop road entrance. The first Saturday, we saw plenty of deer and horses in this same spot, but none were close as this past weekend.
These two were curious to see what people were doing. I made a little small talk with the blonde beauty. I asked if she knew my friend Patrice’s horse Wendell from New Jersey and all I got was, “Neigh! Translated: my mother’s, cousin, sister, daughter’s son was a Wendell…but New Jersey? Blustery exhales! Translated: I don’t think so.” That’s when the solicitation for carrots followed and I knew it was time to leave.
Usually, you see a traffic wad before you see the wildlife and you know it will be something big. and that’s precisely what we were fortunate enough to come upon.
Spotting black bear in the mountains is a rare and spectacular event. This is the first sighting for us in a three or four years. I was so thrilled! This guy was way back in a field. I had to use my 300mm to pull him in. I am always amazed to see the number of idiots eager to run headlong into the field to see how close they can get to it. What generally happens is the animal runs off spoiling it for the onlookers from a distant.
We saw many deer enjoying the fields two Saturdays ago. I think the cooler weather (48°) contributed to our sightings but this past weekend it was 20 degrees warmer. Luckily, a small herd of deer was feeding right next to the road and I captured this little lady just as she looked straight at me.
I will be looking forward to our next day trip to the mountains. Next outing, we plan to take in the views higher up. Perhaps, Clingman’s Dome, as well as enjoy the south end of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
I hope you enjoyed my little photo essay. You may want to come by mid-week for my Wordless Wednesday post to see more pictures taken in Cades Cove. Now, grab a cup of coffee and join me as I visit that élite group of bloggers I spoke of earlier: Les for Tuesday Coffee Chat, Patrice’s for Chats on the farmhouse porch, and Stacy for Random Tuesday Thoughts!
Have a terrific Tuesday!