Thinking of Reba, and Jerry, and Judy, and Gwen, and Rebecca, and John and all those really nice people I left behind at FBA. Cocoa Joy wanted to give each one of you a flower and tell you how much you are missed! Chip on the other hand hasn’t been thinking about flowers. He has gone “Indian” on me. I’ll write more about that later. Cheers!

It’s always fun to take a short walk with friends, especially when the destination is the falls. Have I mentioned that the afternoons have been wonderful here?

I’m surrounded by the National Forest. Everywhere I look, I am reminded of God’s awesome power and beauty. I’m also repeatedly made a ware of why the Smoky Mountains have that name. For the most part, there’s always a hint of smoky haze hanging over them.

I drove by this little Methodist Church last Sunday and “had” to turn around and take a photo of its signature steeple. The skies have been beautiful this summer or maybe it is just being back in the mountains that is making everything seem so wonderful.

Grabbed this photo really quick before the rain began falling on Sunday afternoon. We were hiking part of a trail at Black Rock Mountain State Park. I never knew hiking with your dog and trying to take photographs at the same time could be so hard but it is. In fact, it is almost impossbile! This reminds me of a simply yet profound quote by C. S. Lewis. He wrote, “God whispers in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain.”