Wordless Wednesday #31 ~ @ Parrot Mountain

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Previous posts have shown we took a long Sunday Drive last week on Wednesday & Thursday ending up in Gatlinburg (all unplanned).   It was a spur of the moment trip to catch the last of the beautiful foliage in beautiful almost record breaking warm, sunny weather.  We didn't know we were beating a cold front meeting a record breaking hurricane!  Perfect timing.  On the way home at the end of the Friday, we hit the cold weather about 2 hours before arriving home.

The last few trips to Smokies had been rather uneventful, because we've been there done that.
We actually found something different to do on this trip to the Smokies.

  At breakfast, I picked up a pamphlet about Parrot Mountain and Gardens which was a short drive out of Pigeon Forge just past Dollywood.  Well worth the drive. Although their website says they have hundreds and hundreds of birds, I would just leave it at around a hundred.  But still, there were a lot of beautiful birds.  Since we were there on a week day, off season, it wasn't crowded.  Weather was perfect.
 I took so many shots, that I can't put them all in one post.

Here are some birds and some of them had some great personalities.  I'll try to be wordless and let you enjoy the shots.  You can make the comments.

I'm guessing a guy above and lady below by the way they hold their food?

Some of the birds we fed sugar water.

Several birds were perched.  We could feed them.  With assistance we could hold some of them.

 Most would take just one seed and some took none.

This one held on to Mr. G's hand to make sure he wouldn't leave before he finished getting his feast.

Several could speak to get your attention.

"Hey Sailor!"

"Hey, Look up here." When you had your head turned

Hello!

One made a cell phone ring (people start looking for phone) and answered,  "Hello."

Some had learned to mock various kinds of laughter.

The white bird at the top would only speak when no one was looking.  Sounded like a small child.

I set down on a bench to wait for Mr. G.  Heard the door from the snack bar open and close but didn't see anyone come out.  Looked down and found this (see below).

 Imagine being a cat living with all those birds.  Bet he could tell some stories.

I'll show the floral and birdhouses later.

Thanks to:

Photoscape for downsizing & watermarking photos

Sunday Drive on Thursday ~ 10-25-12

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                    So we left Pikeville, KY this morning with this kind of view.  Not a very impressive view is it?   We just had hopes that if we headed south we just might find some beautiful foliage that hadn't gone from green to brown.  We also were expecting a record for the hottest Oct. 25th. and knew it would be a great day for a Sunday drive.  

                    Just as we left Pike Co. and went into Letcher Co. (Remember the Chris Jones Pics?-notice how more brilliant the colors are in his pictures from last week.) we found this......

Out of Whitesburg, KY toward Harlan we hit a high point in altitude and view but not color.

 But notice this one line of trees at the base.

 Then on to the Cumberland Gap for some shots.

 Above is the view into Kentucky as we stood in Virginia.

Below is the view into Tennessee as we also stood in Virginia.

and I just have to show you their picture. (below)

 Below, you'll see Cumberland Gap where the more orange foliage is....the lower section of the mountain ridge.

           We got back on the road, and kept going south, across the Douglas Dam and guess where we landed?

Here is a view from our room.  Beautiful, isn't it? 

 Hey, it's only a block from the main drag and didn't cost a ridiculous price.  

Where are you right now?

We're in Gatlinburg, Tennessee tonight!

Sunday Drive on Wednesday ~ 10-24-12

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 Drove to Red River Gorge today hoping to see some beautiful foliage.  Sadly most trees seem to be turning from green to brown.  We did find a few colorful scenes.

Wordless Wednesday #30 ~Popular Bird Drive-In Fast Food

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Bought a new bag of bird seed yesterday.  I find sunflower seeds are the most popular.  Added bonus when the bag had quiet a few bugs.  I'm thinking that's why this place is more popular than usual today.

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Sunday Best ~ Fall in Letcher & Harlan Co. KY by Chris Jones

Yes!  More pictures from my photography friend Chris Jones of Harlan, KY.  He said these pictures were taken in Letcher and Harlan County, KY, and Pine Mountain Settlement School this past week.

I'd say this is the week to take our drive through the Eastern KY Mountains.  Don't forget to exhale.

  Thanks so much Chris for sending these to me and letting me post them.

These pictures were posted as he sent them to me except for resizing and watermarking.

You can find some of Chris' shots of University of Kentucky Football over at
Wordless Wednesday #26.  Take a look at the last 2 pictures.

Thanks to:

Photoscape for downsizing & watermarking photo

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Garbage Bag Pumpkin

 I have no idea what these round things are.  Just found 3 of them at Restore for $3 and I just thought fence decor of some kind.  However, this time of the year when you see round, you see pumpkins!

If you've ever tied a hand of tobacco with a tobacco leaf, then you know what I'm talking about here.  I've tied a many hands of tobacco. (Helped put me through college.)

 You can't see the vine, but I actually used it to cover up some of the electric cord.  Both pumpkins are plugged into a timer.

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GIMP for cropping & other digital effects

PicMonkey creating collages used on this page

 Photoscape for downsizing & watermarking photo