Skies, time and community (SWF)

A landmark that we have visited during both of our trips to the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky is Natural Bridge. There are actually LOTS of natural bridges and arches scattered throughout the forest, but this is the one that gets to have that title with Capital Letters (not to mention its own state resort park). When we checked it out 5 years ago, we hiked up to see it from the lodge in the park. This time we came at it from the opposite side via the sky lift. No matter how you get there, the view from the top is breathtakingly beautiful.




You can see how gorgeous the weather was on this late October day.

Oh hey, it's the happy couple, sitting on the Natural Bridge. We celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary while we were on this trip!

Looking over at the Natural Bridge from across the valley.

Beginning the descent from Natural Bridge on the sky lift
Speaking of skies, it is not by mere coincidence that I post these sky photos today (nor is it just because it's Skywatch Friday time, but that's a good reason, too!). November 12th marks my first anniversary as a member of the Nature Blog Network, and it was a post showing images of a moon-lit November night sky that was my inaugural post as a member of said group. The NBN has been a great resource for me, but most importantly it has been a way to meet lots of great bloggers who share a similar passion for nature. To echo words that I have read on several other member blogger's pages, it was through the NBN that I found "my people." The Nature Blog Network is a wonderful community of people with diverse interests, held together by a common thread. I don't use Facebook, or Twitter, or Myspace, or any of the other online social media tools, and when I joined NBN, I didn't think of it as a social "tool" either. After all, I'm not the biggest socializer in the world! However, within this last year I have come to meet some pretty cool folks, both virtually and in person, and I have really come to value the community that has formed around my blog. I appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to stop by! Many folks recommend that when writing a personal blog, you should "write for yourself," and "do it because you want to." Both of these are statements that I agree with, but it's icing on the cake when you discover that there are other folks out there who are willing to read what you have written and give you feedback and help to create interactions and conversations.

I would be remiss not to thank Mike, Wren, Nate and Seabrooke for all their hard work in keeping the Nature Blog Network up and running, and for making it an awesome haven on the 'net for nature lovers across the globe.


Wind-blown leaves in the air, as seen from our seat on the sky lift at Natural Bridge.
I would also be remiss not tip my hat to the folks over at Skywatch (Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and Slyvia) for hosting links to great sky photos from the world over every week! Get yourself on over to Skywatch Friday to see another great community of folks!