Sometimes, I just want to post photos that are far away from what I do each day in the lowlands! I love spring and can’t wait each year to see buds on flowers opening up. To me the end of the summer is almost sad, because I know that at some point cold weather will overtake us. We’ll be a little house bound.

By February, we’ll be crying out for the return of the greens of spring and summer. I took these photos on a recent trip to Highlands, North Carolina. On this day, the temps were in the 70’s! Hard to believe since we have been in the high 90’s in Toccoa.

So, I just wanted to catch a few shots of the last of summer’s flowers. Like these with a little bee flying over them.

It rained earlier in the day and fog had dropped in around us. Cozy feeling!

Romantic feeling!

Tender and sweet feeling! Awe, late summer! We must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter!” —Thoreau

Queen Anne’s lace: mother’s favorite—still!

Then we took a quick trip to little Mirror lake, which can be a fun destination, especially in the fall when the hardwoods show off their red, yellows, and oranges.

At Mirror Lake, people place old canoes around the backside of the shoreline. Then their boats are ready to go when they need them! No use to drag a boat to the lake when you can just pile one up on top of your neighbor’s! I think some of these boats have been here for years and years and may not even have owners any longer.

One thing I don’t see a lot of in northeast Georgia is Geese. They travel a flight path and Atlanta was squarely in it, so is Highlands, North Carolina but not Toccoa.

And the day is only complete with a quick visit to Dry Falls. It’s called “dry” because you can walk behind it and not get wet! But I always do from the mist! I didn’t have a tripod with me so this was taken at an odd angle because I was using the top of a post on the hand railing to support the camera.

More late summer flowers and such. Just peaceful.

Then a quick stop at a use-to-be favorite place: Mountain Fresh Grocery. There are new owners and the uniqueness of the store has pretty much been removed, but the pizza and salads are still great. We usually hike to the top of nearby Whiteside Mountain and then stop by for a late lunch or early dinner. On this day, we just did a flower tour.

Parting shot. North Carolina always has some of the most gorgeous hydrangeas. I think the combination of the cool air and the moist soil really works in favor of these plants.

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