Vacation was great!

Just got back from our annual family vacation. We go camping every year and have a blast. This year we got to go for two weeks! Yea! And even better, it didn't rain until two days before we left. And that was only a light rain. WooHoo! We all stayed dry. Except the butterflies (and us when we went to play in the rain). After the rain was over we found butterflies that were drying their wings, so they didn't fly off when we approached. I saw this one on the kids' toy and couldn't resist. The rainknocked down a bunch of leaves, too. This is one of my favorite shots.Nothing is retouched, or moved or staged! The bright orange ball and yellow leaf were sitting right there with this blue black butterfly walking all over it, flapping it's wings. I couldn't believe it let me get this close with my camera! After I finished taking a few shots, my daughter walked over and PICKED UP the ball! When the butterfly stayed right on it, I realizedit might not be able to fly until the wings were dried. She loved it! (I made her put it down after she walked around and showed everyone.)

One of our favorite camping sites is at

Fontana Dam (in NC.) There is a camp ground at the bottom of the dam right on the spillway. Every morning the mist/fog rolls up the spillway in wonderful billowy tufts, so large it fills the whole area and you can't see across the spillway.

One evening, as the sun was setting, the mist started rolling

in early. Just thin little wisps barely catching the last of the glow from the sun. I kept taking pictures of the mist rolling in until the creek was full.

This trip was in the mountains of North Carolina. The views, of course, were great. My children start hollering "the mountains!" as soon as they see the slightest hill we when start our road trip. They get so excited!

P.S. Didn't do ANY tatting -- can you believe it?! I can't, and I was there! But, I didn't even pack it. I knew where I was going was completely "outdoors" and was concerned with things getting messed up and dirty. Plus I knew I would be spending almost all of the time in the lake swimming, on trails hiking, and by a smoky campfire cooking sticky s'mores. So fun times were had by all and the tatting stayed safe and clean at home. But now I am home, and one of my favorite tatters has her new book out....yeah!!! Can I wait for the mail?!!!!