The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1

Do you know that God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
-Job 37:15



Thursday, July 31, 2008

The blueness of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Happy Sky Watch Friday!! It's post time!!! (Please visit our host, Tom, Klaus, Sandy and Imac's Sky Watch blog (click here or on the logo to participate) to participate in Sky Watch Fridays. So much fun!!! I highly recommend it!) Today, I decided to post some shots from my trip this past weekend to the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina, when bf became MFG... for details about that, look below two posts or click on this link... anyways, The Blue Ridge Mountains, or the Smoky Mountains, or the Smokies, they absolutely amaze me with their perpetual blue haze which is what earned them their name...

The name of the area comes from the natural haze that often hangs over it. Trees put the "blue" in Blue Ridge, from the hydrocarbons released into the atmosphere — as well as higher humidity — thereby contributing to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive color produce a bluish cast to the sky, even over short distances.
This last shot was taken on Saturday during the scattered drizzle. I love the way the low clouds/fog create the illusion of smoke resonating from the mountains, reiterating where they got their name...

Aside from that, we see that the tropical wave off the coast of Africa has lost some of its associated moisture and is moving into the cooler waters north of the Cape Verde Islands, thereby hurting chances of development... looking less and less like Edouard now.

Leaving the Atlantic Ocean, we journey into the northern midwest where they are experiencing more severe weather possibilities today. This morning, while I was getting ready, they announced a tornado warning with one of the systems passing through up there. The big story was the wind, hurricane force gusts tearing down power lines and hundred year old trees. The system up in Minnesota/Iowa has definitely bowed out attm, and continues to be a dangerous threat for severe wind. Severe weather season... in the northern plains.

In closing, someone shared this precious video with me... I thought I would pass it along... it's a heart-warming little 4 year old, who has amazing spirit... It actually made me tear up... sweet.

Have a lovely day,
~Dewdrop

75 comments:

  1. What a grand way to start skywatch, beautiful photos.

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  2. Dew: #1 A great photo of the smokies and a fun post with AGT girl.

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  3. The mountains live up to their name! You caught the mist beautifully.

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  4. Great pictures. I love mountains and sky together.

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  5. Amazing shot!

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  6. love ur nature and sky...

    Mine in here Thanks

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  7. Dewdrop, I like that third image of yours where the fog is flowing over the side of the boulders. Are they granite? They sure look mighty and hard.

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  8. Stunning sky watch and the video is awesome and very moving... catch you soon

    Tom

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  9. I love that one with the mystic fog commong in.
    Wunderful photos.

    Hallo from Germany

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  10. .
    WOW. #1
    How cool is that.
    Great post and terrific photos.

    I do love the Smokies.
    Thanks for sharing information and links.
    Well done.

    Our Sky Watch is found Here.
    Come visit the beach,
    Troy and Martha

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  11. Great shots of sky and mountains

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  12. Wonderful photos, Dew, and a great Sky Watch! Congrats on #1 post!

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  13. I love the Blue Ridge Mtns! Next week I'll be posting pictures of the VA Blue Ridge. There are actually some on my blog now, but I have different ones to share next week.

    Great pictures and information!

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  14. beautiful potos, not completely unlike some of our mountains.

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  15. Great pictures.

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  16. Great shots. Nice text.

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  17. I had no idea it was the haze and trees that gave the mountains their name. Cool information. Now I have to figure out a clever way to drop into a conversation

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  18. Very beautiful photos of these mountains, and very close to the area where I live also. You captured the hazy mist beautifully! And, congratulations on your wonderful weekend! :)

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  19. What a wonderful post :)
    Great photos!

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  20. nice pics have good weekend

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  21. wonderful shots

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  22. I never knew why they were called the blue-ridge mountains and how beautiful..
    Rambling Woods

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  23. and that video was awesome what a special little one:)

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  24. Nice pictures, they remind me of the west coast of Tasmania where I grew up

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  28. OOPS....
    Something went wrong & my comment posted 4 times, I delete the last 3 in case you were wondering about all the deleted comments

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  29. Gorgeous skywatch and dew-licious video! Made me smile all the way!
    Cheers, Klaus

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  30. the mountains as lovely as the sky.

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  31. Beautiful sky. I love the first one.

    And your clip of little Kaitlin is so sweet.

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  32. The photos are beautiful and I had always been curious about the Blue Mountains.

    That video clip works very well for SWF!

    Have a wonderful weekend of beautiful skies!
    My Sky Watch Photos Here and Here

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  33. Super awesome stuff, as usual!

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  34. Awesome againa and the cute vid a bonus this week.

