Why Folks Moove to the Country

Cow, Valley Head, Alabama, USA

Relaxing scenes like this are why folks move to and visit rural areas.

On Schedule

Dogwood Blossoms, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

The 78th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival is this weekend.  It doesn't always happen, but this year the dogwoods are in full bloom at the same time as the festival.  In fact, we took this photo just the other day.

Waiting to Azale

Azalea Bud, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

This bud is just beginning and will one day blossom into a beautiful azalea flower.  Spring is springing!

The Upside of Pollen

Zinnia, Pine Mountain, Georgia, USA

This spring, the pollen has us absolutely miserable.  Although the pollen count is not very high yet, this spring pollen season began earlier and contains more varied pollens than at the same time in previous years.

Even though we have red eyes and congested noses, we know pollen is the reason we can enjoy beautiful blossoming flowers like the zinnia above.  We saw this beauty in June a few years back at Callaway Gardens.  It was still unfolding and revealing it's many colors.

Practice Makes Perfect

Camellia Flower, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

When at first you don't succeed, keep taking photos!  This photo was one of the last of many that were taken of this camellia's flowers.  Among the challenges were wind, changing light, incorrect camera settings, and lots of stooping.  We think our efforts were rewarded with this shot.

Tree Love

Trees, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Marietta, Georgia, USA

You've heard of true love.  This is tree love!  We adored these two trees who appeared to be embracing each other.

Warm and Happy

Smile in the Snow, Evergreen, Colorado, USA

We don't know what the groundhog saw a few weeks ago, but we are glad to see the ice and snow melting and the temperature rising to milder levels.

Mountains Come Out of the Sky

Cattails, Evergreen Lake, Evergreen, Colorado, USA

This picture speaks for itself.  We were driving around Evergreen Lake to see the ice, and discovered this beautiful fall scene.

Name that Flower

Flower, Zion National Park, Utah, USA

We found this flower near the base of a "beehive" formation at Zion National Park.  We have no idea what kind of flower it is, but it sure is unusual and beautiful.

Sticks and Stones

Gumballs and River Stones, Helen, Georgia, USA

Laying atop these river rocks are two fruits on stems from the American sweetgum tree.  The fruit are known as gumballs.


If you've ever stepped on chewing gum, you might make exclamations from how hard it is to remove from your foot.  If you step on these gumballs, you'll likely yell from how much these hurt your feet.

Rock-a-bye Fishy

Copper Rockfish, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

We think this cute Copper Rockfish was asleep as it never moved as we took its photo from several angles at the Georgia Aquarium.

Dig A Pony

Pony, Palmetto, Georgia, USA

Seeing this little fellow reminded us of the Beatles' song Dig a Pony.  We met this cute pony and its friends during a visit to the Serenbe Community.  Serenbe is a planned community with wide open spaces and some nice shops and restaurants.  Next time you're in this part of North Georgia, check out Serenbe.

Good Morning 2014

Sunrise on the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii, USA

This was the beautiful sunrise that greeted us the morning we sailed into Hilo.  As the sun rises on 2014, we wish everyone a beautiful year.  Happy New Year!

Ice Themed Cone

Pine Cone, Evergreen, Colorado, USA

We saw this pine cone sitting on Evergreen Lake and zoomed in on it to capture this magical scene.

Cone of Lula

Pine Cone, Lula, Georgia, USA

We really struggled to come up with a title and text for this photo.  We decided to be simple and title it "Cone of Lula".

Before the Latkes

Young Apple, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

This little apple was just beginning to grow from a bud and blossom.  By mid-summer it was ready to be made into apple sauce, a perfect condiment for Chanukah latkes!

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah, so we'll be getting stuffed with latkes, sufganyot, and more.  There will be no break for our tummies, as tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

An Eight Legged Pumpkin

Spider, Cornelia, Georgia, USA

This orange marbled orb-weaver spider was walking on the side of the road likely heading for a pile of leaves in the nearby woodlands.  It is totally harmless to humans and usually isn't seen after the first hard freeze of winter.

To take this picture, I simply put the camera on the road very close to the spider.  There was no need to use my zoom lens as these spiders have poor vision and it didn't seem afraid of me.

Sharp Green

Cactus, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

We find cacti fascinating for many reasons.  Coming in all shapes and sizes, some are like plants, and some like trees.  Some have big spines, and some have tiny, little ones.  The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix sure had a wide variety for us to enjoy.

Chasing the Sun

Sunflower, Chamblee, Georgia, USA

We found this incredibly large and beautiful sunflower at the Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK) in Chamblee.  Just like many of the planes, this big flower was chasing the sun.

Go Team!

Flowers, Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada

These flowers remind us of cheerleader pom poms!