Well one of them anyway. I try to come up here a lot during the winter months.
This is looking north, over towards the city of Boone, N.C. Usually it is quiet up here during the winter and if there is any commotion at all, it is usually the wind blowing up the bluff, through and over the tree tops and then roaring off into the distance.
A little sun got into this shot, something that I believe I will have some fun with as I become more acostomed to using this wide angle lens. I really like the way the wind has swept these trees, a good indication of wind direction up here for the most part I would say.
This one here always stands out to me, why I don't know. Even evergreens have a hard time keeping their leaves and needles up here. Winds have been clocked at well over 100 mph in the past and even much higher at Grandfathers Mountain, where they reached just above 200 mph in times past.
They call this "Flat Rock." Actually it is more rounded than anything else. Small shrubs, scrub brush, mosses, and lichens are in the process of breaking it down though, along with the wind, rain, and of course ice that forms during the winter, causing the "potholes" you see in the rock. These are full of water most of the time and sometimes a few aquatic insects may be found in them.
Canon EOS 20D w/Tokina 12 -24mm Wide Ange Zoom, Available light, PP: Photo Impact 6 LOC: Flat Rock Nature Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway, WNC.
A Quiet Favorite Place
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Betty asked:
Thanks Betty
No, not really there Betty. Every so often or few years I should say, there comes a really terrific snowfall but most of the time our winters and wet and raw, with a few mild days thrown in here and there to keep your hopes up for spring.Do you regularly get longer periods with continuous frost and snow at your place in the Southern US?
Thanks Betty