Earth – Weekly Photo Challenge – 5-6-16

The Weekly Photo Challenge for the week ending 5-6-16 is Earth.

I love photo challenges! Basically it gives me a chance to plunge into my vast library of photos and relive moments I felt were worthy of remembering. Our instructions, as always are simple and open to our own personal interpretation. Here is what we have as a starting point: Share your vision of our magnificent Earth through your lens.

First of all I want to share three photos taken in Western North Carolina in the fall of 2015. The first shows my wife and I on a part of Grandfather Mountain, which is a local attraction near Boone, North Carolina. Grandfather Mountain is right at 5,280 feet above sea level and boasts a swinging bridge a mile high! The other two phtos were made during an anniversary trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. The bottom left photo is from Little Switzerland, a small resort-type location we stayed in for a night. On the right is Crabtree Falls, one of the many waterfalls along the Blue Ridge Parkway. An interesting tidbit is that the majesty of Crabtree was aided by the torrential rains that soaked North and South Carolina when Hurricane  Joaquin set up camp off the Southeastern United States for days, pumping record-breaking rainfall into the Carolinas.

The Caribbean water is just as clear blue as promised in the brochures and television commercials.

The blue of the Caribbean waters is something everyone should see.

The next set of three photos are from tropical locations. The Bahamas first of all, from my children’s 2013 high school band trip, a pier at Hopkins Beach, Belize from a 2013 Mission Trip and The Caribbean Ocean, also from the 2013 Bahamas band trip. There is so much beauty on earth and we are cheating ourselves if we don’t try to enjoy as much as possible!

Corn planted early is getting pretty tall. Hopefully we can enjoy fresh corn on the cob in 4-5 weeks.

On my walking path, the scene of several beautiful sunrises this summer.

The final three photos are of my personal favorite place on earth, where I live. I have enjoyed tilling the earth and planting and harvesting for nearly half my life. Gardening is not a chore to me, but a release and therapy from a job where I sit all day. The final picture is of a sunrise on one of the paths I use for morning walks. Nature’s beauty can make you breathless and is different every day.

A little more than three months ago I got a Fitbit and since then I make a special effort to get up, get out and enjoy the Earth as much as possible. You can read more about my Fitbit experience if interested here: Why Buy a Fitbit? It Can Change Your Life! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will let me know which photos you like!