There and Back!

Hello all!

Things have been pretty quiet around here lately, haven't they?

Can you feel an absent-blogger explanation coming?

I dropped a little hint as to my recent where abouts in this short post,

but in case you didn't catch it...I am {somewhat} recently returned from a week long stay in Tennessee!

About one year ago,

my dear friend Atlanta was swept off her feet and consequently all the way to Tennessee

when she married.

I was blessed to attend the wedding,

but didn't get the chance to see their home.

However, upon the arrival of her baby girl in February

I had good reason and great excuse to make a trip to see them!

I tagged along with Atlanta's brother Cim and sister Aspen

who were also making the trip to meet their new niece.

Here is Auntie Aspen holding sweet, sweet baby Marian!

Honestly,

this little darling is one of the cutest babies I've ever seen!

So, ok, it is my friend's baby...I don't think that makes me prejudice...much.

A bed-full of ladies admiring the baby!

Marian will be a pro at this picture taking thing...

T O E S!!!

She was modelling a new dress, and doing a darling job of it, no?

Aside from the beautiful baby,

there was of course, some breathtakingly beautiful nature to explore.

Ahhh...wandering these lovely woods was utterly and truly refreshing...for this northern girl,

it was like being home. Trees and water bring life back into my soul.

Can you see the little trickle of a stream, just there, meandering its way through the forest floor?

I found this verdant, mossy growth to be most intriguing.

 

 Here is a close up....

it reminded me of tiny tropical trees or something of the sort.

And here we have a log specimen covered in fairy like stepping stones

made of paper thin, mushroom like growths.

This also warranted a closer look.

Ahhh...trees...I just love getting lost in a forest.

So, funny story.

Notice the spattering of trees here that still have their dried, dead leaves intact?

I inquired as to what type they were, but received no satisfactory answer.

Then, lo and behold while further indulging myself in Jane Austen-esque films

after returning home (a past time with Atlanta) I received the answer!

I learned from Mr. Plumbtree aka Tom Hiddleston, in Miss Austen Regrets 

that these must be Beech trees.
I had to marvel when I heard him spout off this little offhanded information
in an awkward scene of the movie. Funny how little things come together.
"Fascinating subject, botony."
{You can see clips from this movie here,
including the very last scene with the beech tree reference.}

Anyway, back to the greenery...

More adorable moss to document.

A nice walk by the creek, just at sunset, does a heart good.

Slightly infatuated with water...don't mind me.

I just love how this gnarly, moss riddled tree hangs over the bank.

Do you see this?!

Doesn't this look just like the flower from Horton Hears a Who?!

I'm not sure what these are, other than they are a type of seed pod-thingy that grows on trees,

they had all fallen off and there was a generous smattering of them everywhere.

Sadly,

 I had not my camera with me the day we saw the most beautiful scenery of all, I was quite heartbroken.

It was Sunday, see? And I thought, silly me, that, one needn't bring a camera along...it was only going to be church, then home again, right?

Big. fat. wrong.

We saw waterfalls...waterfalls you guys!!

Ohhh, it was thrilling...waterfalls are among my favorite things in the worlds,

and these particular falls were nestled deep in the craggy, wooded back roads.

There were steep, towering rock walls to one side, complete with tiny cave holes,

and an ever expanding forest on the other, with the river weaving its way in between.

There were wild daffodils, old abandoned houses, valleys and hills.

 I ran about like a school girl at Christmas, and kept muttering thanks and awe

to God for the beauty He created. 

It was one of those times when it almost hurts, the beauty and wonder of it all.

So, the moral of this story.

Always. Always. Bring your camera.

Did you enjoy this little walk through the countryside?

Well tomorrow,

I'll take you 'round on a little excursion of Franklin, Tennessee.

See you then!

{For LOTS more pictures of sweet Marian and Tennessee scenery,

you can see things through Aspen's point of view in this post!

Including a few pictures of the falls, 

courtesy of Atlanta, who had pictures from a previous visit.}