While I don’t necessarily love to be out and about in the nature, I do love to look at it. I love to take pictures of it. And between our trips to the beach two weeks ago and to the mountains this past weekend, the nature and I have had a whole lot of time together lately. It’s all been very enjoyable because there hasn’t been any camping required.
Even though I have a special affinity for large bodies of water and would rather be at the beach than just about anywhere on earth, I really do think my favorite part of the nature has to be the trees. I love them. The contrast of treetops against a bright blue sky just takes my breath away, and if you throw a little bit of a breeze into the mix, I’m a goner. Give me a diet Coke and a comfy chair and I’ll watch those trees all the livelong day.
We spent this past weekend in North Carolina, and I can honestly say that I have never been more taken with trees in my whole life. They were so stunning that I actually wanted to call people and tell them about the colors and the branches and the leaves. The leaves are probably a couple of weeks away from their peak color, but it didn’t matter to me. It was my first trip through the Blue Ridge Mountains, and I was floored. Smitten, even.
My pictures don’t do justice to the spectrum of color – that might have something to do with the fact that I took most of these pictures from the car while we were, you know, driving through the mountains at a relatively high rate of speed. But I really do wish that I could provide some sort of high-definition panoramic view of what we saw for a couple of hours Sunday afternoon, because it was absolutely breathtaking. David said that it was like God reached down from the sky and painted a picture just for us.
I will never forget that drive as long as I live.
It was so pretty that it almost made me want to hike out in the middle of all that nature and camp. With a tent and everything.
Almost.
Thanks for the photos! Down here in SW Florida we don’t get anything like that. I grew up in NJ and do miss that part of the changing of seasons. We just held our Fall Carnival at school and it doesn’t seem the same when the temp in 80!
I enjoy your blog….keep up the funny writing!
Not to diss the NC trees (I’m from SC, and do love it down there..).. but you MUST come to the northeast some October. The colors are so vivid, so bright that it literally takes your breath away. We live in the Adirondacks, and it is unbelievably gorgeous here. I don’t love living in the north at all, but the fall ALMOST makes it worth it!
I have never commented before (sorry, I’m a lurker) but I love your site. I came on Friday hoping to read your take on the Office…. and I loved your link to the trophy kids article. We talked about it over brunch yesterday — my teenagers, (I have 2), don’t see their generation that way, but I sadly agree.
Love your writing!
I LOVE the treetops picture!
They’re all beautiful.
I’ll send you some pictures when we get back from the mountains in Helen, Georgia in a few weeks.
I’m in total agreement — it takes my breath away.
Share some notes on increasing our marital bliss/contentedness/sacrifice from your FOM when you can!! We’ll live vicariously through you…
“While I don’t necessarily love to be out and about in the nature, I do love to look at it.”
I had to chuckle at that. I’m the exact same way. :)
I’m in NC and the landscaping here is one of the things I love the most (well and the weather and lack of snow)
Beautiful picture!
The mountains of NC are just about the most beautiful place I can think of in this country. My husband and I dream of retiring there someday. It’s beautiful, close to mountains AND beaches, so it’s perfect for both of us. Now, if we could only convince our kids to move there too, we’d be in good shape!
Thanks for the great pictures!
Very beautiful!! :-) Thank you for sharing. :-)
Beautiful!!!
Regular readers over at my tiny blog quite frankly get sick of hearing me sing the praises of the Blue Ridge, where our family has a vacation home.
But there is no where else on earth that calms and inspires me like those mountains.
So glad you enjoyed it!!!
…and that’s why we live here!
So very thankful for your heart! What a lovely fall painting–just for you, too! I love that your husband said that.
Praying for you, friend, as you get back to the daily-ness today.
The mountains in NC are absolutely breathtaking this time of year! I’m so glad you had a memorable autumn drive.
Makes you want to bottle it up and somehow bring it back home. And, that blue sky?? Oh my goodness….BEAUTIFUL!
Welcome home.
I love Black Mountain, you know, that is Billy Graham country. I love Ridgecrest, too. I grew up going to FCA conferences there in High School and College… and I have awesome memories of the Holy Spirit showing up to do his thing!
I am so glad that you enjoyed the beauty.
God is so awesome! Driving in the mountains in the fall is the best way to absorb it all. Soaking in His presence in all that he created for us.
