And there were ponies....

This past weekend Mark and I (Macie too) took a trip down to the southern parts of Virginia to Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area. Mt. Rogers is the tallest peak in Virginia at some 5,729 ft above sea level (none of that 10k stuff now that we're not in Cali!).

I didn't think places like this existed on the East Coast! I could have sworn I was hiking some ridge in the Bay area in Northern California. After about a 5 mile hike up, the tree cover opens to reveal an amazing high meadow.

Complete with wild ponies!!

Lilies....

So, this past fall I spent a bunch of money on bulbs from one of those mail order places. When they arrived I was given a few "bonus" bulbs as a thank you gift. The pics below are of the bonus bulb flower - pretty sweet! Of course they're macro because I'm obsessed with macro at the moment but you get the idea.

This plant is about 2.5 feet tall and when it's all said and done it will have about 6 blooms on one stalk. This is the first that opened but there's a second that's not far behind. Too bad I'm traveling for work this week - boo...I'll probably miss the rest of them opening up. Hopefully they're still where when I get back.

I love how macro allows you to get so intimate with the flower. You can see deep into the heart of the plant and it feels as if I'm invading it's privacy. I know that's silly because they're just plants but still...