Back home on a mild winter day

Beaver Lake in late January

Missing the big snowstorm in the eastern U.S. while traveling, we were glad to catch a bit of the snow and remaining ice, too, on one of our favorite spots in Asheville, Beaver Lake.  Day 6 at #challengeonnaturephotography.

Ice on Beaver Lake

 

Sycamores in evening light

A week ago, the sycamores along Merrimon Avenue were illuminated in the late afternoon light. This view is from the Beaver Lake path, a favorite destination.

Late afternoon light

Walking around Beaver Lake is nice any time of day, but mornings and late afternoons are special.

The surrounding hills, in winter, are often infused with crystalline light, punctuated by clouds.

This afternoon was like that.

These are photos straight from my iPhone (this is a test Blogger app post on my iPad) without cropping, etc. so they don't have the "enhancements" of photo-editing.  Hmm, even though it's not a great photo editor, I'll have to see what these look like in Photos!

 

Lovely winter hikes

Even if the unseasonably warm weather seems odd for this time of the year, it made for some lovely winter hikes.

The views along Beaver Lake were fabulous yesterday.

Sycamores at Beaver Lake (along Merrimon Ave) in late afternoon

Today, along the Blue Ridge Parkway (walking a segment of the Mountains-to-Sea trail), the views were equally nice, complete with strange balmy air, more suitable to April than December.

View from the Mountains-to-Sea trail, below the intersection of Town Mountain Road and the BRP

Fungi, moss, and lichens

Woody was happy.  He was cooling off in a muddy spot.

Evening light

Fall color and evening light have stretched out magically; the unexpected warm weather has extended fall color...and the clouds this week -- both in the morning and the evening, have been wonderful.

All of this has made pre-dinner walks (even after daylight savings time and early darkness) quite lovely.

This evening's loop around Beaver Lake in North Asheville (a favorite walking place) -- special, indeed.

Walking at Beaver Lake