I’m back in Bethesda from a fantastic photo trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park – and unfortunately I came down with a case of shingles when I got home – so I haven’t had a chance to do any editing of my photos since I got home. So I thought I’d share some of the photos I did some quick edits on while I was on the road and shared on Facebook during my trip. Here are a few of the wildflowers I photographed in the Smokies.
Instead of telling you all about them, I realized the easiest way for me to explain was to show you. So I created a short video with photographs of some of the wildflowers I have photographed in the Smokies in the spring.
I still have a few spaces left in my April 26-30 Spring in the Smokies workshop. Drop me a note if you’d like to photograph wildflowers with me this spring.
Every now and then when I’m photographing wildflowers, I’ll see a delicate flower – and not know what they are. Once I check my collection of wildflower identification books – I can usually figure it out. I recently realized that three of my unknowns were all members of the lily family native to the US – so here they are – Indian Cucumbers, Mandarins and Fairy Bells.
Indian Cucumber – medeola virginiana – photographed in the Great Smoky Mountains Naitonal Park
According to the calendar, spring officially starts next week. But from what I’ve been seeing here in Bethesda, it’s already here. Everything from daffodils to magnolias are already in bloom. The cherry blossoms are predicted to start blooming next week.
For me, spring means wildflowers! As you know, I love spending time hiking and photographing wildflowers. I’ve created a new video with photos of some of my favorite Spring Wildflowers. The soundtrack for the video is Pamela Bruner’s “Morning Has Broken” from her Sweet Spirit CD.
As you may have heard, due to a problem with the bindings, I was not able to start shipping copies of my book early in the month. For those of you who know me, you know I product possible. Fortuantely, the printer has been wonderful to work with and I should be able to start shipping next week. I’ve really appreciated all of your support and encouragement as I’ve worked to get this resolved.
My last stop on my trip west was at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. I spent part of a day in the South unit of the park near Medora. It’s definitely a park I want to revisit. By this point in the trip I”d been on the road for 2+ weeks and was getting rather tired. So when the weather wasn’t very good I spent more time than usual at my hotel curled up with a book rather than out exploring and photographing.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park has the wonderful combination of spectacular scenery and lots of history. Located in the badlands of North Dakota, this is the place that helped shape many of Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas about conservation and nature.
One of the great surprises for me at the park was the wild horses. Like the ponies at Chincoteague, these horses aren’t native to the area – instead they are descended from escaped domesticated horses. There is currently a herd of up to 110 feral horses in the park. I was lucky enough to see several of them in a fog bank early in the morning.
I did find several wildflowers to photograph at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Since the environment was so different in Roosevelt than in the other parks I visited, it was nice to see some more new-to-me wildflowers
Gumbo Lily – Oenothera caespitosa – a member of the evening primrose family
Leafy spurge – Eupohrobia esula – a non-native member of the spurge family. Leafy spurge is native to Europe and Asia. It arrived in the US in the early 19th century and has since spread across much of the northern part of the country. The USDA has declared leafy spurge to be an invasive species. It is an aggressive toxic plant that once established very difficult to eliminate.
My current plans for 2012 trip west have me visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park on my way west – rather than on my way back home. So hopefully I’ll be more ready to do some serious photography there on my next visit! 🙂
