"What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been"

To quote the Grateful Dead, “What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been”. 

It has been almost a year since I posted anything on our website, Pisgah Forest Photography - August 25th to be exact. The blog was about summer wildflowers and how there is always something blooming in the mountains of North Carolina. This was my last website post because a month later Hurricane Helene blew through.  For several months after the hurricane, I was posting to my social media account talking about the devastation in the mountains. 

In December and early January, Steven and I took a trip to see family in Alabama for Christmas and then headed to the Lowcountry of South Carolina for a little photography time.  We decided to go back to Charleston in March to catch the azalea spring bloom.  We ended up leaving earlier than we expected.  Steven’s knee was really hurting him and wildfires had broken out in several areas less than fifteen miles from our home. Fortunately, our home was not affected by either the hurricane of the wildfires and while parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway are still closed, most everything else is back open.

In April, I was in Alabama to help our daughter after her cancer surgery.  Then, a short time after that, Steven had total knee replacement surgery.  

Even with all this, we have had some wonderfully bright and happy moments.  We have a new great-grandchild. A beloved granddaughter was married in May. Our daughter and Steven are recovering nicely from their surgeries. Steven and I had three pictures each displayed in a local gallery in May. Finally, one of my photos entered into the WNC Magazine photo contest was a finalist and will be published in the summer issue of the WNC Magazine.

Fingers crossed for everyone to continue healing and stay well. While we have not been able to be out photographing as much as we have in the past, we have hopes that will pick back up soon. Hopefully, our new song will soon be, "On the Road Again."