I am so glad you enjoyed your trip!
May not be High Def but definitely beautiful – thanks for sharing – we don’t often get a lot of “fall color” here in North Texas due to the blessing of very warm weather but I can appreciate the beauty. You are too funny about not going into the woods – this from a woman who has been to AFRICA (cue that song – the one you couldn’t get out of your mind – there now I’ve got it stuck in your head again -haha)
Y’all have been doing some nice traveling – does a body and soul good. Our Creator did a fabulous job with the whole Trees thing didn’t He?
I also love the trees…when we are driving through the mountains in NC, especially at this time of year it sounds like the fourth of July in our van. The ooh’s and ahh’s, wow’s and look at that one…are about all we can say. Thanks for the pics.
I love the Blue Ridge mountains! Someday, you should really add the North Shore of Minnesota to your leaf experience. I mean, I realize that’d be quite a trek. But it’s stunning. Along the shore of Lake Superior — every time I go there I would not be surprised to just turn the corner and see some French Voyageurs & fur traders. The leaves are gorgeous (well past peak color by now), and I love places where there is an undercurrent of history. North Carolina does that for me too!
Oh, Sophie…when I lived in Maine, the trees were so bright, they were like skittles! I LOVED watching the leaves change! We had one tree in our front yard that was such a magnificent bright yellow, it lit up our dining room. No joke! I was in such awe at the nature in Maine, it made me wonder how anyone could question the existence of God. It was just amazing.
Oops! I just realized that I am a lurker. I love your blog! I just wanted to say that I agree that the the Blue Ridge Mountains are about as beautiful as it gets. I live in central NC and L-O-V-E it! We are almost equal distance from beautiful beaches or gorgeous mountains. I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
After seeing your pictures, I’m even more excited about our trip to the mountains in two weeks! Thanks!
I never seem to get over colors changing. Every year I go on and on about it, as if seeing it for the first time. Could be that they don’t change where I live, so when I catch sight of it, it actually does take my breath away.
That God…MAN, He always comes up with the best ideas!
I just got back from a church retreat to Lake Junaluska near Asheville, NC with a bunch of senior adults. You might enjoy my pictures of the trees and scenery there after your recent trip. I LOVE to take pictures of places I have been to try and tell the story later too! Check out my blogsite!
I’m with you on liking trees. They are my favorite. I will say this, when we left Virginia, we were sure we were leaving behind the most beautiful falls we would ever see. But then last fall, here in B’ham, was just as pretty, if not more beautiful. There’s something about how big the sky is here in conjunction with the fall colors that was stunning. So it’s nice to know we are not lost to trees around here. But NC is breath-taking, I agree.
Gorgeous! Love the FALL!
(okay, where’s The Office post;) :(
Beautiful pictures.
I live in NC and have a sneaking suspicion you were near my neck of the woods this past weekend!
I have some pics. on my blog from my front windows that look pert-near like your shots.
good thing you went before peak color…two weeks from now you would have surely been tentin’ it!
Yes, looking at the nature and taking pics is ALWAYS preferable to camping out in it! Actually, most anything is preferable to camping, now that I think about it…
Thanks for sharing the pics – what a gorgeous drive!
I was never so sad as they day my mom and step-dad moved away from Asheville, NC, and I lost my reason to visit there anually. =( So glad you had a great trip.
Having been born and raised in FL I never thought I’d like living anywhere “cold”, but GA in the Fall is such a beautiful place! My brother and family are relocated to Charlotte, so I’ll have more of a reason to visit NC.
He is indeed a poetic artist. Thanks for sharing. We’re enjoying a magnificent fall in Seattle, too. Very little rain! Woot! Woot!
Ridgecrest is so beautiful! We used to go there every August for a college retreat. As lovely as it was in August, I can’t even imagine the beauty in October!
Hope you can share a little bit about your retreat in general. I would love to go on a marriage retreat with my husband, but don’t really know what to expect.
Now you know why I live here :-)
Beautiful Pictures. I love, love, love North Carolina. Can’t wait to go back someday. My parents used to have a summer place there and we’d go a lot. Unfortunately, they sold it and I haven’t been there in about 5-6 years.
