Yellow Goats beard dandelion growing in the fields
Cades Cove Early Morning Drive
Monday June 10, 2019
Dana Koogler
Cades Cove Pictures starting with frame #106
I got up early Monday morning with the express purpose of taking a drive around the Cades Cove Loop Road. I wanted to check for native orchids. I also wanted to gauge the bloom status of the heirloom gladiolas in the cove. The forecast called for rain off and on today. I came prepared for it.
I also came prepared so that if things cleared up I could stick around and do some hiking.
I was pleasantly surprised to find the traffic light. I was even more surprised to find that the few folks who were on the loop road were courteous and used the pull offs instead of taking pictures from the middle of the road. I made record time getting round the loop. Daylilies and butterfly weed were the flowers of the hour. Lots of those. You can see every shade of butterfly weed in the cove from deep red orange to a paler yellow orange. I saw a few butterflies. One cloudless sulphur moth.
Many frittilaries. I parked in a few spots and waded out through the fields to check out flowers.
I got me the requisite number of briar scratches.
The skies varied between clearing up to gray again. The mountains at the edges of the cove looked pretty with the wisps of cloud before them. Yucca plants bloomed in many locations through the fields of the cove. I saw gold finches, bluebirds, robins, sparrows, turkeys, and deer. No bears today and no snakes.
Deep red orange butterfly weed and blue mountains.
Loads of daylilies!
English plantain.. which I am now noticing as a valuable plant since I learned its benefits and started making salve from it!
Wisps of cloud
Yellow Goatsbeard dandelion freshly opened.
Yarrow
Daisy fleabane and wild onion heads
bumblebee on butterfly weed
Yellow butterfly weed
Queen Anne's Lace
Black eyed susans
Wild basil
Dark and light shades of butterfly weed for comparison
Ragged fringed orchids!
Above and below.. clearing skies?!!
new to me.. Abrams Blush heirloom gladiola . I don't know that is the real original name of the flower, but I am calling it that for my own sake til I learn otherwise.
Need to go back to check to see if these bloom out on the other side of the tree!
Ditch lilies is what some folks call these beauties, but you can see why!
Turkey Lurkey in the field
Cherokee Rose
Dark pink Seven Sisters Rose
Yucca
Yucca blossom
Red Root aka New Jersey tea
above and below.. rosebay rhododendron buds and bloom
Above: Old barn and below old house on Lequire Road at the back of the cove toward Dry Valley
All was well until I got round on the back of the loop when traffic gummed up and came to a halt.
I saw my chance and turned onto Hyatt Lane. I crossed the cove, turned onto Rich Mountain Road and exited that way. While on the way toward home the skies opened and the rain poured down.
No more hiking today. But I had a good time and didn't let the traffic or the weather harsh my mellow.
I also came prepared so that if things cleared up I could stick around and do some hiking.
I was pleasantly surprised to find the traffic light. I was even more surprised to find that the few folks who were on the loop road were courteous and used the pull offs instead of taking pictures from the middle of the road. I made record time getting round the loop. Daylilies and butterfly weed were the flowers of the hour. Lots of those. You can see every shade of butterfly weed in the cove from deep red orange to a paler yellow orange. I saw a few butterflies. One cloudless sulphur moth.
Many frittilaries. I parked in a few spots and waded out through the fields to check out flowers.
I got me the requisite number of briar scratches.
The skies varied between clearing up to gray again. The mountains at the edges of the cove looked pretty with the wisps of cloud before them. Yucca plants bloomed in many locations through the fields of the cove. I saw gold finches, bluebirds, robins, sparrows, turkeys, and deer. No bears today and no snakes.
Yarrow
All was well until I got round on the back of the loop when traffic gummed up and came to a halt.
I saw my chance and turned onto Hyatt Lane. I crossed the cove, turned onto Rich Mountain Road and exited that way. While on the way toward home the skies opened and the rain poured down.
No more hiking today. But I had a good time and didn't let the traffic or the weather harsh my mellow.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for reading and commenting. I enjoy hearing from those who read & make use of my blog. I have made some wonderful friendships through emails from readers. I respond to all comments and emails. I appreciate folks reaching out to let me know when my blog entries are not functioning correctly or if the situation somewhere has changed. Many Blessings to you!
Dana 🐝