NC Audubon Annual Meeting in Blowing Rock, NC

Last week I drove out to the NC Audubon meeting and to get a chance to see the mountains.. This sign on my trip made me laugh!

in the mountains of western North Carolina!

driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway with the top down!
these pictures cannot do justice to the majestic scenery.....



so many beautiful wildflowers growing in the mountains....
unidentified flowers .....
wild azaleas....
The members of the Audubon Society were amazing. They could hear a bird a mile away and identify it. I was in AWE much of the time. Using the scopes and my binoculars I "saw" many new birds but my pictures aren't that clear, too much foliage and distance. But here are some samples.

yellow warbler...
Cedar waxwing....
Tree swallow....
Scarlet tanager....
Meadowlark on a fence hiding behind flowers.... saw my first bobolink at the same place, but no pictures....
Least flycatcher....
Eastern Kingbird....
pair of cedar waxwings..... nest was nearby....
Fluffy Eastern bluebird...
Baltimore oriole who wouldn't look at me...
One of our fellow "birders" found this indigo bunting on the side of the road. Happy ending is that a trip to the local shelter resulted in success!
When I got home this cute creature was crawling around behind my home.... gives a new meaning to "painted" turtle.... wonder what the story is?
Discovered lots of fragrant gardenias blooming behind my deck!