A little bit of THIS!

Doesn’t THIS make you smile?

I know it does me…I got home from Germany and the trees that were still in “winter sleep” when I had left first for Texas, and then for Stuttgart….were just about ready to pop just a few days ago!

I know this season passes so quickly, this budding into blossoms, and then into leaves….I wish I could slow it down! I’ve watched the trees in the parking lot here at the Convention Center where the classes are in Pigeon Forge--every day, watching their progress! I won’t be home until the 20th, and I had to be told by phone that our trees were covered in pink at home! I know the pink will probably be gone by the time I get back there to see it.

I just love SPRING! Bring on the longer days…let it get dark later at night! I feel like I get more done in a day when it doesn’t get dark at 5pm! I know I’m not the only one.

Bring on GRILL weather! Bring on mornings….waking to the sounds of birds chirping happily in the yard. Frogs and peepers making their own sounds down by the creek…Nights of crickets, spring rains, blooming bushes and gentle breezes.

I’m ready for this winter to be LONG past! But let’s just slow down the spring part so we can enjoy more of it before it’s time to turn on the A/C and complain about the humidity crawling up beyond unbearable. It all goes to fast…every bit of it!

On Monday, when dad and I drove up through Smoky Mountain National Park….we went up and up and up…and before we knew it we were at the frost line! We had to stop and get some pics….the temp changes were THAT obvious. Below this level..things were just damp..above it..everything was completely white! It was almost eerie, in an awesome way!

Here is dad, playing Japanese tourist! LOL No..actually, we were the only non-asians there at this turn out…all these “BIG” cameras, and we were trying to catch the views on our little cams.

Here’s a pic dad caught of me…can you see where the frost line starts behind me…all of a sudden the mountains are completely white!

Here we go..same view…minus me

We drove farther up the mountain and IN to that white area, and you should have seen the trees overhead..everything was laden with frost…the sun was starting to shine through it, and the whole countryside took on an ethereal feel..

Can you see that the trees are all frosted, but the ground is NOT? Is this cool or what?

More Frosting. Of course, the air was colder up here….and the silence was amazing, only being broken now and then by passing cars….

We continued our way up the mountain, finally stopping at a rest area that had a lookout….

can you see the mountain range in the distance..? It was a gorgeous day!

I love this kind of frost….and knowing that it was this cold up at the top, with trees blooming in spring back at the bottom was so interesting! It won’t be long until all of this snow/frost is gone for good in the smokies, but it is still cold enough at night up in those higher elevations to keep things frozen for a while longer.

This pic was across the road in the OTHER direction…I just love being in these mountains!

Isn’t this cool? It was like a magical fantasy wonderland up there……((Even though I am really really tired of cold and snow and ice and longing for warmth…))

One more of Dad in between taking photos! I have no idea whose pick up truck that is! It’s been a great week so far, and I’m glad that I have a couple more days with Dad before he heads back to AZ on Friday!