(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)

This pretty little waterfall doesn't have a very appealing name, but we found it after a nice hike through the woods along the Chattooga Trail near Walhalla, South Carolina.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)

Wineberry Candy is one of the newer day lilies we have in our yard. It is a re-blooming day lily, and although this picture was taken in early June, we enjoyed this beauty into September.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)

While in the Italian Garden at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, I captured this reflection of the house in one of the pools. The monochrome image seems to take me back in time to the late 1890s, when the house was built.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)

Sedona is one of our newer roses. It doesn't have much of a fragrance, but it is a prolific bloomer and I really like the color.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)

When we lasted visited Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina, the sky put on quite a display. When we drove to the parking area near the summit, we were literally in the clouds -- visibility was definitely limited. We hiked up to the observation deck anyway, and after a while the clouds lifted and we saw some blue sky. That didn't last long, and soon white clouds, followed by dark clouds, moved back in. I got this picture as the sky was changing.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)



We came upon this view of the Painted Desert while on a short hike at Kachina Point in Petrified Forest National Park.



********************



My Blogging Muse has become about as dry and unproductive as our yard and garden, so Betsy and I have decided to take a blogging break. I'm not sure what (if anything) we'll do other than trying to keep our roses and other plants alive. If my Muse cooperates, I'll be back the last week of September.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)



Spanish Glow, one of our newer day lilies, has been bravely putting on a show in spite of the heat and the drought. This picture was taken last week.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)



This is one of the colorful water lilies we saw at the Italian Garden on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. I like the vibrant color and the reflections in the water. I also like the bee in that first blossom.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)



I was taking pictures of the water lilies and flowers in Biltmore's Italian Garden when I noticed the clouds reflected in the waters of a pool. I thought they looked pretty neat.

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)



I grew up near Chicago and have always thought that the downtown of that city is beautiful. Chicago Peace is a bi-color rose in our yard which is beautiful, especially in the morning light.