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  35. I have always loved the Blue Ridge Mts ever since reading "Christy" and watching the Waltons. I have only been near them once, but never up in them. Thank you for this lovely look at such a beautiful place.

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  36. What stunning photos, great for Sky Watch!

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  37. You're right this SWF thing is fun. Beautiful pictures and love how you added the origins of the name.

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  38. Such beautiful skies. Wonderful photos. The video was sweet.

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  39. Beautiful photos, I like how I feel calm while looking at them and great photos for Sky Watch Fun. Happy SWF.

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  40. Beautiful Skywatch pictures. I did some hiking in the Blue Ridge mountains years ago - you capture the beauty I remember.

    My SWF is here, a collection of sky photos over the past week.

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  41. Lovely. It makes me think about John Denver and "Country Roads" when you speak of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

    How fun to be in the #1 spot for Sky Watch!

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  42. these are amazing photos! i love the mountain landscape! and the video is adorable! i saw the episode of america's got talent when she sang! (:

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  43. You've captured those amazing mountains beautifully! I especially love the misty one.

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  44. Great photographs. We are visiting the Smoky Mountains next week. Always beautiful in America's mountain ranges.

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  45. serene. calm. lovely!

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  46. lovely set of pictures. even the other pics in the previous posts.

    thanks for sharing. :-)

    My entries for this week here:

    Joys in Life
    Dancing in Midlife Tune

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  47. All are so great pictures! And that little girl singing is so awesome!

    Hope you can hop by my SWF photos in these blogs:
    Jenn Was Here
    Shutter Happenings

    Thanks! Happy Friday!

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  48. I love that area and have not been there for a couple of years. So nice to see through your SWF photo's! Have a wonderful weekend!!

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  49. great photos and it's a lovely place..I could see that it must be cool there..would love to be there at this point in time since it's so warm on this part of the world...

    My lil girl and I enjoyed watching the video of the 4 year old.

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  50. These are beautiful views.
    And the kid is adorable.

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  51. hi dew, thanks for sharing those photos i love watching it... its all nice..!

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  52. Beautiful landscape, thank you dewdrop!

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  53. that looks lovely!

    have posted a picture of a partial solar eclipse that we had in our mumbai skies today!

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  54. Wow- beautiful shots and I love learning about what makes the Blue Ridge blue. Happy Skywatch Friday!

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  55. Wonderful beginning to this weeks SkyWatch! Great photos!

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  56. Wow! Beautiful photos (as usual), this was so interesting! Happy Friday, have a great weekend!!

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  57. Beautiful scenery, I like the one at the end too with the fog rolling in.
    & the little girl is so sweet!

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  58. Great pictures. They are so beautiful

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  59. Thanks to everyone who complimented on the Blue Ridge Mountain shots I posted. I really appreciate the feedback and the kind words.

    Also, I am thrilled that so many enjoyed the video. I know it brought a smile to my face, so I had to share!

    Imac, Fishing Guy, Pat, Lori and Troy, It was so cool to start it this time! What a rare treat!

    Julie... not sure if they are granite or not, but I would imagine since most of the mountains in North Georgia are.


    Teresa, Cool. A different angle.

    Sherry, THANKS!

    Klaus, Dew-licious... always something... thanks for all the monster manipulation yesterday. ;O)

    Kathie, You're welcome!

    Jeanne, Glad you enjoy it!

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  60. Great pictures and precious video. Have a great weekend.

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  61. Beautiful Captures for sky~watch!
    Have a great weekend!
    And Happy sky~watching!
    Cat

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  62. Beautiful shots over the Blue Ridge mountains. I love the Great Smoky Mountains. They are all so beautiful.

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  63. "Louis" has been buried deeper than his cowbell in work - and will be for the next month or so. He hasn't paused to say 'hello' when he has stopped by.

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  64. Beautiful photos of the sky as usual
    I saw that on show about the little girl she really was cute

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  65. Very very nice pictures, a fantastic landscape. What a starter of Friday Skywatch!

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  66. Always nice to see your work! Happy week end and sky watching!

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  67. Great photos of the Smokies and I love that little girl. So very precious!

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  68. #1 listing in sky watch with a fab photo to share.

    Thanks for adding to SWF with your beautiful contribution.

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  69. Stunning shots! Now if only I could get over my fear of flying so I could see these in person. Happy Sky Watch Friday.

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  70. These are really wonderful shots for SW! :)

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  71. You guys are all so fabulously kind to me. I love capturing the world around me... it's great to look back upon, and it's great to help open other people's eyes to the beauty of the world all around them. God paints a picture ever day for us. I am just honored to be able to view it. You all are a tremendous boost to my photography esteem. Thank you! I am honored to be a part of such a kind group!

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