We live in southern Ohio and we have beautiful trees here too. The skys have been absolutely gorgeous the last week or so. The blues of the sky and reds, oranges and golds of the trees have been a photographers delight. I’m not a photographer but I do love taking pictures. I’ve got a couple posted under SkyWatch Friday on my blog and I’ll plan to post some more tonight. Come check it out.
Anyway, totally loved your pictures!
I was in NC last weekend when the cool snap came through. It was amazing the change in the trees overnight. So gorgeous!
Beautiful! I am just catching up on my blog reading after being out of town for a week and had NO IDEA you were in North Carolina. Ridgecrest is far from me!!
Yes, the leaves are beautiful – I feel very fortunate to live here and absolutely love this time of year. I’ve been to the Festival of Marriage before – I know you were blesed :)
I have to say I do love to be out and about in nature and fall is my favorite time of the year. I am from Tennessee so we get some beautiful fall colors. I love to go to the park and take pictures of my boys in the fall leaves.
I do however agree that my favorite place of all time is the beach!!!
Oh I will always remember you freaking out over the tree’s on our safari. Great memory! H
As a lifelong North Carolinian, I can say that the mountain’s natural scenery makes up for the mountain’s people scenery, which can sometimes be scary! :)
Having spent most summers (and many a fall as well) in the mountains of N.C. I can agree that it just might be the most spectacular place on earth, especially in the fall. I’ve seen more dramatic mountains, but there’s just something about these that feeds the soul. Every time I go back, I feel immediately like I’ve just breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Hi Sophie,
I am so glad that you had a wonderful time at FOM. I live in North Georgia (not too far from Helen as Lavonda mentioned) and the fall is my favorite time of year. Every year I think the leaves get more beautiful. God paints the most beautiful portraits.
How beautiful…God is awesome. I am from Texas..but moved to California…the leaves only change from green to dead…NO Seasons here!!! God has a sense of humor!! haha…
The beautiful trees are yet another example of God’s love…..he could have created a black and white world….but instead He gave us beautiful colors….beautiful fall leaves….thank you Jesus….
2 places you have to go:
The Skyline Drive. You can’t go fast up there and the scenery is breath taking. You can sit on a picnic table and take pictures of the foliage with a deer close enough you could touch it.
Southern Indiana in October. Brown County to be exact. There’s more than corn up here. We’ve got trees. Pretty trees. And we have diet coke!
Fall is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing those great pictures:-)
North Carolina is my home state. The Blue Ridge Mountains are always so beautiful. I never get tired of seeing them and I see them all the time.
We just moved back to TX from NC a year ago and I’m missing it so much this time of year. It is beautiful.
Oh, BM, thanks for these pictures, but you’re making me homesick for the Blue Ridge! I spent every summer at sleepaway camp there and miss it SO much!
We’re next door to NC in upper East TN and our mountains/hills are stunning right now. We drove all over the back roads Sat and Sun…just oohing and ahhing. Thank you Lord for your creation.
Mmmm, I get to look at those Blue Ridge Mountains every day right here in VA, or as I like to call it, God’s country.
oh, honey-child, my fondest memories in all my childhood were of spending an October weekend in the Smokies, Gatlinburg, and North Carolina. My mother was absolutely rapturous about fall color in the Blue Ridge Mts and they would check me out of school early on Friday, we’d pack a picnic basket and drive to Gatlinburg, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge (which had one nice restaurant and that was it) and soak up the local color. Glad you got to see it!
WOW! Colors like that DO NOT exist in Texas. NOT AT ALL!
I love living in NC! I moved here from Anniston AL when I was 6 years old, and though I like to visit other places, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else! Sure, the weather can be a little bi-polar (80 & sunny one day and 50 & rainy the next), but the seasons and landscapes can’t be beat!
I love fall with the magnificent colors on the trees. The other day we were out driving and I said to my kids in a rather manic voice, “look, look, LOOK at the trees!!! Aren’t they beeeeeauuuutifuuullll??”. God is the most incredible artist!
Hey — so I’m from NC and live here now… I recently went to Vermont for a few days and through New Hampshire. The trees were BEAUTIFUL… but reading your post reminded me of how beautiful my own state is. Especially in the mountains (where I went to school). Thanks for reminding me of God’s beauty right here at home! And, I’m glad you enjoyed your time in NC, the Tarheel State (of Duke fans!! HAHAHA!). Blessings to you!