Smoky Mountains National Park

This was taken as we drove north on US 441 through the Smoky Mountain National Park last week on the way to a family wedding in Gatlinburg, TN.  I just got a new camera and had alot of opportunities to test it out during the vacation.  So I finally have some new material to post :o)

Watching the Sunset with a Cop - Skywatch Friday

Headed to one of my favorite spots to catch the sunset...and found a police officer parked in my spot.  I wasn't detered...I pulled up next to him and got out of the car.  He laughed when he saw I was there to photograph the sunset...said we both had the same idea. Of course I wasn't smoking a cigar while I was watching the sun sink into the sky...so I guess it wasn't exactly the same idea :o)

To see more skies across the world...click on the link and visit Skywatch Friday!

Winfsurfing Sunset

Mom and I were on the Sanibel causeway catching the sunset a few weeks ago...and this parasailer was enjoying it in a whole different way.  He was gliding back and forth parallel to the shore...so he interjected himself into my photos quite a bit...but I didn't really mind :o)

Yikes...look at those spikes!

I see these trees as I drive along US1 in Miami and was dying to get a closer look.  Today I was out running errands for work, was in the vacinity so I finally stopped.  They look bizarre! Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it...

The silk floss tree (Ceiba speciosa, formerly Chorisia speciosa), is a species of deciduous tree native to the tropical and subtropical forests of South America. It has a host of local common names, such as palo borracho (in Spanish literally "drunken stick"). It belongs to the same family as the baobab and the kapok. Another tree of the Ceiba genus, C. chodatii, often receives the same common names.



The natural habitat of the floss silk tree is the north-east of Argentina, Paraguay, and southern Brazil. It is resistant to drought and moderate cold. It grows fast in spurts when water is abundant, and sometimes reaches more than 25 metres (82 ft) in height. Its trunk is bottle-shaped, generally bulging in its lower third, measuring up to 2 metres (7 ft) in girth. It is studded with thick conical prickles which serve to store water for dry times. In younger trees, the trunk is green due to its high chlorophyll content, which makes it capable of performing photosynthesis when leaves are absent; with age it turns to gray.

I sure do miss posting like I used to...it felt great to be out taking photos today :o)

Broward Sunrise - Skywatch Friday

Took this one a few weeks ago while I was up in Broward County waiting for a place to open before an event.  I was anxious to get inside and get set up for the meeting, but it was a nice wait watching the sun coming up.  I wish you all a happy, healthy new year! May God Bless us all in this new year.

For more photos from skies around the world, click on the link above and visit Skywatch Friday!

Tube of Clouds

This was taken over a year ago.  I posted another photo from that night...with the Biltmore in the shot. But often I'm able to zoom it out of the shot and if I didn't look at the sequence numbers of the photos, I'd never even know it was from the same place :o)

Christmas Glitter

Every year I can't resist taking a few pictures of the Christmas lights in my Mom's house.  This year she had a new electric candle with floating glitter.  So this one is from that. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families!