(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it.)

This picture was taken back in March, 2009, when Betsy and I spent a few days in a delightful cabin at Serenity Falls in the Smokies.

I'm posting this today because we are once again taking a blog break. We'll be doing more traveling this time rather than staying in one place, but I expect we'll both come back with plenty of pictures to share.

We'll be away for the rest of June, and I'll see you in July.

********************
I would like to thank each and every one of you for your kind words and prayers on the passing of my mother. The funeral was hard for my Dad (he'll be 99 in August) but he was doing pretty well on Thursday. The entire family felt surrounded and uplifted by your thoughts and prayers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

My mother died this morning at my sister's home. She had been in declining health, but apparently had a massive heart attack and died quickly. Betsy and I had seen her (and Dad) on Thursday and I talked with her on the phone Saturday. She sounded very chipper and in good spirits. She had just had some ice cream before I called, which was her favorite snack.

The feature of Mom that most people commented on was her smile. When my parents moved to Tennessee, the children in their new neighborhood called her the "Smile Lady".

Now she's smiling in heaven -- it must be a brighter place today.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it.)

Green moss decorates the boulders and adds a green sheen to the water at West Prong Falls in the Smokies.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it.)

I was walking along the beach at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, on a beautiful morning last month. The tide was going out, and as I approached the pier I noticed the reflection captured by the wet sand and shallow water. This picture makes me ready to go back.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it.)

This week a flower stalk on our Cantina Iris decided to put on one more show for us. I like the overall purple of this blossom, but am intrigued by the touch of gold and splash of blue in the falls. Cantina should bloom again in October, so hopefully she'll put on another show for us.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it.)

I was working with some of my older picture files last week when I came across this picture of wildflowers in the rain. The picture was taken at Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia in May of last year.