So . . . we have had lots of rain over the last few days. Everything is growing and everything is in full bloom!

I noticed a group of people in small boats on the lake near this bridge. Others were in chairs along the shoreline. They were all watching something, but I didn’t stop to think about what it was. After all it was a Sunday afternoon, and I was engrossed in conversation with a friend. Cocoa was pulling on her lead in an effort to cross the bridge in front of us and Chip . . . . Well, Chip was being Chip—a puppy at a year and three months. Finally, I looked up and saw that looked like a hawk circling overhead, but it wasn’t. It was an Osprey, and she kept dropping down lower and lower. Finally, I realized she was trying to land. Duh!

She had a nest on the top of the bridge and probably babies, too. I looked back in time to grab these  photos—what a cool surprise on a otherwise lazy Spring afternoon.

Last weekend while we were up at the Little Falls (or Glenn Falls) watching the students run and jump into the very cold water, I noticed the banks around the area were covered with ferns. And I began taking photos . . . .

I rediscovered this waterfall over last weekend when I took Cocoa and Chip for a ride. I had stayed at the camp where these are located years ago when I was in my teens during a church retreat.  The water was icy cold then, and it is now—which is  true of most of the waterfalls in northeast Georgia. They are spring-fed.

The chapel is really sweet, but I can’t say that I remember being inside of it. (I have to be honest and I can hear Delores laugh, but it is true. Teens really do have a vapor barrier to lots of things.)

When I was young, the pool at the bottom of these falls seemed larger and deeper (I do remember that). Of course, all we wanted to do was climb up the rocks and slide down the face of the waterfall. It was the same thing that some of our students at TFC did this past weekend on campus at Glenn Falls. I stood in horror watching them and shouting for them to stop. But they didn’t listen—no real surprise, right? It’s exam week and that says it all.

Cocoa Smiles—sometimes. Here she is looking at the camera and wishing it was at the bottom of the waterfall!

I thought this would be a perfect photo for a Tuesday. Close your eyes and make a wish! That is what Cocoa Joy does. Now, Chip is an entirely different story. He tries to eat these. Thus, I’m always watching to see what he does when he is outside. What a rascal!

A recent hike through a mountain stream and out on to an observation deck left Chip hot and tired.