This is a steep hiking trail leading through a tall deciduous forest on slanting slopes through a narrow valley or cove as they are locally known. The trees seem to form an archway as I walk below, enhanced here by using a wide angle lens.

This is a small waterfall and its muted reflection in a forest pool. A spray of water arcs off the point where the falls hits the water. The nearby rocks are etched with brilliant green moss, colorful from an endless mist. This was taken with a long exposure to catch […]

Right now there is something special about gardens. Big showy flowers dominate and this one almost glowed in the dark light of an approaching summer thunderstorm.

Rosebay rhododendron grows from Canada south to Georgia and Alabama, but reaches its peak in the mountains and especially along streams in the southern Appalachians. Although flowering has finished for the season in most parts of the North Carolina mountains, the cool shade and endless water of this creek has […]

The praying mantis is named for its posture of apparent prayer with its forelegs as seen in this photo. I imagine this one may be praying for me to stop taking its picture and leave it alone

When living in the Pacific Northwest, I fell in love with this distant hydrangea relative, Deinanthe caerulea, at a local nursery. It never bloomed for me but I potted it up and brought it with me when I moved back east, planting it in my NC garden. Now several years […]

  This diminutive frog has good camouflage and can change its color to match the background much as chameleons do. Although generally gray like this one I have seen some that were bright green and well hidden among lush summer leaves. They are nocturnal and can be found by listening […]

  Skipper butterflies are named for their habit of moving so fast between flowers they appear to be skipping. I managed to photograph this silver-spotted skipper butterfly in a moment of brief repose while drinking nectar from a garden flower. When flying really fast, it is sometimes possible to hear […]

I stopped to admire a miniature five foot waterfall on a small creek and noticed a pair of eyes peering out at me from under where several small rivulets of water fell from overhanging moss. This very patient salamander would crawl out until it got splashed by too much water […]