The greatness of art is not to find what is common but what is unique. --Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991) Polish-born American writer.
Above: Pink Lady's Slippers blooming on Buffalo Mountain. This unique plant is found throughout the eastern United States and is part of the orchid family. In Tennessee it is considered endangered. It depends upon a specific type of fungi in the soil for its survival and tends to grow in colonies.
You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims.
--Harriet Woods (1927-2007) American politician and activist.
Red spruce trees on the summit of Unaka mountain. Directions here.
Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it onto future generations. --George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish literary Critic, Playwright and Essayist.
As long as we are persistent in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time.
--Denis Waitley (b.1933) author and motivational speaker
Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision. --Ayn Rand (1905-1982) Russian born American Writer and Philosopher
Above: Cascade Trail, Buffalo Mountain, Johnson City, TN. Click here for a map of the many trails on Buffalo Mountain.
--A. A. Milne (1882-1956) author of Winnie-the-Pooh.
This is Chickweed, which grows in clumps of tiny flowers -- a fairly common site along woodland trails from March to November. The five petals are so deeply notched that you would think there were ten.
Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
--Oliver Wendell Holmes
Went out for a short hike with "Blue" on the Appalachian Trail. It was as if we hiked back in time to March -- 60 degrees down below and in the 40s up on Unaka Mountain. We hiked about 3 miles roundtrip and in that short span came across ten thru-hikers on their way to Maine. It was fun talking to them about their hike so far and the beauty that lies ahead -- especially the Roan and Grayson Highlands.
I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them have never happened.
–Mark Twain (1835-1910) American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer.
This wildflower is called Wild Oats. Also known as Cornflower, it's in the lily family and grows in deciduous forests in the highlands. I found many along the Appalachian Trail on Unaka Mountain.
The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. –From the movie, "Mulan"
This unusual plant is called "Squaw Root" - a perennial root-parasite lacking chlorophyll with scaly white/yellow flowers. It makes its appearance from April to June and is often found under oak trees. Squaw root is said to be a favorite food of bears.
From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot before the other. But when books are opened you discover that you have wings. --Helen Hayes (1900-1993) American stage and film Actress.
Oh the farmer and the cowman should be friends Oh the farmer and the cowman should be friends One man likes to push a plow The other likes to chase a cow But that's no reason why they can't be friends --Richard Rodgers (1902 – 1979) and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895 – 1960) Songwriters.
When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me. --John Wesley (1703-1791) minister and theologian.
The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship. --William Blake (1757-1827) English Poet.
A great blue heron in its nest near Fort Patrick Henry Dam, Kingsport, TN. This nest is one of perhaps more than a dozen that I saw in this particular area. Here's your fun fact for the day: These colonies of nests are called a "rookery".
We should be astonished at the goodness of God, stunned that He should bother to call us by name, our mouths wide open at His love, bewildered that at this very moment we are standing on holy ground.
― Brennan Manning (1934-2013) American author and priest.
I was saddened yesterday to receive news of author Brennan Manning's passing. He is best known for "The Ragamuffin Gospel," a book filled with "good news for the bedraggled, beat-up, and burnt-out." I heard him speak at a conference a number of years ago and was struck by his unflinching honesty about his own struggles and brokenness. In all his books and talks, God's relentless grace, love and compassion for us was the theme. He wrote, “To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow side I learn who I am and what God's grace means.” Rather than cowering in defeat, he reminded weary and bruised pilgrims that "In Love's service, only wounded soldiers can serve." “My deepest awareness of myself," he wrote, "is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.” Rest in peace, Brennan.
